USC Symphony Orchestra presents an evening of film scores

Award-winning John Williams, composer for Star Wars, Harry Potter, Jurassic Park and more

The USC Symphony Orchestra presents John Williams Extravaganza! with guest artist Michael Ludwig, violin, on Tuesday, October 20, at 7:30 p.m. at the Koger Center for the Arts.

The entire family will enjoy the signature editions of composer John Williams’ most beloved film score classics. The music of Williams may be more widely known than that of any other composer on the university’s premier orchestra season schedule. Williams has almost singlehandedly shaped the movie and television music of the past four decades. His music for the Star Wars trilogy, the Indiana Jones series, Superman, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, E.T., Hook, Jurassic Park, Harry Potter and many others, made his name recognized in households throughout the world.

Williams is recognized in the industry with five Oscars (nominations for 49, second only to Walt Disney), 21 Grammys, four Golden Globes, two Emmys, seven awards from the British Academy of Film and Television Arts, several gold and platinum records, and many honorary degrees and other awards.

             

Most recently he has been working on the score for Star Wars: Episode VII, due for release in December 2015.

Calling all Superheroes 

Children and adults are encouraged to come to the concert dressed as their favorite John Williams movie superhero!

Guest Artist Michael Ludwig

Hailed by Strad Magazine for his “effortless, envy-provoking technique… sweet tone, brilliant expression, and grand style,” guest artist Michael Ludwig has a multi-faceted career as a soloist, recording artist, and chamber musician. A highly sought-after soloist, he has performed on four continents and has recorded with the London Symphony Orchestra, Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Buffalo Philharmonic, among others. Acclaimed musician Van Cliburn said, “A musician of profound artistry and consummate integrity, Michael Ludwig possesses a gorgeous sound that he projects with heartfelt passion and intensity.”

The University of South Carolina’s premier orchestra ensemble, led by acclaimed music director Donald Portnoy, receives accolades for its fine performances. World-renowned guest artists join the ensemble throughout the year to bring you a stirring six-concert season with music by the most dynamic composers.

“...the USC Symphony continues to rise to the top of musical achievement in higher education.” –Free Times

Concert tickets

Single concert tickets are $30 general public; Discounts: $25 senior citizens, USC faculty and staff; $8 students. Call 803-777-7500 or Koger Box Office, corner of Greene and Park Streets (M-F 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.) or online by clicking HERE or visit kogercenterforthearts.com.

Paremski Plays Tchaikovsky - September 15, 2015

University of South Carolina Symphony Orchestra opens the season with “empress of the keyboard,” Natasha Paremski

The September 15 concert includes music of Tchaikovsky and Sibelius

The University of South Carolina’s premier orchestra ensemble, led by acclaimed music director Donald Portnoy, receives accolades for its fine performances. The first concert of the 2015-2016 season brings guest artist pianist Natasha Paremski, called “empress of the keyboard” by the Kalamazoo Gazette. The San Francisco Classical Voice wrote Paremski, “… has a real feeling for lush romantic music, the ability to handle blazingly rapid passagework, beautifully executed trills, and all made to look very easy.” Paremski will play Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1 in B-flat minor.

The concert takes place at the Koger Center for the Arts on Tuesday, September 15 at 7:30 p.m.

The Concerto nearly brought the composer and his friend Nikolay Rubinstein to blows. The work was met by harsh criticism from his friend, whom he had asked for advice. The suggested changes did not sit well with Tchaikovsky and were not made. Tchaikovsky dedicated the work, not to Rubenstein as was first intended, but to Hans von Bülow, the famous German pianist and conductor who already liked Tchaikovsky’s music.

Ironically, it was Rubinstein who eventually showed the Concerto off to its best advantage, admitting he had been wrong about it several years later. The eccentricities of the First Piano Concerto, some of which may have caused Rubinstein’s disparagement, are now considered some of its greatest charms.

Also on the September program is Finnish composer Jean Sibelius’ Symphony No. 2 in D major, his most popular symphony. The symphony, associated with the Finnish landscape and a patriotic program, was a work the composer actually conceived in Italy. The symphony was begun in winter 1901 in Rapallo, Italy, finished in Finland in 1902 and first performed by the Helsinki Philharmonic Society in March 1902. Finland was undergoing turmoil at the turn of the 20th century and was experiencing a nationalistic fervor against the oppression of its Russian occupiers. Although the composer claimed no patriotic intent was inherent in the work, Helsinki audiences had understood the new symphony to be an overt expression of the political conflict reigning over Finland.

Tickets now on sale

Single concert tickets are $30 general public; Discounts: $25 senior citizens, USC faculty and staff; $8 students. Call 803-777-7500 or Koger Box Office, corner of Greene and Park Streets (M-F 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.) or online at kogercenterforthearts.com.

Save with a season subscription

Save with a season subscription (6 concerts) and enjoy the best seats in the house: $150 general public; Discounts: $110 senior citizens, USC faculty and staff; $45 students.

See the season’s details at sc.edu/music/orchestra-season