The Southampton Cultural Center on Pond Lane has four weeks of programs lined up between now and the first weekend of December: two piano recitals by competition-winning pianists, the last days of an exhibition by more than 40 local artists, a staged reading of a new play drawn from a local musician's album, and the return of its monthly jazz jam. Here is what is on, when, and how to go.

Through Sunday: the Southampton Artists Association fall show

The Southampton Artists Association's annual fall exhibition fills the center's gallery through Sunday, November 15, with work from more than 40 of its member artists. The show opened November 6. Gallery hours for the final weekend are noon to 6 p.m. Friday and Saturday and noon to 4 p.m. Sunday, and the center says everyone is welcome.

Saturday, November 14: Huiping Cai

The center's Liliane Questel Recital Series brings pianist Huiping Cai to the center on Saturday at 6 p.m. Cai has a long list of competition wins behind her. This year she took the Top Prize and the Best Rachmaninov Performance Award at the Carles & Sofia International Piano Competition. Before that came First Prize and the Audience Award at the 2023 New York Franz Liszt International Piano Competition, first prizes at the 2022 Los Angeles International Liszt Competition and the 2019 Chopin International Piano Competition in Hartford, a win at the 2018 Miami Music Festival Piano Concerto Competition, and First Prize at the 2017 Philadelphia International Piano Competition. Tickets are on sale now through the center's website.

Friday, November 20: Across Borders, with Kalina Mrmevska

Six days later, concert pianist Kalina Mrmevska performs Across Borders: A Piano Journey, part of the center's Local Talent series. The solo program sets classical masterworks beside pieces by contemporary Macedonian, Ukrainian and American composers, tracing how musical traditions connect across cultures and generations. The recital starts at 7 p.m. Tickets are $30 in advance and $35 at the door.

Tuesday, December 1: Stories From the Dark Heart Tavern

On the first evening of December, the center hosts a staged reading of Stories From the Dark Heart Tavern, a two-act play built from local musician Fred Raimondo's album of the same name. It is set in a neighborhood bar and told through the eyes of a songwriter looking back on 40 years of making music, the choices he made to follow it, and the people who turned up in his songs along the way. The reading runs from 7 to 8:45 p.m. The center says tickets are coming soon.

Sunday, December 6: the jazz jam returns

The East Meets West Jazz Jam Session, a monthly jam held in collaboration with the cultural center, picks back up on Sunday, December 6, from 2 to 4:30 p.m. Musicians are invited to bring their instruments, and listeners are welcome to come for the music.

Planning a visit

The center's programs are supported by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.

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