The Concert Truck is coming back to Hilton Head Island for a Mini-Residency Monday and Tuesday, September 28 and 29, 2026 presented by The Town of Hilton HeadIsland Office of Cultural Affairs, Marriott Vacation Club, and Hilton Head SymphonyOrchestra International Piano Competition.
Last having performed on Hilton Head in April 2025, pianist and The Concert Truck co-founder Susan Zhang returns for her entertaining trademark “piano-four-hands” performances, this time with celebrated 2025 Hilton Head International Piano Competition Winner Jonathan Mamora as her partner.
Together, they will perform four rousing programs over two days, entertaining audiencesyoung and old, including free concerts at Pocket Full of Sunshine’s Sunshine House, Jarvis Creek Park, and Shelter Cove Community Park.
All performances are free and open to the public, and invited audiences include Pockets’ Rays of Sunshine, as well as early childhood participants from The Children’s Center, Island Recreation Center, Sea Pines Montessori, St. Luke’s Preschool, First Presbyterian Day School, and Live Oak Academy.
At Sunshine House, the Rays of Sunshine will operate an outdoor concession stand selling popcorn, candy, water, and soft
Susan Zhang, Director, The Concert Truck
drinks. Pockets Full of Sunshine is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit committed to providing inclusive social and vocational opportunities for adults with special needs, helping them connect with one another and with the broadercommunity. PFS offers weekday programming, engaging social activities, screen printing, community outings and so much more!
Mario Incorvaia, Hilton Head Symphony Orchestra Executive Vice President & Chief Operating Officer, commented “in the spirit of the collaboration, the presenting sponsors’ joint sense of community, and alignment with the mission of The Concert Truck, performance venues were selected to ensure music reached members of our community who are less likely to have the ability to go attend concerts in other venues.We invite all who are interested to attend these fun and free concerts, each less thanone hour long. They are family-friendly, sensory-friendly, performances.”
Susan Zhang, Maryanne Tagney Director of The Concert Truck, is acclaimed as a pianist with “astounding musical authority” (Columbia Free Times), Zhang made her orchestral debut at the age of twelve with the Augusta Symphony. Her recordings havebeen featured on SC Public Radio. Zhang was a prize winner of the Thousand Islands Chopin Competition, Bauru-Atlanta Competition, the Burgos International Music Festival Competition, and Arthur Fraser International Piano Competition.
An Indonesian-American and Southern California native now with a burgeoning performing career, Jonathan Mamora is
Jonathan Mamora, 2025 HHIPC winner
committed to service — whether in church, in the community or on the concert stage. “A rising star in the piano realm” (New YorkClassical Review), Mamora enjoyed remarkable success, winning first prize at numerous prominent international piano competitions including Hilton Head; Scottish;Maria Canals Barcelona; Olga Kern; AntwerPiano; Dallas; and Palm Springs.
The Concert Truck is a traveling music venue that strengthens communities by redefining the concert experience and making live music accessible to everyone. Impassioned by their love for music, in 2016 pianists Nick Luby and Zhang converted a 16-foot box truck into a fully functioning mobile concert hall, complete with lights, soundsystem, and piano. Since then, The Concert Truck has presented concerts across thecountry in city streets, music and arts festivals, schools, neighborhoods, parks… anywhere you can think to park a truck.
In addition to sharing original programming with local communities, The Concert Truckstrengthens relationships between arts organizations and the communities they serve.The Concert Truck has partnered with the Kennedy Center’s Washington NationalOpera, Aspen Music Festival and School, Seattle Chamber Music Society, Southeastern Piano Festival, Piano Cleveland, Hilton Head International Piano Competition, and Dallas Symphony Orchestra to share music and build new audiences with their local communities.
The Concert Truck created an online children’s show in partnership with the Four Seasons Chamber Music Festival that has been presented to over 55,000 students in North Carolina schools. The Concert Truck has also worked with major music institutions such as Rice University and New World Symphony to mentor young artists in community engagement and entrepreneurship.
The Mini-Residency includes the following presentations:
Monday, September 28 at 10am – Jarvis Creek Park, 10 Nature’s Way, HHI SC 29926
Monday, September 28 at 1pm – Shelter Cove Park, Shelter Cove Lane, HHI SC 29928
Tuesday, September 29 at 11am – Sunshine House, 64 Arrow Road, HHI SC 29928
Tuesday, September 29 at 6:30pm – Harbour Point and Sunset Pointe at Shelter Cove,
4 Shelter Cove Lane, 29928
All concerts are free of admission charge and open to the public.
The Concert Truck Hilton Head Island Mini-Residency is sponsored by the Hilton Head Symphony Orchestra/International Piano Competition, Marriott Vacation Club, and the Town of Hilton Head Island Office of Cultural Affairs.
