Pianofest Is Back
The 36th season of Pianofest in the Hamptons, five weeks of intimate piano recitals, will launch on Monday at 5 p.m. at the Southampton Cultural Center. This year’s season features 22 young artists from around the globe.
Directed by Paul Schenly, Pianofest, which provides its students with full scholarships and room and board, stresses an ethic of support rather than competition. In addition to emphasizing the solo repertoire, students accompany each other in concertos and explore the duo piano literature.
All Southampton concerts will be held at the Southampton Cultural Center on Mondays at 5 p.m. through July 29. Concerts will also take place at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in East Hampton on June 27, July 3, and July 25, all at 5:30. The Westhampton Beach Performing Arts Center will host a recital on June 27 at 7 p.m. Post-concert receptions follow all performances.
Tickets to individual programs are $32, except for the Westhampton Beach concert, which is $26. A subscription is $180. Individual tickets and subscriptions can be bought on the Pianofest website.
Music at Duck Creek
The 2024 Music Series at the Arts Center at Duck Creek in Springs, organized by Kassa Overall and Iris Ornig, begins on Saturday at 6 p.m. with the Emmanuel Michael Group, featuring Mr. Michael on guitar, Eliza Salem on drums, Jayla Chee on bass, and Tim Watson on guitar. The double guitar quartet, says a release, is searching for “truth and honesty within this intimate and vast sonic universe.”
Born and reared in South Dakota as a first-generation Ugandan and Southern Sudanese, Mr. Michael is a New York City-based artist who believes that self-identity can be discovered only through reflecting upon one’s surroundings with gratitude, self-reflection, and empathy.
All programs are free, but they are weather-dependent, and some might require a reservation. Audience members have been encouraged to take beach chairs, blankets, and picnics.
East End Beaches
Laura Vanderbeek, a photographer, will be at the Montauk Library on Wednesday at 6 p.m. for a slide talk about East Hampton’s beaches. Signed copies of her new book, “The Hamptons: The Essential Guidebook to America’s Most Famous Beaches,” will be available at the library, courtesy of the Friends of the Montauk Library.
Ms. Vanderbeek’s presentation will be sandwiched between “A Concert in Two Parts,” performances by Max Vanderbeek, a percussionist, and Dalton Portella, a guitarist and drummer, at 5 and 7.
Membership Party
The East Hampton Historical Society will hold its annual membership party at a historic house on Huntting Lane on Saturday from 6 to 8 p.m. Tickets, starting at $200, include one membership party ticket and one historical society membership. Registration is on the society’s website. The address of the event will be provided with confirmation of ticket purchase.
Summer Soul
The Southampton Summer Soul Party will happen at the Southampton Arts Center tomorrow evening from 6 to 11. Music will be provided by the original D.J. Hollywood, plus Ashley Keiko on saxophone, Bri Blvck on violin, Tezz Cart’r, an R&B vocalist, and Lady Najm, a rapper.
The evening will also include a fashion show by Grayson Stokley of Southampton, a vodka tasting, hors d’oeuvres, a raw bar, open bar, cigar bar, photo booth, and raffles.
Tickets are $75, $100 for V.I.P. seating.
