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The multi-sensory Rites of Spring concert series returns with eight performances running from Sunday, April 30 through Saturday,  June 10.
​Castello di Borghese, the North Fork’s first vineyard, hosts first on Sunday, April 30 at 5 pm, a solo piano performance on a Steinway & Sons piano. Tickets include Borghese wine paired with North Fork Chocolates created specifically for this event. The red wine will be paired with a peppery dark chocolate infused with Borghese’s famous pinot noir and the white will be paired with a honey milk chocolate made with Borghese honey. The piano program features classic composers like Bach and the contemporary John Adams.
The historic Jamesport Meeting House hosts next, on Friday, May 12 at 7 pm.  The “Memory Palace Concert” explores the intersection of music and memory with the music of the “rising star” composer Chris Cerrone. Come early (6:30 pm) for a pre-Concert conversation with Cerrone and musician Ian Rosenbaum. The after concert reception features wine from Laurel Lake Vineyards.
Saturday, May 13 at 5 pm the series returns to Borghese Vineyards for another piano concert on a Steinway, this one by virtuoso Niccolò Ronchi. A gift to the community, this concert is free. After-concert reception by the North Fork Chocolate Company and Borghese Vineyards.
The Hamptons come to the North Fork in the next installment, a ‘Rising Stars Piano Recital & Cocktail Sampling’ at Peconic Bay Yacht Club Sunday, May 21 at 5 pm. Three pianists from PianoFest in the Hamptons play a virtuoso music program, while ticket holders enjoy pre- and post-concert cocktails and chocolates at the stunning waterside venue.
Sunday of Memorial Day Weekend (May 28) the Classical Music & Historic House Tour starts at 1 pm, featuring the Arcanum String Quartet and hosted by the Oysterponds, Stirling and Southold Historical Societies. The Arcanum String Quartet performs Death and the Maiden by Franz Schubert in four parts, each in a different historic house. At 3:45 pm, before the final concert, ticket holders enjoy a cheese and chocolate reception with Laurel Lake Vineyards and North Fork Chocolate Company.
The oldest public observatory on Long Island, the Custer Institute, hosts the concert on Saturday, June 3 at 7 pm: Thought Experiments Under the Stars by Brian Smith & the Hidden City Orchestra. Pre-concert, enjoy a conversation Justine Haupt, astroengineer and George Cork Maul, composer (6:30 pm); post-concert stargaze and enjoy an after-concert reception by North Fork Chocolate Company and Laurel Lake Vineyards.
The very next evening at 5 pm head to the Quogue Wildlife Refuge for the original Quogue Nocturne by Cliff Baldwin & the Aquebogue Contemporary Music Ensemble. Pre-concert (4:30 pm) meet live owls and enjoy a conversation with East End Naturalists and the Composer. An after-Concert Wild Food Reception features refreshments from Early Girl Farm and Laurel Lake Vineyards.
Rites of Spring II concludes Saturday, June 10 at 7 pm with the Opera Night Concert at Laurel Lake Vineyards by Masha Carrera & Paolo Bartolani. Soprano Masha Carrera returns for a mesmerizing performance of Mediterranean Lyrical Songs. Ticketholders also enjoy Mediterranean Table Food and Wine–assortments of delicious antipasti, hors d’oeuvres, traditional sweets and one glass of wine–in collaboration with Laurel Lake Vineyards and North Fork Chocolate Company.

A concert series focused on beautiful music enhanced by scenic settings is returning to the East End.
The Rites of Spring Music Festival features classical and contemporary musical concerts complemented by the beauty and history of their natural settings. Wine and food tastings will be provided at the events.
“The idea is to offer a multi-sensory experience,” said pianist and event organizer Paolo Bartolani. “To enjoy classical music, but in a different way.”
Bartolani moved to Southold from Rome in 2014, bringing with him decades of experience organizing international performing arts projects. He is currently artistic project manager in international relations for the Italian institution Santa Cecilia Music Academy.
Now in its second season, the Rites of Spring series has doubled the number of concerts from four to eight and now includes one South Fork locale.
“The concept is always the same,” Bartolani explained. “To enjoy classical contemporary music in informal venues and to combine music with the environment and historic sites.”
Of note this year is an event titled “Thought Experiments Under the Stars,” set for Saturday, June 3, at the Custer Institute in Southold. It will include a pre-concert conversation with astro-engineer Justine Haupt and composer George Cork Maul followed by a real-time composition by The Hidden City Orchestra, along with wine from Laurel Lake Vineyards and treats from North Fork Chocolate Company.
Also new this year is “Quogue Nocturne,” a concert performed at the Quogue Wildlife Refuge that will incorporate pre-recorded animals sounds captured at that location. Live owls will be on hand and Cliff Baldwin and the ACME Ensemble will perform. Early Girl Farm in East Moriches will provide light bites of foraged food.
“We’ll talk about the owls and how incredible they are. Then we’ll talk about music,” Baldwin said. “Then the musicians will join me after.”
The event will feature young musicians from Stony Brook University as well as international guests. Organizers are also partnering with PianoFest in the Hamptons, which will provide pianists for a recital at Peconic Bay Yacht Club in Southold on May 21.
Other venues include the Jamesport Meeting House, various locations along the Oysterponds, Stirling and Southold Historical Society’s joint house tour and Laurel Lake Vineyards.
Times Review Media Group is an event sponsor, along with lead sponsor Bridgehampton National Bank.
The festival kicks off this Sunday, April 30, with a solo concert by Bartolani at Castello di Borghese Vineyard in Cutchogue at 5 p.m., featuring selections by Johann Sebastian Bach, Ludwig von Beethoven, John Adams and Claude Debussy. That recital is free, although there will be a fee to attend the other events.