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School of Music

2022 News Archive

The Birth of a Special Partnership

Claire Bryant, a cello professor and the coordinator of Bridging Our Distances, is leading a program created by Carnegie Hall's Weill Music Institute that pairs incarcerated expecting mothers with professional musicians.

Classroom and Stage

Tenor Johnnie Felder earns DMA, prepares for next gig.

Bass n' Bells Fundraises for Music Industries Studies Program

Students in the Music Industry Studies (MIS) program in the University of South Carolina's School of Music believe in giving back to the program that supports them so much.

School of Music Expands Commitment to Jazz Education with Dedicated Facility

The School of Music’s jazz program is getting a new home in a familiar place: Greene Street United Methodist Church.

The Mighty Sound of the Southeast Secures Donation of Semi-Truck for Band Transport

The Carolina Band is rolling into gameday in style, thanks to a transformational donation by Nilson Van and Storage of Columbia.

USC Selected as Co-recipient of 2023 MTNA Collegiate Chapter of the Year

The University of South Carolina School of Music's chapter of the Music Teachers National Association (MTNA) has been named co-recipient of the 2023 MTNA Collegiate Chapter of the Year.

USC Jazz Studies Welcomes Guest Artists

The Dominican Jazz Project brings its blend of Latin and American jazz to the USC School of Music.

Hello, from Long Beach

Dean Tayloe Harding recently traveled to Long Beach, California to present at the College Music Society (CMS) National Conference.

Emerging Voices: A Life-changing Opportunity

In August, two faculty from the University of South Carolina School of Music fulfilled a goal -- to offer a small group of students a life-changing, week-long singing intensive at Castleton

A Powerful Season Awaits

The USC Symphony Orchestra opens the 2022-23 season, "Power and Empower," with The Planets. The six concerts feature a star-studded lineup of soloists, some of the most powerful orchestral works ever written, and an empowered ensemble of accomplished musicians.

New Sounds from Down Under and Down South

Associate Dean and Professor of Saxophone at the University of South Carolina Dr. Clifford Leaman believes there are two ways to have a lasting impact on the saxophone community. One is teaching many "fine students to play saxophone who then teach more fine students." The other is to commission new works for the instrument.

Better Together

Making music is simply better together, face-to-face.

We Are the Music

Against the backdrop of trauma caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, school shootings and social unrest, Schlegel, Assistant Professor of Instrumental Music Education at the University of South Carolina, sees an even greater need for hope, positivity and support. She believes music offers a unique pathway to bring people together.

Wellness Comes Full Circle

Under blue skies on a Friday morning in June, 25 residents and staff members from Still Hopes Episcopal Retirement Community gathered on the facility's Mansion Porch for a drum circle led by School of Music Professor of Music Education faculty member Wendy Valerio.

USC Music Series Helps Give Artists Social Voice

An endowment from the Racial Justice and Equity Research Fund at the University of South Carolina helped underwrite the commissions of two new compositions and their recordings.

London Calling

This June, the voices of the University of South Carolina Concert Choir will lift cathedrals across Great Britain with song

New Faculty Join the School of Music

Dean Tayloe Harding recently announced two outstanding musicians will join the University of South Carolina School of Music faculty in Fall 2022.

USC Professors perform at Swedish Embassy

School of Music and Department of Sport and Entertainment Management are joining forces again, but this time to bring an evening of Swedish National-Romantic Music to the Swedish Embassy in Washington, D.C.

Concert Choir Alumni Reunite to Honor Dr. Arpad Darazs

Generations of University of South Carolina Concert Choir Alumni from across the nation will gather in Columbia, SC for a weekend of festivities July 8-9 to honor the choir's revered founder, Dr. Arpad Darazs, and mark the 100th anniversary of his birth.

Aloha! Dean Harding Visits Hawaii

Dean Tayloe Harding recently travelled to Hawaii as part of the National Association of Schools of Music accreditation committee for the University of Hawaii at Manoa School of Music.

An Evening to Remember

At the annual Musical Feast the Friends of the School of Music raised almost $30,000 to fund scholarships.

Spring 2022 Awards Celebration

Outstanding School of Music students were recognized for their achievements during UofSC 2022 Awards Day

200 Musicians Take Center Stage

The University of South Carolina Symphony Orchestra, Concert Choir and University Chorus present an evening of majestic music for choir and orchestra on Thursday, April 21 at 7:30 p.m. at The Koger Center for the Arts. The concert includes works by Händel, Vaughan Williams, Debussy and Bernstein.

Student organizes event to share joy of music with Deaf community

An interactive, multisensory Music Field Day organized by School of Music senior Madie Willard will offer children who are deaf or hard of hearing and their families an opportunity to experience music through the senses. Headlining the event will be DEAFinitely Dope, an internationally recognized deaf hip hop (dip hop) artist based in the Atlanta area.

USC Basketball Band Nets a Once-in-a-Lifetime Experience

Twenty-eight students on the USC Basketball Band played proudly as the University of South Carolina Women's Basketball Team won its second National Championship

USC Percussion Ensemble Features Guest Artist Joseph Krygier

The USC Percussion Ensemble performs several modern compositions with guest percussionist and composer Joseph Krygier.

The legacy of Arpad Darazs and the Concert Choir

Nearly 60 years ago, a Hungarian-born choral conductor named Arpad Darazs turned the Concert Choir into an internationally touring ensemble that garnered fame for the university and continues to excel in chorale performance to this day.

USC Concert Choir Perform World Premiere of Requiem Gravare

The University of South Carolina Concert Choir conducted by Dr. Alicia Walker is excited to perform a newly commissioned requiem in 2022.

Parker Quartet Spring 2022 Residency

Each spring the Columbia community looks forward to welcoming the Grammy-award-winning Parker Quartet.

Southern Exposure New Music Series Celebrates Twentieth Anniversary

Founded just over twenty years ago by UofSC composition professor John Fitz Rogers, the Southern Exposure contemporary classical and world music series has become an integral part of the Columbia region's music scene.

Three Rising Stars shine at Symphony Orchestra

The winners of the 2021-22 Concerto-Aria Competition are Rianne Cheuk-Ying Lau, soprano; Morgan McGee, piano; and Elizabeth Churchya, piano.

Scholarship Donor Luncheon

The Scholarship Donor Luncheon was held on February 13.

Southern Exposure New Music Series Presents "The Westerlies"

The Westerlies are comprised of four childhood friends from Seattle, trumpeters Riley Mulherkar and Chloe Rowlands, and trombonists Andy Clausen and Willem de Koch. Formed in 2011, this self-described “accidental brass quartet” takes its name from the prevailing winds that travel from west to east.

Alumni Brass perform Pines of Rome

Pines of Rome is a tone poem completed in 1924 by Italian composer Ottorino Respighi.

New faculty spotlight: Colleen Clark

When Colleen Clark was in elementary school in Colchester, Connecticut, she decided to play drums in the school band. It was an easy choice, as she’d already been playing drums with her dad in a family rock band.

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