to chautauqua

the arts

"The arts invite us, in the old phrase, to come apart from our world. Every beautiful thing one hears at Chautauqua, concert, opera, or lecture, reverberates longer in one's consciousness than would be possible in a less tranquil world."

----- John Erskine, President, Juilliard Foundation, 1930

Chautauqua is the rarest of creatures, a community of art. That is to say, this is a place where we still house all of our own artistic companies, sustain all of the major art forms, intimately mix professional training with broader arts education, emphasize education and performance equally, and support artists as treasured members of our community. Such an approach, such an environment, is virtually without parallel. Artists and audience members alike share the deep satisfaction of producing the artist experience.

At a moment when our culture continues to reduce resources for arts education, Chautauqua provides a caring web of support for these students—a superb international faculty, a community where 290 students of art, dance, music, and theater live together, a curriculum steeped in the excellence of the past and alive in the vanguard of the present, and a supportive village filled with the life of the mind and the spirit.

In order to enhance Chautauqua’s leadership in the training of young artists and to sustain the enrichment of those who teach and learn here, we must ensure that our students continue to rank among the best in the world, that the faculty who instructs them is comprised of individuals of outstanding artistic talent, and that the facilities they use are commensurate to their needs. 

Performing & Visual Arts 

The enthralling mix of Chautauqua’s symphony, dance, opera, theater and the visual arts cannot be found anywhere else. Attracting and retaining excellent artistic directors and artist are essential to the future of our instructional and performing arts program.

 

Opera

Founded in 1929, Chautauqua Opera is North America’s oldest continuously operating summer opera company and fourth oldest opera company after the Metropolitan Opera, Cincinnati Opera and San Francisco Opera. Chautauqua Opera offers a season of three operas and one musical or operetta featuring internationally recognized guest artists as well as promising young singers from one Young Artists Program.

 

 

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Dance

The School of Dance under the leadership of Jean-Pierre Bonnefoux has developed a national reputation for excellence and creativity based on the talented faculty and diverse performance opportunities that exist at Chautauqua.

The Chautauqua Ballet Company presents four performances in Chautauqua’s Amphitheater during season, with an average of ten world premieres by guest and resident choreographers.

From performances by young dancers in the student galas to evenings of dance with the Chautauqua Ballet Company and the North Carolina Dance Theatre, the dance program continues to flourish and compete for the finest students and teachers.

 

 

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Theater

In so far as Chautauquans are devoted to lifelong learning, they find themselves attracted to theater and its unequaled capacity to educate as well as entertain. An art form that speaks to the mind and the soul, theater is central to a community that revels in the transforming impact of ideas.

The Chautauqua Conservatory Theater Company is the resident professional theater and conservatory at Chautauqua Institution. Internationally known guest artist actors, directors, designers, writers, and faculty join 18 of the finest emerging actors in America to produce three full productions, two staged readings of new plays, and a host of related events in the newly renovated, award-winning Bratton Theater.

The Conservatory Theater Company provides theater students with a stellar opportunity to develop their craft – not just in acting, but also in set design, staging, and operations – under the guidance of directors, master teachers, and nationally known guest artists.

 

 

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Symphony

The Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra (CSO) is instrumental indeed to the overall Chautauqua experience. With its commitment to a diverse repertoire, the CSO provides a magical atmosphere on warm summer evenings ripe for the pure pleasure and enjoyment of the musical arts.

Professional performances are presented by both resident and guest artists, some of whom are also involved with teaching master classes on the campus. Additionally, performances by young professionals and by the talented students in the School of Music provide another expression of the robust musical climate that is enhanced by the educational environment of Chautauqua. Thus, there develops naturally in this community a creative arts climate in which students discover enhanced study conditions and the audiences find added benefit to their musical experiences.

 

 

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Chamber Music

The philosophy of chamber music at Chautauqua is that it be an ensemble without conductor generally having one musician on a part. This provides a diversity of both instrumental and vocal music from medieval chant to Brahms to jazz to the contemporary music of our time.

The Chautauqua Institution provides a variety of chamber music experiences each season, including the popular Logan Chamber Music Series, in which the audience is treated weekly to a diverse selection of guest ensemble performances.

 

 

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Visual Arts

 The visual arts – the most lasting of human achievements - are honored at Chautauqua for contributing to our access of wisdom, their evocation of context, and their interpretation of meaning. They serve as a visual reminder of the ageless struggle to understand the human condition.

Both the School of Art and the Chautauqua Center for the Visual Arts, whose purpose is to teach and display art respectively, together, embrace these ideas and bring an integrated energy to the visual arts on campus. Our instructional program is varied and serves to educate the entire community from the adult interested in beginning levels of painting or drawing to the highly skilled student ceramist.

 

 

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