Letter From the President
Dear All,
It seems like only yesterday that we issued our last newsletter just as the hillside was bursting into life and here we are already in the full throes of mid-summer! So much has happened, and yet, there is so much more to come.
Early summer thunderstorms informed us that the roof of the Guggenheim Pavilion had reached the end of its natural life. Congratulations to Jason MacCormack and his team for overseeing the installation of a brand new roof without interruption to any of our events in the main building.
We were delighted as ever to welcome back the families and friends of our founder, Bill Carey, for the 4th of July weekend. I hope you all enjoyed the fabulous firework display. We are extremely grateful to Bill’s nephew, Pen Pendleton, for maintaining this wonderful tradition, as well as the connection between Bill’s family, the Institute and the Rensselaerville community.
At the end of July we welcomed back our friends from the Mountain Music Project and were treated yet again to a wonderfully eclectic and entertaining fusion of Appalachian and Himalayan music. Continuing our theme of connecting global arts and cultures, we were thrilled to have some of the finest young classical musicians from all around the world for the 7th Annual Catskill High Peaks Festival. Nearly two weeks of lectures, masterclasses, moonlight sonatas and concerts filled our campus with some of the best classical music in the world. We’re thrilled that this summer marked another successful year for the festival.
There are two important dates in September to mark on your calendars. We will be hosting the Rensselaerville Ride, a festival of cycling and lots of other good things on September 16th and 17th. On September the 18th we’ll be glued to our televisions for the Emmy Awards. Not only is Nonfiction program director Tom Jennings nominated for two awards for his work on “Being Mortal” and “American Experience: Walt Disney,” our nonfiction advisory board members Raney Aronson-Rath, Sheri Fink and Robert Rosenthal are also nominated for various awards. We look forward to finding out which of them pick up awards and are proud that all of them are involved with our Nonfiction Program.
Finally, I am pleased to announce that Rachael Maddock-Hughes has joined the team as our new Director of Strategic Partnerships. Rachael comes to us with a wealth of fund development and partnership strategy experience from her previous role in the same position at World Pulse. Welcome to the team, Rachael!
I hope you will continue to enjoy a summer of global good with us.
Until next time,
Gareth