Custer Events
Outdoor Events: Most events take place on our lawn. We encourage you to bring a blanket or chair to make your experience more comfortable.
Rain Dates: Rain dates (when necessary) will be noted on our website, social media, and/or Eventbrite for your convenience.
Music Events presented by The Custer Music Project
A Concert in the Dome: Poore Astronomers
A Concert in the Dome:
POORE ASTRONOMERS
Saturday, June 28, 2025
7:00 pm
Welcome the summer with the voice and lute duo named Poore Astronomers, inside the unique accoustic space of our astronomical observation dome! The program includes surviving songs from Thomas Morley's First Book of Ayres, first published in 1600; songs which are full of pyrotechnic writing for the lute, requiring virtuosic playing seen nowhere else in the English Lute song repertoire. Drew Ivarson (tenor) and Daniel Keene (lute) will perform these pieces with a reconstructed accent from 16th century London and played on an authentic, gut-strung Renaissance lute.
The Elizabethan era, spanning the reign of Queen Elizabeth I (1558-1603), is often seen as the peak of the English Renaissance, a period known for its flourishing of arts, literature, and music. This concert will be presented in the unique acoustical splendor of the Custer Observatory dome. This intimate concert promises to be a most memorable experience. Not to be missed! Come hear the instrument that Renaissance humanists thought was perfectly able to evoke the harmony of the spheres.
Following the concert, when the skies are dark, Observatory staff will provide guided tours of the night sky (weather permitting) through our many telescopes on site, including the telescope in our historic observation dome. Immediately following the concert, for those interested in staying, Observatory staff will briefly talk about the history of Custer Institute and the apochromatic Zerochromat telescope installed inside the dome.
$40 Adult, $30 Custer Observatory Members. Attendance to this intimate performance will be limited - reserve your seats early! Note: Guests must be able to climb two steep flights of stairs to access the observatory dome where the concert is being held.
Drew Ivarson, tenor, performs regularly as a choral singer and soloist in the New York City area. He regularly sings with Polyhymnia, Stony Brook Baroque Players, New York Continuo Collective, and Sing We Enchanted. He also sings regularly at St Agnes RC Church in Midtown, Manhattan, and for the Jewish High Holy Days under Cantor Leon Berger at The Jewish Center of Kings Highway. Outside of his performing life, Drew maintains a small private studio teaching voice and piano, and chases his toddler all over Bayside, NY.
Daniel Keene, lutenist, performs on an array of plucked string instruments including 16th and 17th century lutes, vihuela, Baroque guitar, 19th century guitar, modern guitar, and extended electric guitars. He has concertized extensively as a soloist, consort player, continuo player, and in theater and Off-Broadway as a pit orchestra musician. In addition to the Poore Astronomers, Daniel performs regularly with Moka Pot Duo, Red Door Chamber Players, New Place Players, and Samadi-Keene Duo. He has also performed with Long Island Baroque Ensemble, Bacheler Consort, Golden Williams Duo, and New York Continuo Collective. Daniel is currently on the faculty at Nassau Community College.
EXPLORING & NAVIGATING THE SUMMER NIGHT SKY
EXPLORING & NAVIGATING THE SUMMER NIGHT SKY
Learn how to explore and navigate the summer night sky, including the summer constellations and stories behind them!
Gazing up at a star-filled night sky is awesome and humbling. To the novice stargazer, it can be overwhelming and disorienting. Throughout history, the night sky has served many functions to humanity- a clock, a calendar, a compass, a map and even a story book. Join stargazing lecturer Randall DiGiuseppe of the Custer Institute & Observatory for an evening of learning the basics of navigating the night sky as well as learning the locations and the folklore behind the most prominent constellations of summer.
Learn how to spot the North Star, the Summer Triangle, the Milky Way Galaxy, and the stories behind summer’s most well-known constellations. Learn also how to find your way around the night sky and how to use it to orient yourself on the ground.
This event is open to everyone. Just bring an inquisitive mind, a blanket and your imagination.
Randall DiGiuseppe is a professional artist, lecturer, telescope builder and amateur astronomer for over four decades. He is a lifetime member of the Custer Institute and Observatory and recipient of the Astronomical League’s Messier Award. He conducts lectures on the dynamics, history and art of the night sky throughout the country.
Following the presentation, Observatory staff will provide guided tours of the night sky (weather permitting) through the many telescopes on site, including the apochromatic Zerochromat telescope in our historic observation dome.
$5 Adult, $3 Children Under 16, Observatory Member FREE. Your donations make it possible to offer programs like these and are greatly appreciated. Due to limited space, registration is strongly encouraged.
Please bring a blanket or chair to enjoy the presentation.
SPICE UP THE HIGH ENERGY The Rites of Spring Music Festival
SPICE UP THE HIGH ENERGY
The Rites of Spring Music Festival
A slice of King’s Cake on the shores of the East End!
Real East End Brass (REEB!) brings the Big Easy to the Rites of Spring Festival. As we march along to Second Line sounds, we invite you to join our parade and sing along to those New Orleans classics.
Following the concert when the skies are dark, Observatory staff will provide guided tours of the night sky (weather permitting) through our many telescopes on site, including the apochromatic Zerochromat telescope in our historic observation dome.
Program
Bourbon Street Parade
A Closer Walk with Thee
Second Line
Feel Like Funkin’ It Up
IDK
Back to my East End Home
St. James Infirmary
Music To Your Life
Dynamite
Hey Pocky Way
What a Feeling
Mardi Gras in NO
I’ll Fly Away
Saints Go Marching In
Do Whatcha Wanna
$45 Adult, $30 Custer Observatory Members and Friends of R o S, Children Under 16 FREE. Attendance to this in-person performance will be limited - reserve your seats early! Due to the outdoor nature of this program, a rain date will be scheduled as needed.
Please bring a blanket or chair to enjoy this outdoor presentation.
REEB Real East End Band
Tye Granger, Tenor Saxophone
Dylan Green, Vocals
Troy Grindle, Drum Kit + Fiddle + Back Up Vocals
Chris Mandato, Trumpet
Nick Silipo, Guitar
Meghan Kelly, Baritone Saxophone + Clarinet
Shawn Ward, Sousaphone + Trombone
NEW MUSIC UNDER THE BIG SKY
NEW MUSIC UNDER THE BIG SKY
This performance features the Rites of Spring Ensemble, a new group that embodies the spirit of the new music culture and is dedicated to performing innovative, collaborative, and exciting works of living composers and the contemporary works from composers of the recent past. Whether you're a classical lover or a lover of extraordinary experiences, Music in The Sky pushes the boundaries of a traditional music event. This program presents a very exciting evening of music and stargazing! New Music Under The Big Sky aims to bring people together and focusing on what is happening today in the global arts world. Come and slow down with us, be immersed with music, lights and stars!
Following the concert when the skies are dark, Observatory staff will provide guided tours of the night sky (weather permitting) through our many telescopes on site, including the apochromatic Zerochromat telescope in our historic observation dome.
$45 Adult, $30 Custer Observatory Members and Friends of R o S, Children Under 16 FREE. Attendance to this in-person performance will be limited - reserve your seats early! Due to the outdoor nature of this program, a rain date will be scheduled as needed.
Please bring a blanket or chair to enjoy this outdoor presentation.
Program
Emmalie Tello, clarinet Beomjae Kim, flute
Yezu Woo, violin Aaron Wolff, cello
R o S Ensemble is a collectively organized group of musicians dedicated to performing classical music and creating new artistic works at the highest level. Based on the East End of Long Island, the ensemble is committed to the idea that new music belongs in every community and implements this mission through touring and outreach to connect with audiences and artists, focusing specifically on bringing music to locations out of the reach of many music organizations. Created by founder Paolo Bartolani, pianist and artistic director of Rites of Spring Music Festival, R o S Ensemble is dedicated to connecting communities across the East End of Long Island and the United States through the development and performance of music across the country. This ensemble explores, performs and studies new concepts of notation, extended performing techniques, group improvisation and group composition, including other aspects of performance centered around the latest developments in sonic art. Their experience is extensive: from creating and performing music in unconventional venues, to site-specific projects that combine music, natural environment, and history, to collaborating with like-minded artists, performers, and thinkers, and offering a platform for all whose work demands it.
Fiddlers Green
Fiddlers Green has been a favorite at Long Island venues for years. Their performance tonight will feature charming Irish folk songs and tunes, from lively to poignant, played on traditional instruments.
In Irish folk tradition, "Fiddler's Green" refers to a mythical afterlife paradise specifically for sailors, where there is endless music, dancing, good food, and drink, essentially a sailor's heaven, with the "fiddle" representing the constant lively music playing there; it's a place of perpetual joy and merriment.
Following the concert, Observatory staff will provide guided tours of the night sky (weather permitting) through our many telescopes on site, including the apochromatic Zerochromat telescope in our historic observation dome.
