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Caramoor History

Explore how Walter and Lucie Rosen created Caramoor as a home for family, friends, music, and art.

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1875–1917

The Rosen Family Begins

1875: Walter Tower Rosen is born in Berlin, Germany.
1890: Lucie Bigelow Dodge is born in Bernardsville, New Jersey.
1914–1917: Walter and Lucie marry; their children, Young Walter (1915) and Anne (1917), are born.
The Rosens purchase the Caramoor estate in Katonah, New York. Lucie encounters the theremin; she becomes a patron of inventor Leon Theremin and a concert performer.
1931: Initial estate construction completed (Italian Pavilion, farm buildings).
1937–1939: Renovations transform the Rosen House into a family residence with the Music Room at its heart
1940s: The Rosens host wartime benefit concerts.
1945–1946: The Rosens establish their foundation and inaugurate the first Caramoor Festival.
1944: Young Walter, an RCAF Flying Officer, dies from injuries after a military plane crash.
1966: American premiere of Britten’s Curlew River at Caramoor.
1958: Marian Anderson performs at Venetian Theater’s opening
1951: Walter Tower Rosen dies; Lucie vows to continue the concerts.
1968: Lucie Rosen dies; daughter Anne Stern expands programming and formalized house tours.
1979: St. Luke’s Chamber Ensemble becomes Orchestra-in-Residence.
1974: New Wing added to the Rosen House.
1983: Art lectures introduced in the Music Room.
1994: First Caramoor Jazz Festival.
1999: First Ernst Stiefel String Quartet-in-Residence.
1997: Bel Canto at Caramoor begins 20 celebrated seasons.
1992: Sir André Previn launches the Rising Stars program.
2009: Schwab Vocal Rising Stars program begins.
2011: First American Roots Music Festival.
2014: Sound art installations premiere (now Sonic Innovations).
2015: Collaboration with Jazz at Lincoln Center begins.
2019: Major restoration of the Rosen House Music Room begins.
2021: Trimpin’s sound sculpture “in C” installed.
2021: Friends Field stage and grounds revitalization completed.
2024: Focus Tours launch in the Rosen House.
2025: Caramoor celebrates its 80th Summer Season with Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9, performed by Orchestra of St. Luke’s.

Our Story - Caramoor History