Cody Englander
Staff Writer
In lieu of traditional “Meet the Staff” weekly events that existed in past years, Chautauqua Institution introduced a new listening session series for the 2026 Season titled “Conversations with Kyle.” The weekly forum provides an opportunity for Chautauquans to speak with Interim Chief Executive Kyle Keogh at 1 p.m. Mondays in Smith Wilkes Hall.
Last week’s forum — the first of the season — was host to a variety of issues important to Chautauquans. Topics ranged from the newly installed Amphitheater audio system, 3 Taps and the A Truck, suggestions for subsidizing the cost of programming and the quality of Chautauqua Lake’s drinking water.
The first topic of conversation was the new audio system in the Amp, implemented prior to the Summer Season. Community members noted jumbled and indistinguishable audio during both the June 29 morning lecture and the “Wynonna Judd and Melissa Etheridge: Raised On Radio” concert. Most of the audio issues were from inside the bowl of the Amp on the left and right sides.
“As we just put in a very expensive system, we need to make sure it’s fully working,” Keogh said. “… We spent $300,000 designing it, by just understanding the mathematical [components].”
Keogh noted how the audio system will never be perfect, given its daily use in the summer between spoken word, symphony and evening popular entertainment shows. He brought attention to the history of the Amp, originally not intended for unamplified sound. When the Amp was redone prior to the 2017 Summer Season, the design closely followed the original Amp.
“We didn’t take advantage of some of the modern things you could do,” said Keogh. “If you recall that period, it was like a heart transplant.”
The second item of discussion raised by a community member was an issue with the low-dipping outdoor Adirondack chairs at 3 Taps. The community member noted this as especially impacting older attendees. Keogh responded with intent to look into the problem further.
The third issue dealt with a photography class on the grounds. According to the town hall attendee, the A Truck located right outside of 3 Taps prohibits the photography class from getting proper photos of Miller Bell Tower.
“It may be a little hard to do right now,” Keogh said. “… We have a very significant electrical issue down there. As you can imagine, they didn’t run a lot of electricity down there originally.”
The old infrastructure of the area might make moving the A Truck more difficult, though Keogh noted it as an issue to examine.
An idea brought up by a community member at another point also suggested a week underwritten by a billionaire donor in an effort to decrease consumer costs. While Keogh noted that there are some connections to the Ralph Wilson Foundation, it may be difficult.
“You go around to those folks, and unless they’ve been here, it’s sort of hard for them to fully get the place,” Keogh said.
The next major topic of discussion was surrounding the topic of tennis courts, which have seen a decrease in quality, according to a community member. The courts were originally built atop a landfill.
“This is, like, 1900s garbage, but it slowly settles. Unless we structurally redo the tennis courts, the courts will continue to settle,” Keogh said. He did not note this as a pressing issue and called to attention the “multi-$100,000 project” it would cost.
“If that’s one [Chautauquans] think needs to be prioritized, we probably need philanthropy if we want to do something significant down there,”
Keogh said.
The tennis courts’ settling is a small share of structural issues of an institution over 150 years old, Keogh observed. He cited an 80 year old underground fire line as an unexpected issue during the renovations to the Greene Family Commons as a broader issue of old infrastructure within the Institution.
The last prominent topic of discussion was about Chautauqua Lake as a source of drinking water. One of the most pressing issues facing Chautauqua Lake comes from nitrates and phosphorus, chemicals influential to harmful algae blooms. Large storms can cause runoff streams into the lake, carrying nitrates and phosphorus and increasing the likelihood of harmful algae blooms.
Keogh noted looking at Mayville as a potential second source for drinking water, though challenges come with it.
“Right now, you cannot put herbicides a certain distance from Chautauqua Institution, because we get our drinking water from it. If we get a second source, [people] can argue now, ‘No, I can use herbicides because you have a reliable source.’”
However, Mayville isn’t the only possible option.
“We’re also looking at Lake Erie. 10 years ago, you’re like, ‘This thing is in awful shape.’ Now it sort of healed itself,” Keogh said. “There doesn’t appear to be a single answer — there are probably multiple.”
Keogh will hold another session at 1 p.m. today in Smith Wilkes Hall.
