Sonatas and Soundscapes

Musicians from the University of South Carolina's Wind Ensemble and Experimental Music Workshop are set to sonically transform the museum for the premiere of a "poetic recreation of natural environments" by composer Michael Pisaro-Liu.

Carrie Allen Tipton's From Dixie to Rocky Top: Music and Meaning in Southeastern Conference Football is a dive into a previously-neglected area of musicological research: the origins and cultural significance of some of the most recognizable tunes in the "football-haunted" South.

The 22-year-old pianist and Honens prizewinner is back in South Carolina, excited for the chance to take on two formidable piano concertos in a single program.

"Let go, in some ways, of the idea of perfection," the pianist says. "Make the thing in front of you the best it can be."

The Chicago Sinfonietta Music Director looks forward to playing "the biggest instrument in the room" for one of her favorite programs: orchestral works by Florence Price, Michael Abels, and Antonín Dvořák.

Soprano Nicole Heaston shares insights into the musically and psychologically intense title role she's singing in Charleston through June 10th.

Festival General Director Mena Mark Hanna shares about the staggering breadth and uniqueness of the 17-day performing arts festival, touching on a few of the experiences and themes audiences can expect from its 47th season.

"She was performing for kings and queens internationally," Dr. Sarah Masterson says of 20th century American pianist and composer. "But in the U.S., she had trouble booking gigs outside of churches and auditoriums—African American sororities would host events—that sort of thing."

Marking 10 years of its artistic residency at the USC School of Music, the chamber group is partnering with Historic Columbia to perform all 16 of Ludwig van Beethoven’s string quartets—and the composer’s visionary Grosse Fuge—across six venues in the capital city.

“It really is staggering," new Hilton Head International Piano Competition Director Steve Shaiman says of the competitors' talent, "and it makes me grateful that I’m not a judge.”