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“A Composer’s Sanctuary” The Wall Street Journal By CORINNADA FONSECA-WOLLHEIM
“Concerto in a Cow Barn” The New York Times By KATHRYN SHATTUCK
Historic Merestead estate re-born with composer residencies, performances, and educational programs. Opening weekend of events on September 11-13
White Plains, NY, August 11, 2009 — Westchester County and Copland House will establish an innovative creative center for American music and the arts at the historic Merestead estate in Mount Kisco, Westchester County Executive Andy Spano and Copland House President Lawrence Faltz announced today. Uniting Copland House’s programming and administrative expertise with Merestead’s considerable architectural and physical resources will bring this magnificent property back to life.
“We couldn’t have envisioned a more perfect fit for Merestead than a prestigious music and arts center affiliated with Copland House,’’ said County Executive Spano.“ Westchester residents will benefit from the gifted musicians and artists who come here from all over the U.S. to create and perform, and who will share their work with the community in various programs. And through technology, the artists-in-residence program can circulate to students, other artists, and music lovers across the nation. The arts are essential to the vitality of Westchester, and making this a world-class place to live and work. Having such a unique cultural institution in our midst will attract national attention and enhance Westchester’s already-strong reputation for artistic leadership.”
Copland House Artistic and Executive Director Michael Boriskin noted, “this initiative by the County Executive will enable us to realize the sweeping vision of the estate’s former owners, Dr. and Mrs. Robert Patterson, of Merestead as a vital cultural and educational center.” President Faltz added, “this extraordinary agreement allows us to retain a large parcel of open land, preserve one of Westchester’s last great country estates, and create a singular institution that nurtures American music and the arts – and make all of this accessible to the public.”
The Pattersons gave Merestead and its 130 acres to the people of Westchester in 1982, “so that present and future generations of the public will be able to use, see, and enjoy it.” A trust fund they left will help cover a portion of the costs of maintenance, conservation, and operation, and will be supplemented by individual, corporate, foundation, and other funds.
“This is a unique opportunity for the county,” said Board of Legislators Chairman Bill Ryan. “Copland House at Merestead will be a tremendous addition to Westchester’s thriving array of cultural institutions. I’m sure it will prove to be a prominent American music and art venue.”
As at Copland House, some of America’s most gifted composers will be invited to Merestead for short-term residencies, where they can focus on their creative work without interruption in inspiring surroundings. Copland House at Merestead will also offer composers working on larger-scale opera, theater, and dance projects the opportunity to assemble their creative partners for collaborative residencies. They will work in the existing farm buildings, which will be discreetly adapted as simple artist studios. Merestead’s large cow barn will serve as a workspace and showcase for artistic creativity. While retaining its architectural integrity and character, the barn will become a state-of-the-art distance learning, recording, webcasting, and performance venue with the capability to transmit Merestead programs globally and to receive the work of leading cultural figures from around the world.
County Legislator Peter Harckham, representing Merestead’s district, said, “This is an excellent example of the value of public-private partnerships during difficult financial times. The Merestead-Copland House collaboration will leverage a public facility with private funding to create a cultural gem in the heart of northern Westchester.”
While at Merestead, these artists will also serve as valuable cultural resources, undertaking educational and community activities around the County. Copland House at Merestead will periodically offer the public an “inside look” at the creative process through a limited number of performances. House tours will continue to be offered by appointment, and the property’s trails will remain open to the public.
The estate’s new life will be launched with a celebratory weekend from September 11 to 13. An opening night patrons’ concert and reception on Friday evening, the 11th, features the internationally-acclaimed Music from Copland House ensemble. On Saturday, the 12th, a treasure hunt and musical performance at 11AM for children and families will be followed by a curator-led house tour in the afternoon. On Sunday afternoon, the 13th, Music from Copland House returns with a concert journeying across 100 years of American music, dating from the time Merestead was built in 1906-07 to the present.
Other concerts and events in Copland House at Merestead’s 2009-10 season will bring to Westchester Oscar, Grammy, and Pulitzer Prize-winning composer John Corigliano, multi-Grammy-winning country fiddling sensation Mark O’Connor, New Yorker music critic, MacArthur Foundation Fellow, National Book Critics Circle Award-winning author Alex Ross, and other musical luminaries.
Copland’s restored, longtime home in Cortlandt Manor, less than 30 minutes away, will continue to exist as Copland House’s organizational headquarters, and the site for its coveted composer residencies, musical and educational programs, and House tours. Recognized as a sensitive steward with a proven ability to balance public and private needs, Copland House was recently designated a National Historic Landmark, becoming one of less than 2,500 places in America so honored, and the only site directly associated with a concert music figure. This important agreement extends Copland House’s program capacity and ability to champion even more extensively America’s rich musical legacy.
FAST FACTS
MERESTEAD
Merestead, which means “farmland” in Scottish, was designed and built in 1906-07 by the famed architectural firm of Delano & Aldrich as the country home of William Sloane, President of the W & J Sloane Furniture Company, and his wife, Frances Crocker Sloane. Tucked away in the hills overlooking the Byram Lake Reservoir and surrounding valley around the border of Mount Kisco and Bedford in northern Westchester County, the 130-acre estate includes a 26-room Georgian Revival mansion, a carriage house, farm buildings, gardens, and over two miles of trails. The property was bequeathed to the county in 1982 by Sloane’s daughter, Mrs. Margaret Sloane Patterson, and her husband, Dr. Robert L. Patterson, Jr., a prominent New York City orthopedic surgeon. They envisioned that Merestead would be used for “conservation, educational, cultural, intellectual, historical, and recreational purposes.” Upon Mrs. Patterson’s death in 2000, the County took possession of the property, which is now a county park.
COPLAND HOUSE
Recently declared a National Historic Landmark, Copland House is the only composer’s home in the U.S. devoted to nurturing and renewing America’s rich musical heritage through a broad range of activities. These include a coveted composer residency program; an acclaimed, touring resident chamber ensemble called Music from Copland House; in-school activities for students from 2nd grade through college; on-site tours; recordings, broadcasts, and Internet projects; and lectures, master classes, workshops, exhibits, film screenings, and other presentations. The hilltop, prairie-style 1940s home was Copland’s residence for the last thirty years of his life, from 1960 to 1990. The successful effort to preserve Copland’s home and honor his extraordinary musical and personal legacies began soon after his death with a genuine grassroots coalition of local citizens and Cortlandt Town officials. The house became operational as a creative center for American music in Fall 1998. As the American Record Guide noted in 2002, “Copland’s generosity, gentleness, and a sense of measure live on at Copland House.” A 501(c)3, not-for-profit organization, all programs are supported by the nationwide Friends of Copland House. Copland House is open to the public by appointment only.
COPLAND HOUSE AT MERESTEAD, 2009-2010 SEASON
ALL PERFORMANCES BY MUSIC FROM COPLAND HOUSE AND GUEST ARTISTS
Opening Night Patrons Celebration
Friday, September 11, 7.30PM – Concert: A New World Salon
Music by Aaron Copland and John Corigliano
Saturday, September 12, 11AM – Family Program: Cows in the Parlor, Dragons in the Dining Room
A Children’s Treasure Hunt, led by Merestead Curator Virginia Carnes, followed by a musical performance of Irving Fine’s Childhood Fables for Grown-Ups
(best for ages 6 – 10)
Sunday, September 13, 3PM – Concert: From the Salon to the Concert Hall to the Cabaret
100 years of American works by Aaron Copland, Amy Beach, and Paul Schoenfield
Sunday, October 4, 3PM – Concert: An Appetite for Music
Food-inspired music by Aaron Jay Kernis and Richard Danielpour
Featuring Fred Child, PBS-TV’s voice of Live from Lincoln Center
Sunday, November 1, 3PM – Performance & Discussion: The Composer’s Hour with Mark O’Connor
Q&A with composer and multi-Grammy Award-winning country-fiddle sensation exploring the creative process, with an MCH performance of his piano trio Poets and Prophets, inspired by Johnny Cash
Sunday, December 6, 3PM – Performance & Discussion: Off the Record with Alex Ross
Q&A with The New Yorker music critic, MacArthur Fellow, and best-selling author of The Rest is Noise exploring the music of our time, with an MCH performance of music by Aaron Copland
Sunday, March 7, 3PM – Family Program: Flight to Freedom – The Story of Margaret Garner
Highlights with narration of the acclaimed new opera by Toni Morrison and Richard Danielpour,
about an infamous Civil War-era fugitive slave story (best for ages 9 – 14)
Sunday, March 21, 3PM – Performance & Discussion: The Composer’s Hour with John Corigliano
Q&A with the Grammy, Oscar, and Pulitzer Prize-winning composer exploring the creative process,
with an MCH performance of his Mr. Tambourine Man, on lyrics by Bob Dylan
Sunday, April 25, 3PM – Concert: The Dot and the Line
A performance of Norton Juster’s beloved “romance in lower mathematics,” with music by Robert X. Rodriguez … plus other music “from a different angle.”
Sunday, May 23, 3PM – Concert: Nature’s Music
Works inspired by the sounds and creations of nature, by Aaron Copland, Lukas Foss, Derek Bermel, Sebastian Currier, and Allen Shearer
Copland House at Merestead, 455 Byram Lake Road, Mount Kisco.
Meet-the-artists wine-and-cheese receptions after each event.
General admission tickets are $25, MORE info at 788-4659 or www.coplandhouse.org .