CofC Concerts
Award-Winning Schimpf to Open Piano Series
GERMAN-BORN ALEXANDER SCHIMPF is becoming one of the best known pianists of his generation. Awarded the Audience Prize by those in attendance at the final round of the Cleveland Competition, Mr. Schimpf has performed with the Vienna Chamber Orchestra and the Cleveland Orchestra. He has also played recitals at Carnegie Hall, Beethovenhaus in Bonn,... Read »
Harpsichord Highlights
I WAS IMMENSELY pleased to attend the College of Charleston’s most recent Monday Evening Concert Series event at the Simons Center Recital Hall, featuring a pleasant hour of harpsichord music winningly performed by Adam Jaffe. A former piano student of CofC Artist-in-Residence, Enrique Graf, at Carnegie Mellon University (where Graf also teaches), Mr. Jaffe currently... Read »
Impressive Pianists Conclude Young Artists Series
CHOPIN’s MUSIC, especially his piano music, has a signature quality that is hard to describe, but you know it as ‘Chopin’ (1810-1849) when you hear it. Which, of course, poses a challenge for pianists. Do they make it ‘the same’ or do they try to make it ‘their own’ and run the risk of... Read »
Piano Blockbusters? Piano Blockbusters!
SATURDAY’s Young Artist Series brought together an eclectic mix of style, fire, grace, and more than enough wonderful performances to satisfy even the stodgiest of listeners. Once again, Enrique Graf has assembled a program capable not only of lifting the spirit and providing food for thought, but also showcasing how these elements fit into... Read »
Young Artists Series Holds Rachmaninoff Weep-Fest
AS MAESTRO ENRIQUE GRAF likes to point out, Rachmaninoff always draws the big crowds. Thursday’s Young Artists Series was no exception: a nearly full theatre all chomping at the bit to hear these simple melodies fly when given their proper and oh-so-complex underpinnings. For this humble reviewer, that contrast holds the key to allowing... Read »
Young Artists Series Shows Off—and Delivers
WHEN ASKED what to expect for Wednesday’s Young Artists Series, Chee-Hang See replied with quiet firmness, “Oh, it’s showy!” The first few bars of his revelatory show opener proved that to be quite the understatement. Excellent programming and wonderful talent have always been hallmarks of Enrique Graf’s College of Charleston student showcase. If today’s... Read »
Young Artists Shine at the Simons Center
THE COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON Young Artists Series (YAS) has become a staple of Piccolo Spoleto, but not everyone knows that these concerts also take place during the school year. Hosted by Artist-in-Residence, Enrique Graf (whose piano students are among the performers), the YAS showcases some amazing young talent. Saturday’s program included a broad range... Read »
Touching the Eternal with Song
NOTE TO SELF: catch this group again during Piccolo Spoleto. After the College of Charleston Concert Choir’s exquisite sacred music concert at the Cathedral of St. Luke and St. Paul last Monday night, I asked Director-Conductor Dr. Robert Taylor: “What is it that you feel you teach your students about music, and about choral... Read »
Chee-Hang See Delivers Impressive Senior Recital
A TUESDAY EVENING affair at the College of Charleston’s Simons Center Hall was the Senior Recital of Chee-Hang See, one of the leaders among Artist-in-Residence Enrique Graf’s impressive lineup of incredibly gifted piano students. And Chee-Hang is a leader in more ways than one, being Graf’s hard-working assistant director of the College’s vaunted International Piano... Read »
Making Their Musical Mark
THE COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON Young Artists Concert is a little bit like attending a wine tasting where there are multiple selections in small quantities, some of which you cannot make a definitive conclusion about, and some you wish you could taste more of—but, alas, no. That was my experience last Monday, November 21 at... Read »
