Author: Margaret Evans

This year’s Chamber Music Festival Series once again promises to fill the USCB Performing Arts Center with the finest music played by internationally acclaimed artists.  The season will offer works by composers from Mozart to Luciano Berio, prize-winning artists including baritone Randal Scarlata and violinist Kyung Sun Lee and donor receptions with the artists highlighted by a soiree at one of Beaufort’s finest eighteenth-century homes. The University of South Carolina Beaufort Festival Series will open its 32nd season on November 7 at 5:00 in the Performing Arts Center.  The evening’s performance offers a great variety of composers, with exquisitely crafted classical period masterworks by Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven anchoring the program.  Colorful and fascinating works from the twentieth century by Bartok , Villa-Lobos, and Giya Kanchelli will complete the evening’s performance.

With the last glorious notes of Tchaikovsky’s Marche Slav still ringing through the hall, the Beaufort Symphony Orchestra announces plans for its 25th season!  Subscriptions are now available on the BSO’s website at www.beaufortorchestra.org. World-renowned keyboard artist, Daniel Adni will return for the opening concert in October of 2010.  Mr Adni is a resident of London, England and a celebrated performer with orchestras and chamber groups throughout Europe.  He appeared with the Beaufort Symphony last year, with the generous support of local music patron, Martha Hoke.  Mrs. Hoke will again sponsor Mr. Adni’s performance with the orchestra in October.

Trent Sims will perform a free organ concert on Friday, October 1st at Noon at The Parish Church of St. Helena in downtown Beaufort. This concert will kick off the fall season of Music at St. Helena’s. Sims is a native of Dayton, Ohio and began playing the organ at the age of seven. He began classical organ instruction at 16, studying with the late Paul Ray Jones. Trent accepted his first professional church organist position at a large downtown Dayton church when he was 18 and still a senior in high school. Over the next eight years he continued classical organ studies under Rev. John W. Neely and Ms. Lee McGinty.