Arts center leader Fox looks back, and forward

By JEFF MORRIS 

Gillian Fox GABE PALACIO PHOTO

A year into what she intends to be a long tenure as CEO of Caramoor, Gillian Fox spoke with The Recorder about successes, what’s coming — and some lingering frustrations.

“It doesn't seem like it’s a whole year,” Fox said. “It has flown and simultaneously feels like I’ve been here forever; a very, very fun phenomenon.”

The fun has been in experiencing “what a tremendously magical, one-of-a-kind place Caramoor is — and that extends to the community here. And that includes the board and the staff, but especially all of our guests, and it makes coming to work every day such a pleasure.”

The challenge, and frustration, has been in combatting continued misperceptions about Caramoor — which she acknowledges remain in the community, despite redoubled efforts to spread awareness.

“It’s frustrating to know there are many people who still haven’t been here in over 10 years, or whose perceptions of Caramoor date back to what it used to be like in the ’90s or in the early 2000s. Their understanding of Caramoor is not as updated or relevant today. And so that presents a challenge, right?”

Fox says she really wants people to know the ways in which Caramoor is great for families, and is shouting it from the rooftops. “It’s frustrating to hear how many people still think that we only offer classical music — when classical music represents between 55 and 60% of our programming, which is significant, but there’s so much diversity of programming within that bucket.”

It’s when she starts to riff on what Caramoor has to offer that Fox really gets rolling and her enthusiasm takes over. 

“We do so much incredible jazz and American roots and Broadway and we’re bringing back Dancing at Dusk this summer, and there’s so much opportunity for people to just explore and discover music that they might not have known that they would enjoy so much …”

She is particularly excited about some of the upcoming shows at the beginning of Caramoor’s new season. 

“In the second week, on Thursday, June 25, we’ve got pianist Hélène Grimaud,” she said. “Hélène’s been here before. She’s actually a local resident, and the program that she is performing here, I heard her perform when I worked in Newport. So it's a really nice kind of full circle moment, and I know that that’s going to be just a total crowd pleaser.” 

But Fox says it’s actually Isaac Mizrahi the next night, Friday, June 26, who she’s the most excited about.

“I heard him perform in New York City a couple of years ago and it was one of the most surprising shows, because he’s actually a fabulous singer,” she said. “And his storytelling! He’s so, so funny, and I think this is just one of those great unexpected evenings that I’m really hoping people come out for. Because if you haven’t been coming to Caramoor because you think, oh, they only do classical — this is a great example of why that’s not true.”

Sunday, June 28, is the Knights and Conrad Tao. “The Knights have been a mainstay staple here,” Fox said. “They’re coming with Conrad Tao and performing Gershwin’s ‘Rhapsody in Blue,’ which is part of our kind of America 250 celebration,” Fox said.

The first Dancing at Dusk will kick off July 8, with WindSync playing “Peter and the Wolf.” “This is another one that I feel really strongly about introducing our little kiddos to classical music,” Fox said.

Need for continued support

Fox said Caramoor has been supported “for almost its entire lifetime through the generosity of the community here.” She noted ticket sales barely scratch the surface of what it takes to operate an 81-acre estate and woodland gardens property. “And so we absolutely need to look at how to grow our operating budget such that we can continue to maintain and preserve this incredible place.” She said in order to do that, they have to grow their revenue streams. “Historically the giving has been a small, incredibly generous, dedicated group. To be able to extend that further into the community is I think our biggest opportunity to increase our revenue and to be able to continue to deliver more programs to everybody.”

Efforts continue to work interactively with local schools. “Right now we do have our student strings program, which got us a mention in the New York Times. They went into about 12 schools in the fall and again in the spring, engaging with about a thousand children in our public school system. That has been incredibly meaningful, and we’re right now looking at ways that we can further expand our learning opportunities.”

Fox says they’re finding ways to partner, not only with schools, but also with other nonprofits in the community. “I truly believe that working together, we can all be able to take advantage of each other’s strengths.”

She says Caramoor’s value proposition is incredibly strong, and it doesn’t compete with other music presenters. “People aren’t just coming here because of what we’re putting on our stages, it’s the experience of what it feels like to come to a concert at Caramoor. It’s being surrounded by nature; it’s that even our biggest concerts are still incredibly intimate.”

Fox thinks their biggest competition is everyday life. “We’re encouraging people to take the time out of their day to reconnect with the arts and culture, to reconnect with their families and the community at large, and kind of slow down a little bit.”

Caramoor is located at 149 Girdle Ridge Road, Katonah. Visit caramoor.org for more information.