July 31 to August 23, 2025
The 46th season of the Skaneateles Festival starts this week and will run through August 23. The season features concerts from jazz, to classical, to bluegrass, and includes thirteen main series concerts, a special matinee concert in East Syracuse, two KidsFest performances, a musical nature walk at Baltimore Woods, a free music lecture series with Juilliard professor Aaron Wunsch, and several free community performances.
Kicking off the season, the opening concert will be held on Thursday, July 31 at the First Presbyterian Church of Skaneateles. The first concert begins at 7:30 p.m., featuring Baroque ensemble Ruckus, “the world’s only period-instrument rock band,” with up-and-coming violinist Keir GoGwilt and vocalist Fiona Gillespie (San Francisco Classical Voice). The concert will offer a folk-Baroque feast of dance music, featuring works by Corelli, Geminiani, and Neil Gow, as well as a selection of traditional Gaelic songs.
Concert evenings at the picturesque Robinson Pavilion offer stunning lake views and are situated at Anyela’s Vineyards. Opening the first vineyard concert of the season on Friday, August 1 is 19-time Grammy winning banjo player Béla Fleck. The concert, starting at 8 p.m. will also feature harpist Edmar Castañeda and drummer Antonio Sánchez, as Béla debuts his new project, BEATrio. BEATrio has been lauded for its innovative fusion of diverse musical styles. Béla Fleck reflected on the trio’s inception: “This project reminds me of the early days of the Flecktones.” Edmar Castañeda added: “Together, we’ve forged an unforeseen trio, a union that is truly magical.” Tickets are still available in Section B lawn seating and will be available at the door. The rain location for this event is at Auburn Junior High School.
Saturday, August 2 features the largest Skaneateles Festival Orchestra event of the season at Anyela’s Vineyards, with pianist Soyeon Kate Lee, “displayed a stunning command of the keyboard, from the beautifully gauged weighting of her finger strokes to the scrupulous calibration of inner voices and dynamics” (The Washington Post), and up-and-coming conductor Louis Lohraseb. The program, Listen to the Wind, will feature music inspired by Nature and include a selection from Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons, Theofanidis, Chopin, and Mendelssohn. The rain location for this concert will be at Skaneateles High School.
For concerts at the vineyards, audiences are welcome to arrive as early as 6 p.m. and bring picnic dinners to enjoy on the lawn overlooking the lake. Wine and beer will be available for purchase at Anyela’s Vineyards; outside alcohol is not permitted. This season, dinner from the Sherwood Inn or personal charcuterie boards from Good Eats are also available for pre-order ahead of the concerts.
The first week of the Festival also introduces KidsFest on August 1, providing an opportunity to get the whole family involved. Starting at 10 a.m., experience Fiddlesticks! with Ruckus, a shapeshifting, collaborative baroque ensemble with a playful approach to early music, at the First Presbyterian Church of Skaneateles. Kids get free entry and adults may purchase a $5 ticket at the door.
Back again this year are free weekly sessions of Skan Fest U, which will take place on Tuesdays, 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. July 29 through August 19. These sessions are free and open to the public, at the First Presbyterian Church in Skaneateles. Get inside the music, including several Nature-inspired works to be heard on Festival programs this season and learn how your appreciation of Nature might aid your musical understanding. Hear exclusive live performances by Festival artists and mingle with your fellow music enthusiasts and Nature lovers afterward over a glass of wine. These sessions are led by Co-Artistic Director Aaron Wunsch, who teaches at The Juilliard School.
For more information on the season and to get tickets, visit www.skanfest.org.
