Spoleto Festival USA and Piccolo Spoleto Festival present a 17-day feast of the arts featuring some of the most talented artists from the School of the Arts, from the local area and from around the world.
Piccolo Spoleto’s College of Charleston Young Artists Series features some of the College’s most accomplished music students and alumni who perform a wide variety of works, from opera and classical ensemble favorites to jazz standards and originals. For individual concert info see below or click here.
All concerts take place at 12:00 noon in the Hill Exhibition Gallery (1st floor, Cato Center for the Arts, 161 Calhoun St.)
Tickets are $11 (FREE for kids 12 and under) and available for purchase online, or by calling 843.724.7305. Tickets will not be sold at the door.
CONCERT DESCRIPTIONS:
Tuesday, May 31: What’s Opera, Doc?
Do you like opera? This concert is for you! Opera arias and ensembles from Handel to Carlisle Floyd are represented. Joshua Brock (Lenski’s aria) and Logan Smith (Gremin’s aria) sing arias from Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin. Justin Floyd performs the famous Arm, Arm Ye Brave from Handel’s Judas Maccabeus. Lauren Funkhauser and Abby Oldstrom represent the French composers Charles Gounod and Jules Massenet, respectively. Andy Michota, Justin Floyd and Joshua Brock bring to life the opening trio from Mozart’s Cosí fan tutte. Justin Nelson portrays the arrogant sergeant from Donizetti’s L’elisir d’amore. Hälis Rünk sings Und ob die Wolke Sie Verhülle from Weber’s Der Freischütz and Brian Mengler performs It’s about the way people is made from Carlisle Floyd’s Susanna.
Wednesday, June 1: Back to the Future
This concert presents composers of the 20th Century. It features Dvorak’s Dumky Trio for violin (Eric Pickford), cello (Zach Butler) and piano (Clara Camacho). Baritone Justin Nelson presents songs of Gustav Holst and soprano Hälis Rünk sings a set of classical songs from her homeland, Estonia. The concert concludes with Shostakovich’s Sonata for Cello and Piano, performed by sisters, Anna and Maria Savelyeva.
Thursday, June 2: A Fine Romance
Join us for the beautiful sweeping melodies of Johannes Brahms, Frederik Chopin, Franz Schubert and Robert Schumann! This concert includes famous lieder of Schubert, performed by baritone Justin Nelson and the lieder of Schumann, performed by Brian Mengler. Pianist Clara Camacho presents Chopin’s Ballade N1 Op. 23 in G minor and violinist Laura Diaz performs the Gypsy Airs by Sarasate. Brahms’ Sonata for Cello and Piano in E minor, Op. 38 is performed by Maria and Anna Savelyeva.
Friday, June 3: All that Jazz – CofC Jazz
CofC Jazz Combo 1 is a quartet of the finest student jazz musicians in the Department of Music. All four of these players perform professionally on a regular basis all around the Charleston area. For this concert they perform their own special versions of jazz standards, both from the Broadway songbook as well as music by celebrated jazz composers such as Wayne Shorter and Chick Corea.
Davis Lentz – saxophone
Misha Pekar – piano
McCarthy Fitch – bass
Alex Brouwer – drums
Monday, June 6: To Infinity and Beyond
Join us for a concert of cutting edge composers! The music of Schoenburg, Prokofiev, Argento, Bolcom and Stravinsky are presented here. Prokofiev’s Sonata N3 Op. 28 in A minor is performed by pianist Clara Camacho while soprano Abigail Oldstrom is featured in selections from the Six Elizabethan Songs by Dominic Argento. Anna Savelyeva, piano, presents Stravinsky’s Trois mouvements de Petrouchka. Reed Kurtz, piano, plays The Garden of Eden, I. Old Adam by Bolcom and Eric Pickford is featured at the piano in two movements from Schoenberg’s Drei Klavierstucke, Op. 11.
Tuesday, June 7: Mostly Mozart
This concert features…you guessed it…the music of Mozart, along with Beethoven and others! Pianist Clara Camacho performs Mozart’s Sonata N8 K310 in A minor while soprano Lauren Funkhauser sings one of Mozart’s most iconic arias, the Queen of the Night aria, Der Höll Rache from Die Zauberflöte. Zach Butler and Anna Savelyeva present Boccherini’s Sonata in C Major for cello and piano. Anna Savelyeva also performs Beethoven’s Piano Sonata, Op. 110 in A-flat major.
