Out & About

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The New York Sun

Disco balls in the trees, an orchestra in the barn: On Saturday night, Jonathan Sheffer and Christopher Barley transformed the backyard of their Easthampton estate to raise $85,000 for Mr. Sheffer’s Eos Orchestra, known for bringing new audiences to classical music.


“About 80% of the job is fundraising; making it viable artistically is the other 20%,” said Mr. Sheffer, who spent about 80% of the party schmoozing and 20% conducting.


After mingling, 150 guests headed to the barn, where Mr. Sheffer presented three 10-minute operas: “Kleine Harlekinade” by Antonio Salieri, featuring singers dressed as characters on “Gilligan’s Island,” and two by Mr. Sheffer, “Camera Obscura,” and “Owl Creek Bridge,” based on the Ambrose Bierce story, in its debut performance. Mr. Sheffer just completed a renovation of the barn with music performance in mind. The orchestra pit is in the basement. Sliding glass doors upstage offer entry to singers and frame them with a grove of trees.


Eos is back in the city November 4 at Alice Tully Hall; April 12 at Zankel Hall, and May 17 to 21 at the Brooklyn Academy of Music.


***


The final polo match at the Bridgehampton Polo Club on Saturday lasted just a few minutes, called to a halt by a downpour. Guests barely noticed and enjoyed shelter (and liquor) under a tent. In fact, the VIP tent seems to attract a crowd less interested in polo than in socializing, even on sunny days.


“Ninety-nine percent of the people here don’t know what’s going on out there,” said Chris Lukas, a polo aficionado. Devouring a gigantic cupcake (which his female friend refused: “It goes straight to your thighs,” she said), Mr. Lukas reflected on the most exciting moments of the game: “For me, it’s the breakaways – when you have an open shot on the goal, and the goal posts are so far apart, and the player still misses.” Nearby, Dr. Andrew Rodgers and family were toasting the end of their sixth tailgating season. “We’ve never missed a week,” said Dr. Rodgers, who also attends matches in Palm Beach. The horses are equally serious about his tailgates – one once galloped off the field and into the family’s party.


For up-and-coming designer Sebastian Pons, who shows his third collection under a different tent, in Bryant Park on September 8, polo provided an escape from Manhattan. Mr. Pons grew up in the Spanish countryside dreaming of city life, but now finds himself craving contact with nature. He designs for women who also bounce between the rural and the urban. “She is sexy, comfortable, confident,” he said, pointing to Marita Stavrou, who wore a white dress purchased in Ibiza and a necklace purchased in St. Bart’s.


Speaking of luxury travel, the Setai Club, a sponsor, decked the tent with photos of its resorts – the first club opens in South Beach in December and another is being designed for Marrakesh. Membership costs $300,000 and is designed for “a nomadic, international crowd,” said founder Michael Breene.


The New York Sun

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