Piano Performance Museum

The Piano Performance Museum, featuring the Steven E. Greenstein collection of historic playable pianos from the 18th to 20th centuries, is hands-on resource for the rediscovery of the piano in music and social history. Take a walk through the museum with Kenneth Hamrick, Artistic Director, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dY2uzBKtRfQ.

Piano Performance Museum Festival

In 2012 we launched our new Piano Performance Museum Festival led by Artistic Director Kenneth Hamrick, featuring performances using our extraordinary collection of playable historic pianos. Throughout July and August, the festival was joined by many young music students who participated in several educational residencies in violin, cello, and piano.
The Piano Performance Museum Festival entered into an educational partnership agreement with Steinway and Sons, making Steinway and Sons the official piano of all of our educational programs. We are grateful to Steinway and Sons for providing us with their spectacular pianos for all of our educational programs.

Manhattan in the Mountains

Manhattan in the Mountains (http://www.manhattaninthemountains.com) is a summer music festival dedicated to music education in strings, piano, and music history and to cultural enrichment in the community. During the two weeks of the inaugural season, August 5-19, 2012, 25 aspiring musicians, ages 10-25, studied with distinguished faculty from the Manhattan School of Music, while experiencing the natural beauty of the Catskill Region. While honing their musical skills, these musicians participated in outreach activities to the community bringing their music directly to the community.

Amati Music Festival

The Amati Music Festival (http://amatimusicfestival.webplus.net/index.html), another two week summer music school for young virtuoso students ... but in this case many of the students are from China, returned for two weeks this summer, and we were treated to performances by both faculty and students.

Catskill High Peaks Festival

The Catskill High Peaks Festival, (http://www.catskillhighpeaksfestival.org) led by Artistic Director Yehuda Hanani, includes an educational residency in cello and piano with over 20 emerging artists in residence for a week, and two spectacular concerts in 2012, Fascinatin' Rhythm at the Orpheum and Classical Hollywood at the Doctorow Center.

Catskill Jazz Factory

The Catskill Jazz Factory (http://www.catskilljazzfactory.org) led by Artistic Director Aaron Diehl (http://www.aarondiehl.com) was in residence at the Orpheum for one week in 2012. The one week residency ended with a standing room only performance. There are ambitious plans for this program to grow in the years ahead.

National Dance Institute Mountaintop Residency

The National Dance Institute (http://www.nationaldance.org) has led a 2 week residency on the Mountaintop since 2007, teaching their special dance technique to local children ages 9-13. The program continues to expand each year since its move to the Orpheum in 2011. This immensely popular program is heavily subsidized for all full-time students in Greene County.

Hunter Elementary School Summer Arts Enrichment Program

Over 3 weeks in July, under the direction of Kenneth Hamrick, the Catskill Mountain Foundation worked with the Hunter Elementary School as part of their Arts Enrichment Summer Program, bringing professional artists to work with the young students in exercises in dance movement, in collaboration with Cherylyn Lavagnino Dance (http://www.cherylynlavagnino-dance.com) from NYC, in elaborate mask making with choreographer Carlos Fittante (http://balamdance.org/cf.php), and history and culture as demonstrated through the historic pianos as part of their visit to the Piano Performance Museum.

Orchard Project

The theater consortium known as the Orchard Project(http://www.exchangenyc.org/content/orchard-project) returned in 2012 for its fifth year at our facilities for the month of June, hosting over 100 theater professionals from 15 different theater companies from around the world.

Natural Agriculture Farm and Farm Fellows Program

In our sustainable living program, we host students from around the U.S. as part of our Natural Agriculture Farm Fellowship program (http://www.catskillmtn.org/natural-agriculture/internships.html). Students come to work on our farm at Sugar Maples for two weeks or longer from April through September each year.

Performance and Film Program

We have presented over 100 films, and many other performances not included in the programs listed above, such as the fabulous political satire group, The Capitol Steps, the extraordinary Early Music NY, and the Windham Chamber Festival Orchestra led by Conductor Robert Manno.

Kaaterskill Fine Arts Gallery and Village Square Bookstore & Literary Arts Center

The gallery presents exhibitions of fine art and crafts featuring works by artists with ties to the region plus works by artists from outside the region. The Village Bookstore has one of the largest offerings of books related to the Catskill area and mountain regions around the world, and offers literary explorations by regional and nationally known authors, author book signings and storytelling.

Catskill Mountain Region Guide Magazine

The CMF publishes the monthly Guide Magazine which covers the arts and culture of our Catskill Region and is distributed in Greene, Ulster, and Delaware counties and at rest stops along the NY Thruway.

Windham Chapter

The Windham Chapter is a division of the Catskill Mountain Foundation. Its mission is to enhance the quality of life for the people who live, work and visit Windham and the surrounding Mountain Top communities.

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