Chamber Music Charleston is thrilled to return to the Piccolo Spoleto Festival.  We welcome you to join us for spectacular chamber music concerts in the grand ballroom of South Carolina Society Hall.

All performances at South Carolina Society Hall, 72 Meeting Street, Downtown Charleston.  Join us before each performance for a light reception.

Box Office opens 45 minutes prior to each performance.  Each concert is approximately 55 minutes in length.

Open Seating

Tickets for Individual Concerts: $25 Adult; $5 Student

Wednesday, May 31, 2023 at 6pm.

The world has celebrated the music of composers such as Johann Sebastian Bach and Antonio Vivaldi for centuries, but what about the female composers who were writing equally glorious music during the Baroque and early Classical era?  In 1756 Anna Bon, “virtuosa di musica di camera,” penned extraordinary flute sonatas for her employer, the illustrious Margrave of Brandenburg and his music-loving wife.  And then there is Anna Amalia, Duchess of Saxe-Weimar and composer who played harpsichord, flute, and violin.  Chamber Music Charleston curates a special program of music that explores the compositions of these lesser-known composers, performed alongside their male contemporaries.

Regina Helcher Yost, flute; Kelly Mozeik, oboe; Sandra Nikolajevs, bassoon; Julia Harlow, harpsichord

PROGRAM

Anna Amalia Divertimento for Flute, Oboe, Bassoon, and Harpsichord

Anna Bon Sonata No. 4 in D Major for Flute, Bassoon, and Harpsichord

Vivaldi Bassoon Concerto in a minor, RV 398

JS Bach Concerto Flute, Oboe, Bassoon, Harpsichord

Wednesday, June 7, 2023 at 6pm.

The story begins with a young singer named Harry Thacker Burleigh, who was working as a custodian at the National Conservatory in New York City during the 1890s to fulfill the requirements of his scholarship. One evening, Antonín Dvořák, the newly appointed director, overheard Burleigh’s deep baritone voice singing the spirituals that his grandfather had taught him. This chance encounter marked the beginning of a remarkable friendship and Dvořák’s introduction to the world of African-American spirituals.

Chamber Music Charleston’s program brings together the music of Burleigh and Dvorak, alongside those of other important but long-neglected composers such as Florence Price and William Grant Still. Through their music, the program paints a vivid portrait of a distinctive, yet classically-informed, American sound that is rooted in the country’s diverse cultural heritage.

Frances Hsieh and Jenny Weiss, violins; Ben Weiss, viola; Tim O’Malley, cello

PROGRAM

Dvořák String Quartet in F Major, Op. 96, “American”
i. Allegro ma non troppo
ii.Lento

Burleigh Southland Sketches for String Quartet

Price String Quartet No. 2 in A Minor
ii. Andante Cantabile

Still Lyric Quartet
iii. The Jovial One