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The mission of Music on the Hill is to present an annual nationally recognized concert series. This music festival brings home professional musicians and their friends who are eager to share their passion for music with a community they love. Music on the Hill hopes to inspire future generations with exciting performances featuring chamber music and innovative programming in both traditional and non-traditional settings.

History

Music on the Hill was born in 1974 at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, East Greenwich, when Music Director Priscilla Rigg launched a series of traditional chamber music concerts at the church, featuring well-known artists and ensembles. In 1981, Music on the Hill became incorporated, with elected officers and a board of directors.

In 2007, a group of Rhode Island-bred professional musicians—led by John Pellegrino, Assistant Principal Bass of the Columbus Symphony Orchestra and graduate of Warwick’s Toll Gate High School—proposed a new festival concept for Music on the Hill. John was inspired by the fellow Rhode Islanders he’d met at festivals and concerts around the country, who lamented the fact that they hadn’t played in the Ocean State since high school. Friends and family recruited volunteer administrators with a range of expertise and connections. Priscilla Rigg and the board enthusiastically endorsed the new idea, and rededicated the nonprofit organization to the new festival concept.

The new festival launched in 2008, and since then Music on the Hill has welcomed thousands of music lovers to concerts in venues across the state, from our “hometown” of East Greenwich, to Providence, Jamestown, Wickford, Westerly and more. Our ensemble includes professional musicians native to Rhode Island with successful national careers, as well as their friends and colleagues who have come to see Rhode Island as their home away from home, with many returning to the Ocean State for the Music on the Hill Festival each June.

Education

Education is an important part of our mission. Students of all ages are welcomed with free admission to our concerts. Each year, we offer a free concert for hundreds of elementary and middle school students. Our musicians take a morning off from rehearsal to introduce the instruments, share selections from festival repertoire, and answer children's questions about the life of a professional musician. In festival concerts, artists often introduce each work from the stage, sharing personal nuances to their choices, supplementing the extensive history and context in printed program notes. Informal Q&A sessions offer more opportunity to learn about our music and our musicians.

Since 2023, our annual scholarship supports musicians ages 13-18 in classical performance study.

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