Cooperstown Summer Music Festival
to open with free lawn show Aug. 10

The Cooperstown Summer Music Festival will open its 23rd season with a free outdoor community concert featuring the Caroga Arts Ensemble, led by cellist Kyle Price, at 7 p.m., Tuesday, Aug. 10, on the lawn behind the Fenimore Art Museum.

The concert, entitled CSMF Musical Kaleidoscope and sponsored by NBT Bank, will feature a repertoire of bluegrass and classical to jazz and pop in a musical variety show.

“CSMF is thrilled to be partnering with the Caroga Arts Ensemble for our return to the stage,” said Festival Founder and Artistic Director Linda Chesis in a media release. “We wanted our first concert to be a gift to the community so that everyone can experience the joy of music after such a difficult year.”

After a pandemic hiatus in the summer of 2020, festival artists are itching to get back to the stage as well. “The energy and spontaneity that a live audience creates is something that we thrive off of as performers,” said Price, director of the Caroga Arts Ensemble, in the media release. “It inspires us to explore the music in a new way.”

While tickets to this concert had previously been offered in limited quantities, the easing of some health and safety protocols means that this event is now free and open to the public with no tickets required. Patrons may still want to reserve a ticket, as in the event of inclement weather, the concert will be moved across the street to the Louis C. Jones Center at The Farmers’ Museum, and will only be open to ticket holders.