Governor's School to perform concert

More than 73 students from the South Carolina Governor's School for the Arts and Humanities music department will visit Aiken this week for its Fall 2009 Regional Outreach Tour.

The students will perform a free concert at First Presbyterian Church, 224 Barnwell Ave. N.W., on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. The students will also perform Tuesday and Wednesday at Schofield Middle School, A.L. Corbett Middle School and Aiken High School.

The Regional Outreach Tour is held annually in the fall semester to bring a piece of the Governor's School to area schools and communities. The students will also visit and perform in McCormick, Greenwood, Edgefield, Richland, Lexington and Greenville counties.

"We are very excited to offer the Regional Outreach Tour in Aiken County and surrounding areas this year," said Kelly Near, outreach coordinator, in a release. "Outreach is important to our mission, and this tour allows us to bring the Governor's School experience to as many students and communities as possible."

The tour is sponsored annually by the Governor's School for the Arts Foundation.

"The Governor's School for the Arts Foundation is pleased to sponsor the 2009 Fall Regional Outreach Tour of the South Carolina Governor's School for the Arts and Humanities," said Susie White, foundation executive director. "Our music students are terrific ambassadors of the school. They represent well the high level of talent of the student body and the quality of instruction they receive."

The Governor's School for the Arts and Humanities, located in downtown Greenville, is a public residential high school for emerging artists. Pre-professional training is offered in creative writing, dance, drama, music and visual arts. South Carolina students may apply and audition as sophomores to attend the residential high school program in 11th and 12th grade. Dancers may apply to the residential high school in grades 8 to 11.

Summer Dance is a five-week program for students in grades 6-11. Students interested in creative writing, drama, music or visual arts may apply and audition in the 8th and 9th grades to attend two-week summer programs.

On-campus student music recitals are scheduled throughout the school year. The tour is an important project for student learning and a meaningful way to build relationships with educators and audiences throughout South Carolina, said Dr. David Hamilton, music department chair.

The Governor's School is accepting applications for its 2010 Summer Programs and the 2010-11 residential high school. Applications may be printed from the school's website, www.scgsah.org. Applications are due Jan. 8, 2010, and auditions are held regionally on Saturdays in February in Greenville, Charleston and Columbia.

Contact April Bailey at abailey@aikenstandard.com.