The Aiken Civic Orchestra will perform a concert titled Virtuosity at 7 p.m. Thursday, April 25, at the Etherredge Center on the campus of USC Aiken. This diverse program is part of the Classical Series and features Alexander Borodin’s Symphony in B Minor and Antonin Dvorak’s Cello Concerto in B Minor.
Borodin’s Symphony No. 2 in B Minor was composed over a period of years before it was completed. Once completed, he considered revisions — but was told by Franz Liszt that it was original, and not to alter anything. Symphony No. 2 features some of Borodin’s best work, bringing color and character, it is a delight for the listener.
The Cello Concerto is the last solo concerto composed by Antonin Dvorak. Written in 1894 for a cellist friend, it later premiered in London in March 1896. Dvorak uses the orchestra well in this work, and the soloist for this Concerto is a skilled and experienced cellist Claire Bryant.
Bryant is also a teacher and performer who has collaborated with various artists including Emanuel Ax, Sir Simon Rattle and Dawn Upshaw. She has worked closely with luminary composers from Meredith Monk to Herbie Hancock, and enjoyed a prominent solo career, appearing with major orchestras around the world. She is co-founder of Decoda, Carnegie Hall’s Affiliate Ensemble and director of its initiative Music for Transformation, a criminal justice program which brings collaborative songwriting workshops to incarcerated communities.
In 2019, Bryant joined the South Carolina School of Music’s faculty. She coordinates Bridging Our Distances, the community engagement arm of the School of Music, and is the director of The Collective, a graduate ensemble dedicated to creative and innovative community performances and programming. She attended the University of South Carolina, the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and the Juilliard School. She brings her outstanding talent and technical skills to Aiken to exhibit the virtuosity needed for this Concerto, considered to be one of Dvorak’s greatest works.
Tickets are $20. For more information or to purchase tickets, call 803-641-3305 or visit usca.edu/etherredge-center.
The Aiken Civic Orchestra is a nonprofit organization and provides an artistic home that engages musicians and audiences from the local communities through the performance of orchestral repertoire. ACO is funded in part by the South Carolina Arts Commission which receives support from the National Endowment for the Arts.
