Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts, a vibrant cultural destination nestled on 81 acres of historic gardens and woodlands in Katonah, NY, celebrates the season in December with An Amarcord Christmas as part of the intimate Rosen House Concert Series on Sunday, December 7 at 3pm, plus Holiday Rosen House Tours running from December 10 to 21 at 12:30pm and 1pm (by advance ticket purchase only), and Holiday Tea Musicales from December 10 to 21 (currently sold out). Additionally, from December 10 to 21, 2025 Caramoor’s Summer Dining Room is transformed into a Holiday Gift Shop, which includes locally made artisan goods, and on Saturday, December 13 at 10:30am, Caramoor will offer a Gingerbread Decorating Class for families, in collaboration with Feeding Young Foodies. Once the estate of music and art lovers Walter and Lucie Rosen, Caramoor is one of the region’s most distinctive destinations for live performance, cultural engagement, and exploration. The estate’s gardens and grounds are also open year round to visitors, free of charge, for picnicking and walking daily from 10am to 4pm.
An Amarcord Christmas, featuring the acclaimed vocal quintet Amarcord from Leipzig, Germany, in a festive program showcasing their remarkable blend and dynamic range. The ensemble, founded in 1992 by former members of St. Thomas’s Boys Choir, presents a rich selection of holiday music drawn from across centuries—from medieval and Renaissance gems to contemporary choral works. The program includes traditional carols like Gustav Holst’s In the Bleak Midwinter and God Rest You Merry, Gentlemen, alongside music by Michael Praetorius, Orlando di Lasso, Cornelius Freundt, and more. Known for their masterful interpretations and vocal range spanning an entire orchestra, the five singers bring technical precision and deep emotional resonance to every performance, their voices intertwining with effortless beauty, creating a sound that is at once powerful and ethereal.
The art-filled Rosen House is decked out for the holidays with enchanting decorations inspired by the cherished Rosen family archive. The House offers a number of treasures, including complete 18th-century rooms, originally from private villas and chateaux in Italy, France, and England. The Burgundian Library is a French 17th-century, paneled room with a brilliant blue groin-vaulted ceiling. An exquisite 16th-century painted Spanish ceiling resides in an alcove off the Music Room. The Formal Dining Room features doors thought to have been designed by Giovanni Battista Tiepolo (1695-1770), made for a Venetian palace, along with turquoise Chinese export wallpaper featuring birds perched in flowering trees. The Music Room includes Renaissance furniture and architectural elements such as the intricately carved coffered ceiling from a house in Lecce, Italy; a pair of pink marble twisted columns from Verona, once in the collection of William Randolph Hearst; and a magnificent Franco-Flemish tapestry titled “The Holy Family.” With the holiday decor enhancing these extraordinary rooms, Caramoor’s Holiday Rosen House Tours offer a unique seasonal experience steeped in art, history, and beauty.
Holiday Tea Musicales (by reservation only), featuring tea service in the Music Room and seasonal performances, including alumni of Caramoor’s Schwab Vocal Rising Stars program Sophia Baete (mezzo-soprano) and Francesco Barfoed (piano), Kate Morton (mezzo-soprano) with Michele Wong (piano), and Joseph Parrish (baritone), as well as jazz vocalists Kimberly Hawkey with pianist Peter Yarin and Mimi Hilaire with pianist Matt Podd. These popular events are already sold out; the Caramoor website will be updated with availability.
The Gingerbread Decorating Class is in collaboration with Feeding Young Foodies. Perfect for children ages 4 and up (accompanied by an adult), this cozy, hands-on class offers a creative morning of holiday magic as participants bring their own candy cottages to life while sipping warm hot chocolate. Before the class begins, families can stroll through the Rosen House to gather inspiration from its holiday decor. Each child will take home their own decorated gingerbread house and gingerbread friend, wrapped and ready to display (or eat!). All materials are included: pre-baked gingerbread house pieces, icing bags, candies, and packaging.
