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What is Rites of Spring Music Festival?
Rites of Spring has quickly become the premier classical and contemporary music festival on the North Fork and East End of Long Island. In this sixth edition the festival is devoted to contemporary sounds in a setting that engages the community and invites the listener to participate on many levels. We believe great music works best in a unique environment. We invite you to join us. |
We combine classical and contemporary music with great local food & wine, in historical and natural setting and inspiring talks by artists.
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Support for Rites of Spring Music Festival is fully tax deductible 501(c)(3) |

Letter from the Founder & Artistic Director
2023 Rites of Spring Music Festival – Eighth edition
We are excited to announce a new season of live concerts in unconventional and extraordinary places combining music, nature, and history. We also are confirming our new expanded lineup of music events from May through December 2023 with two-part programming: 2023 RoSMF Spring/Summer Season and 2023 RoSMF Fall/Winter season.
The eighth edition of Rites of Spring Music Festival presents eight concerts this upcoming Spring/Summer season on the North Fork and the East End of Long Island, with an exceptional preview event on April 16th, 2023, at Jamesport Meeting House with a Piano Marathon for two pianos. Ten pianists will perform music masterpieces by Debussy, Ravel, Bernstein, and Stravinsky. Titans of the 20th Century
The festival presents a stronger outlook and approach, aiming to reach and represent more people in the community. The eight months of celebration of music and arts are open and designed for a variety of audiences: people who love classical music, people of different ages who like to experience cultural events in unconventional places. People who belong to different cultures and origins feeling a sense of inclusiveness and belonging to our musical proposals.
INNOVATION, CREATIVITY & COMMUNITY continue to be the core concept of the festival.
We have strengthened our relationship with partners in the area and received financial support from Statewide Community Regrant program of the NYSCA and the Omni Grant from Suffolk County, office of the legislator Al Krupski. For the first time, we also got support from the Robert David Lion Gardiner Foundation to promote music in historical building.
The calendar includes the opening concert Luminous Beauty on May 14th, 2023, presenting two piano quartets by Mozart and Beethoven at Jamesport Meeting House, with Yezu Woo, violin, Michael Davis, viola, Yi Qun Xu, cello and Paolo Bartolani, piano and RoSMF founder.
An exceptional trio Travis Laplante, saxes, Charles Overton, harp improviser, Eduardo Leandro, percussion at Custer Astronomical Observatory will perform on May 27th, 2023, presenting new music and improvisation practice at the highest level and focusing on what is happening today in the global arts world.
The Rite of Spring: the sound of the earth is the fascinating title of the concert on June 24th, 2023, at the Landcraft Garden Foundation evoking the primordial forces of the nature-earth. The festival will celebrate this milestone of the millennium that Igor Stravinsky wrote in 1913 which still has such a powerful influence today. Vassily Primakov & Natalia Lavrova will perform a piano four hands version of The Rite of Spring along with music by Mussorgsky.
Viennese Atmosphere: Mahler, Weill, Korngold present and unusual and original combination of musical instruments - Tom Manuel, trumpet, Gil Goldstein, accordion, Laura Metcalf, cello and Paolo Bartolani, piano - with a program of Viennese composers who combined American musical style and folk / cabaret European songs to celebrate the new world era on July 2nd, 2023.
Music at the Village Green is a new collaboration with the Cutchogue-New Suffolk Historical Council to Celebrate 50 years of Vineyards on the North Fork on July 13th, 2023. Sample the best wine and food of the east end while enjoying a classical music program by Haydn and Mozart with a string trio and oboe. Terry Keevil, oboe; Stephen Gorgone, violin, Dan Martinez, viola, Craig Mehler, cello
Summer Concert & Dine at Borghese Vineyard is a new event that combines classical music and a delicious dinner with wine. It’s an intimate indoor concert featuring the exceptional Ulysses String Quartet performing music by Beethoven, Martynov, and traditional folk songs while the audience are seated at the table. Borghese wine tasting and a dinner will be served at the table during the intermission of the concert at Castello di Borghese Vineyard on July 22nd, 2023.
The final event of the summer season will be the A Rustic Mid-Summer Concert at McCall Vineyard on August 27th , 2023 with two exceptional musicians Arnaud Sussmann, violin and Paul Neubauer, viola with a program with music by Halvorsen, Rolla, Martinu, Mozart, Sibelius.
A Gift of Music
Please consider sending a donation to continue to support our artists and deliver exceptional live music to the North Fork and East End of Long Island. You can donate by PayPal or credit card using the button below or you can mail a check made payable to Rites of Spring Music Fest, PO Box 41, Southold 11971 NY. If you have questions or proposals, feel free to send an email to info@ritesmusic.org. We’d love to hear from you.
Enjoy the music!
Paolo Bartolani
Founder, Artistic & Executive Director
Paolo Bartolani, pianist, Founder and Artistic Director of Rites of Spring Music Festival
Paolo Bartolani is a pianist, musicologist and music manager, working in both classical and contemporary music. He graduated in 1989 from the Santa Cecilia Music Conservatory in Rome (Italy). He studied with Eduardo Hubert, and after graduation, with Charles Rosen, György Sándor and Andor Foldes. He also studied French piano repertoire with Germaine Mounier at the Ecole Normale de Musique in Paris. In 1994, he received his Master in Musicology of the 20th century degree under the direction of Hugues Dufourt at the École des hautes études en sciences sociales in collaboration with IRCAM / Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris. Paolo performs as a soloist and also as a member of chamber ensembles in Europe and United States.
He writes articles for the musicology journals Sonus-Materials for Contemporary Music and Music/Reality. In 2006, he created a Master Degree Program in Cultural Enterprise Administration at the University of Perugia, where he also teaches.
At the Venice Biennale, from 2008 to 2012, Paolo was the General Coordinator of ENPARTS - European Network of Performing Arts, which promotes the creation of new works in dance, music and theater by young artists. From 2009 to 2014 he was the Director of the Résonnance Italy, a nonprofit organization based in Switzerland, where he was responsible for its artistic and humanitarian program, "bringing music to places where it is not heard." The members of the organization – singers, instrumentalists, conductors – have performed more than two hundred concerts in hospitals, nursing homes and prisons in order to promote musical sensibilities and share the joy of music.
He has been the General Coordinator of Music Up Close Network at Santa Cecilia National Academy in Rome. The Network includes seven European orchestras who promote new orchestral works and support a new generation of musicians to connect with young audiences.
He founded the Rites of Spring Music Fest in 2016 to promote classical and contemporary music on the North Fork of Long Island, and to combine music, history and the natural environment. The Festival currently is a non-profit organization 501c3 and he is the Artistic Director and Responsible for developing the Festival’s program.
2023 Rites of Spring Music Festival – Eighth edition
We are excited to announce a new season of live concerts in unconventional and extraordinary places combining music, nature, and history. We also are confirming our new expanded lineup of music events from May through December 2023 with two-part programming: 2023 RoSMF Spring/Summer Season and 2023 RoSMF Fall/Winter season.
The eighth edition of Rites of Spring Music Festival presents eight concerts this upcoming Spring/Summer season on the North Fork and the East End of Long Island, with an exceptional preview event on April 16th, 2023, at Jamesport Meeting House with a Piano Marathon for two pianos. Ten pianists will perform music masterpieces by Debussy, Ravel, Bernstein, and Stravinsky. Titans of the 20th Century
The festival presents a stronger outlook and approach, aiming to reach and represent more people in the community. The eight months of celebration of music and arts are open and designed for a variety of audiences: people who love classical music, people of different ages who like to experience cultural events in unconventional places. People who belong to different cultures and origins feeling a sense of inclusiveness and belonging to our musical proposals.
INNOVATION, CREATIVITY & COMMUNITY continue to be the core concept of the festival.
We have strengthened our relationship with partners in the area and received financial support from Statewide Community Regrant program of the NYSCA and the Omni Grant from Suffolk County, office of the legislator Al Krupski. For the first time, we also got support from the Robert David Lion Gardiner Foundation to promote music in historical building.
The calendar includes the opening concert Luminous Beauty on May 14th, 2023, presenting two piano quartets by Mozart and Beethoven at Jamesport Meeting House, with Yezu Woo, violin, Michael Davis, viola, Yi Qun Xu, cello and Paolo Bartolani, piano and RoSMF founder.
An exceptional trio Travis Laplante, saxes, Charles Overton, harp improviser, Eduardo Leandro, percussion at Custer Astronomical Observatory will perform on May 27th, 2023, presenting new music and improvisation practice at the highest level and focusing on what is happening today in the global arts world.
The Rite of Spring: the sound of the earth is the fascinating title of the concert on June 24th, 2023, at the Landcraft Garden Foundation evoking the primordial forces of the nature-earth. The festival will celebrate this milestone of the millennium that Igor Stravinsky wrote in 1913 which still has such a powerful influence today. Vassily Primakov & Natalia Lavrova will perform a piano four hands version of The Rite of Spring along with music by Mussorgsky.
Viennese Atmosphere: Mahler, Weill, Korngold present and unusual and original combination of musical instruments - Tom Manuel, trumpet, Gil Goldstein, accordion, Laura Metcalf, cello and Paolo Bartolani, piano - with a program of Viennese composers who combined American musical style and folk / cabaret European songs to celebrate the new world era on July 2nd, 2023.
Music at the Village Green is a new collaboration with the Cutchogue-New Suffolk Historical Council to Celebrate 50 years of Vineyards on the North Fork on July 13th, 2023. Sample the best wine and food of the east end while enjoying a classical music program by Haydn and Mozart with a string trio and oboe. Terry Keevil, oboe; Stephen Gorgone, violin, Dan Martinez, viola, Craig Mehler, cello
Summer Concert & Dine at Borghese Vineyard is a new event that combines classical music and a delicious dinner with wine. It’s an intimate indoor concert featuring the exceptional Ulysses String Quartet performing music by Beethoven, Martynov, and traditional folk songs while the audience are seated at the table. Borghese wine tasting and a dinner will be served at the table during the intermission of the concert at Castello di Borghese Vineyard on July 22nd, 2023.
The final event of the summer season will be the A Rustic Mid-Summer Concert at McCall Vineyard on August 27th , 2023 with two exceptional musicians Arnaud Sussmann, violin and Paul Neubauer, viola with a program with music by Halvorsen, Rolla, Martinu, Mozart, Sibelius.
A Gift of Music
Please consider sending a donation to continue to support our artists and deliver exceptional live music to the North Fork and East End of Long Island. You can donate by PayPal or credit card using the button below or you can mail a check made payable to Rites of Spring Music Fest, PO Box 41, Southold 11971 NY. If you have questions or proposals, feel free to send an email to info@ritesmusic.org. We’d love to hear from you.
Enjoy the music!
Paolo Bartolani
Founder, Artistic & Executive Director
Paolo Bartolani, pianist, Founder and Artistic Director of Rites of Spring Music Festival
Paolo Bartolani is a pianist, musicologist and music manager, working in both classical and contemporary music. He graduated in 1989 from the Santa Cecilia Music Conservatory in Rome (Italy). He studied with Eduardo Hubert, and after graduation, with Charles Rosen, György Sándor and Andor Foldes. He also studied French piano repertoire with Germaine Mounier at the Ecole Normale de Musique in Paris. In 1994, he received his Master in Musicology of the 20th century degree under the direction of Hugues Dufourt at the École des hautes études en sciences sociales in collaboration with IRCAM / Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris. Paolo performs as a soloist and also as a member of chamber ensembles in Europe and United States.
He writes articles for the musicology journals Sonus-Materials for Contemporary Music and Music/Reality. In 2006, he created a Master Degree Program in Cultural Enterprise Administration at the University of Perugia, where he also teaches.
At the Venice Biennale, from 2008 to 2012, Paolo was the General Coordinator of ENPARTS - European Network of Performing Arts, which promotes the creation of new works in dance, music and theater by young artists. From 2009 to 2014 he was the Director of the Résonnance Italy, a nonprofit organization based in Switzerland, where he was responsible for its artistic and humanitarian program, "bringing music to places where it is not heard." The members of the organization – singers, instrumentalists, conductors – have performed more than two hundred concerts in hospitals, nursing homes and prisons in order to promote musical sensibilities and share the joy of music.
He has been the General Coordinator of Music Up Close Network at Santa Cecilia National Academy in Rome. The Network includes seven European orchestras who promote new orchestral works and support a new generation of musicians to connect with young audiences.
He founded the Rites of Spring Music Fest in 2016 to promote classical and contemporary music on the North Fork of Long Island, and to combine music, history and the natural environment. The Festival currently is a non-profit organization 501c3 and he is the Artistic Director and Responsible for developing the Festival’s program.
Rites of Spring Music Festival
Vision Statement
The vision of the organization is to involve, enrich and inspire the community and audiences by providing exceptional classical and contemporary music events in unconventional and stunning venues which permit site-specific creative experiences and educational outreach activities combining music, natural landscapes and historic sites.
Music is a vital force for developing a participatory attitude to the arts which in turn leads to a vibrant and progressive community.
To accomplish this the festival will establish and maintain core values of excellence, relationship and relevance that enrich the cultural, economic and social vitality of the community and region.
The vision of the organization is to involve, enrich and inspire the community and audiences by providing exceptional classical and contemporary music events in unconventional and stunning venues which permit site-specific creative experiences and educational outreach activities combining music, natural landscapes and historic sites.
Music is a vital force for developing a participatory attitude to the arts which in turn leads to a vibrant and progressive community.
To accomplish this the festival will establish and maintain core values of excellence, relationship and relevance that enrich the cultural, economic and social vitality of the community and region.
Our Mission
The mission of the Festival is to offer the best young professional musicians as well as international chamber music ensembles and soloists, to provide audiences of all ages, in particular young people, with a stimulating introduction to the performing arts, and to reach out to those with limited opportunities to experience the arts.
The Festival is dedicated to providing accessible and affordable chamber music performances in informal venues. Concert programs are innovative and seek a balance between old and new music. The Festival endeavors to provide an unmatched experience for those who attend. We focus on growing a reputation around the positive, welcoming atmosphere found at large scale festivals.
The Festival’s innovative approach for musicians and audiences is to foster a participatory creative culture through music concerts, interdisciplinary arts programs, experiential learning and volunteer opportunities for all ages, especially young people.
The mission of the Festival is to offer the best young professional musicians as well as international chamber music ensembles and soloists, to provide audiences of all ages, in particular young people, with a stimulating introduction to the performing arts, and to reach out to those with limited opportunities to experience the arts.
The Festival is dedicated to providing accessible and affordable chamber music performances in informal venues. Concert programs are innovative and seek a balance between old and new music. The Festival endeavors to provide an unmatched experience for those who attend. We focus on growing a reputation around the positive, welcoming atmosphere found at large scale festivals.
The Festival’s innovative approach for musicians and audiences is to foster a participatory creative culture through music concerts, interdisciplinary arts programs, experiential learning and volunteer opportunities for all ages, especially young people.
Our Core Values
- We value the opportunity for communities and audiences to discover, explore and appreciate classical music and arts through music events, conversations, music workshops and cultural and educational activities.
- We value the opportunity to participate in music and art programs as a means to bring people together and to encourage creative and personal expression and development.
- We value the ability to maintain outstanding programs which are affordable and accessible to ensure such opportunity.
- We value commitment to quality and programs that focus listeners in new ways offering a new perspective on the interplay between music, art, history, architecture and landscape.
- We value the contribution that young professional talents make to music and art.
- We value collaboration with individuals and organizations that share our goals.
- We value cultural independence and artistic experimentation.
- We value the opportunity for communities and audiences to discover, explore and appreciate classical music and arts through music events, conversations, music workshops and cultural and educational activities.
- We value the opportunity to participate in music and art programs as a means to bring people together and to encourage creative and personal expression and development.
- We value the ability to maintain outstanding programs which are affordable and accessible to ensure such opportunity.
- We value commitment to quality and programs that focus listeners in new ways offering a new perspective on the interplay between music, art, history, architecture and landscape.
- We value the contribution that young professional talents make to music and art.
- We value collaboration with individuals and organizations that share our goals.
- We value cultural independence and artistic experimentation.
Board & Committees
Founder
Paolo Bartolani
Artistic & Executive Director
Paolo Bartolani
Executive Board
Joan Bischoff van Heemskerck - Chairman of the Board
Lauren McCall - Secretary
Giovanni Borghese - Treasurer
Paolo Bartolani - President, Board Member
Marina deConciliis - Board Member
Staff
Steve Benthal - Webmaster
Maria Mullaly – Bookkeeper
Dorothy Desbonnet – CPA Accountant
Larry Moser - AudioVideo service
Development Advisory Committee
Gene Boxer, General Counsel, CoStar
Terrance Nolan, Former General Counsel and Secretary of New York University
Cheryl Feld, entrepreneur, owner of Impulse Boutique
Advisory Artistic Committee
Perry Goldstein, Professor and Chair Department of Music Stony Brook University
Christopher Lyndon – Gee, Music Conductor and Associate professor at Adelphi University
Christopher Cerrone, composer and teacher of electronic music and composition at Yale College
Circle of Friends of Rites of Spring | Music Festival
Geri Armine-Klein
Jonathan Allen
Gene & Fred Andrews
Peter Auer
Stephen Bard
Kathleen Kmet Becker
Joan Bischoff van Heemskerck & Nick Planamento
Miranda Beeson
Gail Galvani Bell
Patricia Bennett
Jan Benzel & Bruce Weber
Carrie Blair
Ben Burns & Betsey Dickerson
Beth Bolander
Gene Boxer & Molly MacDermot
Richard Buckheit
Nancy Chandler
Rick & Eleanor Coffey
Suzanne Collins
Joan Marie Cortez
Debra & George Coritsidis
Nancy Cuccaro
Christina Dibona
Carol Edwards
Larry & Sheila Fay
Cheryl Feld
Fred Friedberg
Alison Guest
Dan Generosa
Peter & Christina Gianopulos
Perry & Dawn Goldstein
Suzy Goodspeed & Ray Anderson
Rainer Gross & Cynthia Cannell
Charmaine Henderson
Christa Hildebrand
Mary Ann Howkins
Steve Kenny & Deborah Lennek
Cristina Illa
Don & Sharmini Jayamaha
Anne Howard & Morton Cogen
Denise Kalland
Nate & Mary Motto Kalich
Steve Kenny & Deborah Lennek
Patricia Kovatch
Meryl Kramer
Nyla Lamm
Laurie Lauterbach
Lois Leonard
Daniel L. Levin & Vicky Ellner
Alfred Levitt
Marianne Lindberg
Patricia Loyd
Christopher Magyar
Deborah Martinez
Brooks MCEWEN
Jonathan McCann
Mary Byrne McDonnell & John McAuliff
Anne McElroy
Kayla Mendelsohn
George Moravek
Tom and Mary Morgan
Lauren McCall & Robert Pearre
Donna Miness
Thomas Morgan
Helen Munson
John Munzel
Jan Nicholson
Lisa Nikolaides
Terrance Nolan
Lynne Normandia
David Renner
Debra Riva
Patsy Rogers
Lisa Roselli
Michelle Roussan
Viola Rouhani
Linda Rothbaum
Carolyn Schultheis
Sheila Scharfman
Jeffrey Schwartz & Jean Calender
Robin Simmen
Thomas Sirmons
Martin Soja
Karl and Aurora Szekielda
Arnold Stern and Roeliena VanZanten
Leslie Thompson
Elizabeth Thompson & Mimi Fahs
Michael Tillman
Nancy & Robert Stellato
Marilyn Stern
Dennis & Bill Schrader
Matko Tomicic
Donna Vallone
Mary Miranda Wade (Randy)
David & Noreen Warren
William White White
John & Beth Wittenberg
Deborah & Steven Wick
Richard & Nancy Wines
Concerts
13 |
2022 year
Attendees
1300 |
Locations
13 |
Contact Us
Rites of Spring Music Festival, Inc. is a 501(c)3 non-profit.
Tax identification number 82-3695345 . Donations may be mailed to the Festival’s address or made online through PayPal and are fully tax deductible. Email:
info@ritesmusic.org Address: Rites of Spring Music Festival, Inc. P.O. Box 41, Southold, NY 11971 |
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