June 22nd - 27th: Coker College To Host Inaugural Summer Piano Institute

Coker College's Department of Music, Dance, and Theater is hosting its inaugural Summer Piano Institute for high school students June 22-27

The Summer Piano Institute will allow students to explore piano studies intensively with veteran teachers and a community of fellow students. Students must be currently enrolled in grades 9 through 12 and no older than 18, and they must have completed at least four years of keyboard study.

"For one week in June the Coker College campus will be turned into a celebration of piano,” said Will Carswell, associate provost for academic affairs and associate professor of music. “Budding pianists will have the opportunity to work one-on-one and in ensemble with our extraordinary piano faculty. The Summer Piano Institute will create the ideal environment for young pianists to be inspired and challenged."

The Institute’s daily schedule will include private lessons, group lessons, ensemble rehearsal and coaching and piano literature exploration classes. All students will receive daily lessons, masterclasses and practice time on the college’s Steinway & Sons pianos, which are considered the gold standard of pianos. Some free time will be built into the schedule for performing in the community, watching important music films and other activities.

"The Summer Piano Institute is an exciting new opportunity for young local pianists to study with Coker faculty and develop their piano skills while also enhancing their all-round musical knowledge," said Graham Wood, associate professor of music; chair of the department of dance, music and theater; and coordinator of the musical theater program.

Tuition for the week-long program is $475 for resident campers and $295 for day campers (commuters) plus a $20 nonrefundable registration fee. Resident campers will stay in one of the college’s residential halls throughout the week and receive three meals a day. Day campers also will receive three meals a day. Applications and registration fees are due by May 15. Enrollment is limited.

For more information, visithttps://sites.google.com/a/coker.edu/spi/application or contact the institute director, Ryan Smith, at 843-383-8064 orrsmith@coker.edu.

The music faculty include:

Ryan Smith is assistant professor of music at Coker College where he directs the piano and theory programs. He is an active performer, giving recitals in diverse venues in Austin, New York, Columbia and Charleston, with an upcoming recital in London. Smith holds degrees in music performance from Furman University and the University of South Carolina. His teachers include Ruby Morgan, Sheila Paige, Marina Lomazov and Charles Fugo.

Rita Chandler is an adjunct professor of music at Coker College. She has performed the Schumann Piano Concerto with the Spartanburg Philharmonic and numerous solo works. Chandler studied with George Lucktenberg at Converse College where she earned her B.M. and M.M. in piano performance.

May 18th: The Masterworks Choir's Spring Concert at the FMU PAC

The Masterworks Choir, under the direction of Dr. William Carswell, will present its Spring concert Sunday, May 18, 2014 at 5:00 PM. The much awaited concert will be held at the FMU Performing Arts Center with soloists and orchestra. The featured selections are "Te Deum" by Anton Dvorak and Ralph Vaughan Williams' "Five Mystical Songs" and "Dona Nobis Pacem." The concert is free and open to the public. For more information, visit www.masterworkschoir.org.

June 22nd - 27th: Coker College To Host Inaugural Summer Piano Institute

Coker College's Department of Music, Dance, and Theater is hosting its inaugural Summer Piano Institute for high school students June 22-27

The Summer Piano Institute will allow students to explore piano studies intensively with veteran teachers and a community of fellow students. Students must be currently enrolled in grades 9 through 12 and no older than 18, and they must have completed at least four years of keyboard study.

"For one week in June the Coker College campus will be turned into a celebration of piano,” said Will Carswell, associate provost for academic affairs and associate professor of music. “Budding pianists will have the opportunity to work one-on-one and in ensemble with our extraordinary piano faculty. The Summer Piano Institute will create the ideal environment for young pianists to be inspired and challenged."

The Institute’s daily schedule will include private lessons, group lessons, ensemble rehearsal and coaching and piano literature exploration classes. All students will receive daily lessons, masterclasses and practice time on the college’s Steinway & Sons pianos, which are considered the gold standard of pianos. Some free time will be built into the schedule for performing in the community, watching important music films and other activities.

"The Summer Piano Institute is an exciting new opportunity for young local pianists to study with Coker faculty and develop their piano skills while also enhancing their all-round musical knowledge," said Graham Wood, associate professor of music; chair of the department of dance, music and theater; and coordinator of the musical theater program.

Tuition for the week-long program is $475 for resident campers and $295 for day campers (commuters) plus a $20 nonrefundable registration fee. Resident campers will stay in one of the college’s residential halls throughout the week and receive three meals a day. Day campers also will receive three meals a day. Applications and registration fees are due by May 15. Enrollment is limited.

For more information, visit https://sites.google.com/a/coker.edu/spi/application or contact the institute director, Ryan Smith, at 843-383-8064 orrsmith@coker.edu.

The music faculty include:

Ryan Smith is assistant professor of music at Coker College where he directs the piano and theory programs. He is an active performer, giving recitals in diverse venues in Austin, New York, Columbia and Charleston, with an upcoming recital in London. Smith holds degrees in music performance from Furman University and the University of South Carolina. His teachers include Ruby Morgan, Sheila Paige, Marina Lomazov and Charles Fugo.

Rita Chandler is an adjunct professor of music at Coker College. She has performed the Schumann Piano Concerto with the Spartanburg Philharmonic and numerous solo works. Chandler studied with George Lucktenberg at Converse College where she earned her B.M. and M.M. in piano performance.

March 2nd: Masterworks Choir to perform concert of sacred music

The 35th anniversary season of the Masterworks Choir continues Sunday, March 2, with two performances of a concert of sacred music titled Psalms, Hymns and Spiritual Songs.

The 80 voices of the Masterworks Choir, conducted by Dr. William Carswell and accompanied by Beverly Hazelwood, will perform at 4 and 7 p.m. in the historic Central United Methodist Church sanctuary.

The program features 17 works that draw on the rich and varied tradition of sacred choral music, all based on hymn tunes, psalm settings, or on spiritual songs. Most often Masterworks Choir programs are accompanied by chamber orchestra. For this unique concert the Choir will highlight the wonderful art of a cappella singing by performing over half the program without instrumental accompaniment. Many of these a cappella works will be performed by 60 members of the Choir who will be traveling to New York City in May to sing at Carnegie Hall.

The Masterworks Choir will perform a 30-minute Prelude Concert, alone, prior to joining with several other choirs to sing the Mozart Requiem under the baton of internationally-renowned composer and conductor John Rutter.

Vocal soloists for the concert are singers from the ranks of the Choir. Rebecca Thompson is the soprano soloist, along with a solo quartet comprised of Kristen Owen Hardaway, soprano; Ashley Long, alto; William Daniel, tenor; and Kevin McCormick, baritone.

Dr. Carswell is in his second season as Music Director and Conductor of the Masterworks Choir. In addition to leading the Choir, he serves as Associate Provost for Academic Affairs and Associate Professor of Music at Coker College, Hartsville.

Masterworks Choir concerts are always greatly anticipated by the Florence community as well as the Pee Dee. Admission is free and everyone is encouraged to attend.

March 2nd: The Masterworks Choir to perform at Central United Methodist Church

The Masterworks Choir Presents

Psalms, Hymns and Spiritual Songs

A program of Sacred Choral Works

Sunday, March 2,  2014

4:00 & 7:00 PM  Admission Free

Central United Methodist Church

Reception after 4 PM Concert

March 2nd: The Masterworks Choir at Central United Methodist Church

The Masterworks Choir, under the direction of Dr. William Carswell, will present a winter concert entitled Psalms, Hymns, and Spiritual Songs on Sunday, March 2, 2014, at Central United Methodist Church in downtown Florence. There will be two performances; one at 4:00 pm with a reception following and at 7:00 pm. This concert is free and open to the public.

Audition Alert: Join the Masterworks Choir on January 6th

Attention local singers: If you are a lover of fine choral music and not already a member of the Masterworks Choir, the time to join is now.  Will Carswell, conductor of the Masterworks Choir, will be holding auditions for new singers from 6 to 6:45 PM on Monday, January 6 at Central United Methodist Church.  Auditions will take place just prior to the choir's first rehearsal for its spring concerts. 

December 8th: The Masterworks Choir to present its 35th Annual Christmas Concert

The Masterworks Choir of Florence will present their 35^th annual Christmas Concert on Sunday, December 8 at 4:00 pm and 7:00 pm at Central United Methodist Church, Florence, SC.  The 65 voices of the Masterworks Choir will be joined by a chamber orchestra along with eleven soloists, and will be conducted by Dr. William Carswell, Associate Professor of Music and Chair of the Department of Music, Dance and Theatre at Coker College.

The program features the joyous Magnificat by J. S. Bach.  Written in Leipzig for the 1723 Christmas Vespers service, the Magnificat was conceived on a grand scale, requiring five soloists, a five-part choir and, for its time, an unusually large orchestra.  The extraordinary impact of Bach’s great choral works derives essentially from his remarkable ability to balance, yet at the same time to exploit to the full, the spiritual and dramatic elements of each text, whether it be one as concise as the Magnificat or as monumental as the St. Matthew Passion.

The second featured work on the program is the Oratorio de Noël (Christmas Oratorio) by French composer Camille Saint-Saëns.  Saint-Saëns was a great admirer of Bach, even noting in the instrumental introduction to the Oratorio “in the style of J. S. Bach.”  The piece comes from the early part of Saint-Saëns’ career, at a time when sacred music had been in decline.  Written in just eleven days the Christmas Oratorio is a work of great charm which appeals particularly because of its beautiful part-writing and its melodic grace and simplicity.

Vocal soloists for the concert are singers from the ranks of the Masterworks Choir, many familiar in the Florence arts community.  The Magnificat will feature sopranos Rebecca Thompson, Sharyn Mapes, Julie Thomas, Kat Justice and Kari McKeone; alto Ashley Long, tenors Paul Zwiers and Shaw Thompson, and bass Bill Hazelwood.  The Christmas Oratorio soloists include sopranos Rebecca Thompson and Julie Thomas, alto Ashley Long, tenor Shaw Thompson, and basses Bill Hazelwood, Ray Hazelwood, and Steve Mapes.

The Masterworks Christmas concert is always a greatly anticipated musical event in the Pee Dee region.  Admission to all Masterworks concerts is FREE, so you will want to get there early to reserve your seat!

December 4th: 'Live at Central' to feature the Coker College Music Program

The Live at Central Christmas program begins with the return of the students and faculty of the Coker College Music Program. The Coker Christmas Festival features the college’s premier choral ensemble, the Coker Singers, as well as the Chamber Singers, Men’s Vocal Ensemble, and members of the music faculty. This is a return command performance, as many of you remember these musicians began our Christmas music season last year. The program will be led by Dr. Will Carswell, Chair of the Department of Music, Theatre and Dance at Coker College and the Music Director and Conductor of the Masterworks Choir in Florence.

For the “Live @ Central” evening, the Program begins at 6:30 on December 4th. There is a dinner at 5:30pm. Cost is $5 for adults and $2 for children.

Reservation for dinner at 843-662-3218. Central United Methodist Church is located at 265 West Cheves Street in downtown Florence.

December 8th: The Masterworks Choir to present its 35th Annual Christmas Concert

The Masterworks Choir of Florence will present its 35th annual Christmas Concert on Sunday, December 8 at 4:00 pm and 7:00 pm at Central United Methodist Church in Florence, SC. The 65 voices of the Masterworks Choir will be joined by a chamber orchestra along with eleven soloists, and will be conducted by Dr. William Carswell, Associate Professor of Music and Chair of the Department of Music, Dance and Theatre at Coker College.

The program features the joyous Magnificat by J. S. Bach. Written in Leipzig for the 1723 Christmas Vespers service, the Magnificat was conceived on a grand scale, requiring five soloists, a five-part choir and, for its time, an unusually large orchestra. The extraordinary impact of Bach’s great choral works derives essentially from his remarkable ability to balance, yet at the same time to exploit to the full, the spiritual and dramatic elements of each text, whether it be one as concise as the Magnificat or as monumental as the St. Matthew Passion.

The second featured work on the program is the Oratorio de Noël (Christmas Oratorio) by French composer Camille Saint-Saëns. Saint-Saëns was a great admirer of Bach, even noting in the instrumental introduction to the Oratorio “in the style of J. S. Bach.” The piece comes from the early part of Saint-Saëns’ career, at a time when sacred music had been in decline. Written in just eleven days the Christmas Oratorio is a work of great charm which appeals particularly because of its beautiful part-writing and its melodic grace and simplicity.

The Masterworks Christmas concert is always a greatly anticipated musical event in the Pee Dee region. Admission to all Masterworks concerts is FREE, so you will want to get there early to reserve your seat!

December 8th: The Masterworks Choir to present its 35th Annual Christmas Concert

The Masterworks Choir of Florence will present their 35^th annual Christmas Concert on Sunday, December 8 at 4:00 pm and 7:00 pm at Central United Methodist Church, Florence, SC.  The 65 voices of the Masterworks Choir will be joined by a chamber orchestra along with eleven soloists, and will be conducted by Dr. William Carswell, Associate Professor of Music and Chair of the Department of Music, Dance and Theatre at Coker College.

The program features the joyous Magnificat by J. S. Bach.  Written in Leipzig for the 1723 Christmas Vespers service, the Magnificat was conceived on a grand scale, requiring five soloists, a five-part choir and, for its time, an unusually large orchestra.  The extraordinary impact of Bach’s great choral works derives essentially from his remarkable ability to balance, yet at the same time to exploit to the full, the spiritual and dramatic elements of each text, whether it be one as concise as the Magnificat or as monumental as the St. Matthew Passion.

The second featured work on the program is the Oratorio de Noël (Christmas Oratorio) by French composer Camille Saint-Saëns.  Saint-Saëns was a great admirer of Bach, even noting in the instrumental introduction to the Oratorio “in the style of J. S. Bach.”  The piece comes from the early part of Saint-Saëns’ career, at a time when sacred music had been in decline.  Written in just eleven days the Christmas Oratorio is a work of great charm which appeals particularly because of its beautiful part-writing and its melodic grace and simplicity.

Vocal soloists for the concert are singers from the ranks of the Masterworks Choir, many familiar in the Florence arts community.  The Magnificat will feature sopranos Rebecca Thompson, Sharyn Mapes, Julie Thomas, Kat Justice and Kari McKeone; alto Ashley Long, tenors Paul Zwiers and Shaw Thompson, and bass Bill Hazelwood.  The Christmas Oratorio soloists include sopranos Rebecca Thompson and Julie Thomas, alto Ashley Long, tenor Shaw Thompson, and basses Bill Hazelwood, Ray Hazelwood, and Steve Mapes.

The Masterworks Christmas concert is always a greatly anticipated musical event in the Pee Dee region.  Admission to all Masterworks concerts is FREE, so you will want to get there early to reserve your seat!

December 4th: 'Live @ Central' to feature Coker College's Music Program

The Live at Central Christmas program begins with the return of the students and faculty of the Coker College Music Program. The Coker Christmas Festival features the college’s premier choral ensemble, the Coker Singers, as well as the Chamber Singers, Men’s Vocal Ensemble, and members of the music faculty. This is a return command performance, as many of you remember these musicians began our Christmas music season last year. The program will be led by Dr. Will Carswell, Chair of the Department of Music, Theatre and Dance at Coker College and the Music Director and Conductor of the Masterworks Choir in Florence.

For the “Live @ Central” evening, the Program begins at 6:30 on December 4th. There is a dinner at 5:30pm. Cost is $5 for adults and $2 for children.

Reservation for dinner at 843-662-3218.  Central United Methodist Church is located at 265 West Cheves Street in downtown Florence.          

April 28th: Coker Choirs to Present Annual Spring Concert

The annual Spring Choral Concert, presented by the Coker music program, will be held at 4 p.m. April 28 at the Elizabeth Boatwright Coker Performing Arts Center. This concert is free and open to the public.

Performing in the concert will be the College’s premiere ensemble, the Coker Singers, the Chamber Singers, who recently completed a week-long choir tour to New York City, the Gospel Choir and the newly-formed Men’s Ensemble.  

This concert will include pieces such as “Amor de mi Alma” (You Are the Love of My Soul) by Randall Stroope, Handel’s “Awake the Trumpet’s Lofty Sound,” Glenn McClure’s “Kyrie” for steel drum, piano and percussion, “Alleluia” by Paul Basler, “Ubi caritas” (Where charity and love are, God is there) by Ola Gjeilo, “How Can I Keep From Singing” by Ronald Staheli and “Ave Maria” (Hail Mary, full of grace) by Franz Biebl.

“In this one performance we are able to highlight the many talented students who sing in one of our four choral ensembles,” said associate professor William Carswell, director of choral studies and chair of the department of dance, music and theater.  “The choirs have worked diligently during the semester in preparation for this showcase concert.”  

The Coker College Singers, Chamber Singers and the Men’s Ensemble are directed by Carswell, and is assisted by Ronda W. McElveen, staff accompanist at the College.  In addition to teaching, Carswell is an active clinician, guest conductor and adjudicator throughout the South. He holds a doctorate in music from the University of South Carolina and joined the Coker College faculty in 2002. Florence’s Brandon Williams is the director of the Gospel Choir.  

Founded in 1908, the Coker Singers is the premiere choral ensemble of the college. The group has performed throughout the Carolinas as well as in Atlanta, New Orleans, and Birmingham. Other recent engagements include performances at the Lincoln Memorial, the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, and the U.S. Capitol in Washington, DC, and at Carnegie Hall and St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City.

The Coker Chamber Singers were formed in 2005. It is an auditioned choir that studies and performs choral chamber works of all musical periods.

For more information, contact Carswell at wcarswell@coker.edu.

May 5th: The newly-formed Coker Men's Ensemble to present its first concert

The newly-formed Coker Men's Ensemble will present its first public concert at 3 p.m. Sunday, May 5 in the Recital Hall of the Music Building. 

“The men of the ensemble have been working hard this semester to see if we could accomplish our goal of singing our first stand-alone concert since the formation of the choir only eight months ago,” said William Carswell, the choir’s director and Chair of the Department of Dance, Music and Theater.  “Every member of the group has made great strides in his singing and musicianship in order to build ensemble among one another.  They have a great attitude during the rehearsal process so it has been fun putting this program together.”                             

                                               

Some of the pieces to be performed are “Ave Maria” by Franz Biebl, the traditional spiritual “Sinner Man,” a Hawaiian groove version of “Over the Rainbow,” Jerry Levinson's “Darkness on the Delta,” “He Never Failed Me Yet” by Robert Ray, the folk hymn “Wondrous Love” and “Sanctus” by Franz Schubert.

The musicians in the Coker Men’s Ensemble include Christopher Moore, Edgefield, S.C., Joshua Hopkins, Hartsville, S.C., Ty Rogers, Greenville, S.C., Jordan Davenport, Redondo Beach, Calif., Estebon Middleton, St. Helena, S.C., and Robbie Gainey, Chesterfield, S.C.

The concert will also feature a guest trio by Dustin Moree, Darlington, S.C., Albert Ridgill, Hartsville, S.C., and Kevin McCormick, Rock Hill, S.C. 

Coker College offers performing arts students a major in music with concentrations in voice, piano and musical theater, a major in theater with concentrations in performance or technical theater, and a major in dance with concentrations in performance/choreography and movement analysis/therapies. Performing arts students study and perform in the Elizabeth Boatwright Coker Performing Arts Center, which includes the Watson Theater that seats 466, has a proscenium stage, an orchestra shell, computerized lighting and state-of-the-art acoustics, and the versatile 80-seat Black Box Theater.

For more information about music programs at Coker College, contact Carswell at 843-383-8063 or wcarswell@coker.edu.

April 21st: Masterworks Choir's Spring Concert to be held at the FMU PAC

The next concert of the Masterworks Choir on Sunday April 21 will feature a premier of a new work by Dale Warland and Mozart’s great masterpiece “Requiem”. The performance will be held at the FMU Performing Arts Center starting at 5PM and is free to the public. Conducting the program will be the Choir’s Music Director Dr. Will Carswell.

A Coker College faculty member since 2002, Dr. William Carswell is an Associate Professor of Music, Director of Choral Studies, and Chair of the Department of Dance, Music & Theater.  In addition to conducting the Coker Singers and Coker Chamber Singers, he teaches courses in choral literature, choral conducting and music education.  Dr. Carswell was recently named Music Director and Conductor of The Masterworks Choir in Florence, SC after having completed five seasons as Music Director and Conductor of the Columbia Choral Society in Columbia, S.C.  He has appeared as a clinician, guest conductor or adjudicator across the Southeastern US, as well as in Austria, Bulgaria, England, and France. 

The Voices is a new composition commissioned by Chorus America’s Commission Consortium of 21 choruses to benefit Chorus America, an advocacy research and leadership development organization in the choral field.  The Masterworks Choir is proud to be one of two South Carolina groups to take part in this consortium.  The other ensemble is the Greenville Chorale.   The text is by poet Michael Dennis Browne and the music is by acclaimed composer and conductor Dale Warland.  It is written for SATB chorus and solo cello.  This performance is the Southeastern U.S. premiere of this new work.

Mozart began work on the Requiem (K.626) in 1791 but died before completing this valedictory work; the standard performing version, heard at this performance, is that of the completion by Franz Xaver Süssmayer, a student of Mozart’s. Features soloist for this piece are Serena Hill-LaRoche, soprano, Jami Rhodes, mezzo soprano, Daniel Stein, tenor, and Alexander Elliot, bass.

Serena Hill-LaRoche is Assistant Professor of Music and Coordinator of Vocal Studies at Coker College, where she teaches applied voice, diction, vocal pedagogy and song literature.  Hill’s recent performance and/or master class engagements include East Tennessee State University, Greenville Light Opera Works, University of North Carolina at Pembroke, South Carolina Philharmonic, University of South Carolina, Columbia College, Bechtler Museaum of Art, East Carolina University, Virginia Commonwealth University, Palmetto Opera, Columbia Music Teachers Association, University of Maryland, Central Florida Lyric Opera, Firenze Lirico, Columbia Museum of Art, and Abadía Benedictina de la Santa Cruz del Valle de los Caídos as well as other performances in both Spain and Italy.  An award winning vocal artist, Hill was a 2003 finalist in the Southeast Regional Metropolitan Opera Auditions, a 2012 and 2008 NATS Artist Award Regional Finalist and the 2006 Artist of the Year with FBN Productions, Inc.  In 2003, she was the Bizet Award winner for the Orpheus National Young Artist Vocal Competition and a Palmetto Opera Competition Finalist in 2005.  Hill received a Doctorate in Musical Arts and a Master of Music from the University of South Carolina, both in Vocal Performance, and a Bachelor of Music from the University of North Alabama. Upcoming events include a performance of Samuel Barber’s Knoxville: Summer of 1915 and the world premiere of the “Songs for My People” by David Clay Mettens. For more information, please visit www.serenahill.com.

A native of North Carolina, mezzo-soprano, Jami Rhodes is currently Assistant Professor of Voice at East Carolina University in Greenville, North Carolina.  She holds the Doctor of Musical Arts degree in vocal performance and pedagogy from Louisiana State University, a Master of Music in vocal performance from the University of South Carolina, and a Bachelor of Music in music education from East Carolina University.   Frequently seen on the operatic stage, she holds a number of favorite leading roles to her credit including Rosina in Il Barbiere di Siviglia, Dorabella in Cosi fan tutte, Baba inThe Medium, Jo in Little Women, Charlotte in Werther, Lucretia in The Rape of Lucretia, and the title role in Bizet’s Carmen.  Also a frequent of the concert stage, Dr Rhodes is an active recitalist and performs regularly in oratorio and other concert works.  As a soloist, she has sung with Des Moines Metro Opera, Nashville Opera, Central City Opera, Lake George Opera, Opera in the Ozarks, the Ohio Light Opera, the Greenville Choral Society, the Concert Singers of Cary, the Choral Society of Durham, the Louisiana Sinfonietta, the Baton Rouge Symphony Orchestra, Symphony of the Mountains, the Wilmington Symphony, and the Austin Symphony. Recent and upcoming appearances include performances of Dominick Argento’s critically acclaimed song cycles From the Diary of Virginia Woolfand Miss Manners on Music, Rossini’s cantata Giovanna D’Arco, Mahler's Lieder eines fahrenden gesellen, the leading role in the world premiere of Salvatore Macchia’s opera Insectaphobia, and mezzo-soprano soloist in Corigliano’s Fern Hill, Handel’s Messiah, Bach’s Magnificat, Rossini's Petite Messe Solennelle, Haydn's Lord Nelson Mass, Mozart’s Requiem, Brahms’ Alto Rhapsody, and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9.

Tenor Daniel C. Stein, whose voice has been described as “ringing” and “warm and flexible”, opens the 2012-2013 season making his debut with Maestro Christopher Warren Green and the Charlotte Symphony as soloist for Mass in C-Minor (Mozart). Other upcoming engagements for the season include singing as soloist for Messiah (Handel) with the Greensboro Oratorio Society, and a recital of songs and arias by Handel, Fauré, Rachmaninoff, Rodgers, Weill, Bock, and Jason Robert Brown at Winthrop University (Rock Hill, SC). The season concludes with Stein performing J.S. Bach's Cantata No. 4: Christ Lag im Todesbanden with the York County Choral Society and Mozart's Requiem with The Masterworks Choir of Florence as well as at Providence Baptist Church, Charlotte, NC.

Baritone Alexander Elliott is an emerging young singer who is currently in demand across the United States. In the 2012-2013 season, Alexander performed with Tulsa Opera in mainstage performances of The Corporal in Donizetti’s The Daughter of The Regiment, and The Postman in Frank Loesser’s The Most Happy Fella. As an apprentice in the 2012 season, Alexander made his debut with Des Moines Metro Opera as Perichaud in Puccini’s La Rondine, and as The Captain in Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin.

While there, he also covered the role of Eugene Onegin, a role that Alexander performed earlier in the season under special invitation from The Florida State Opera. Equally at home on the concert stage, recent performances have included Handel’s Messiah, with the Pensacola Symphony, and Vaughan Williams’ Five Mystical Songs with the Albany Chorale. Other concert engagements have included performances with the Tallahassee Symphony, and the Epiphany Concert Series in South Carolina.

As a member of Des Moines Metro Opera’s Opera Iowa troupe, Alexander participated in over 70 performances of Papageno in The Magic Flute and The Strongman in Sid The Serpent Who Wanted To Sing. Alexander was also an Apprentice Artist with Des Moines Metro Opera during the summer of 2011.

Alexander is a graduate of Florida State University, where he studied with David Okerlund. While there he performed the roles of Figaro in Il barbiere di Siviglia, Demetrius in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and Pish-Tush in The Mikado, among other roles. He is a native of Florence, South Carolina, and currently resides in New York City.

April 21st: The Masterworks Choir to present its Spring Concert at the FMU PAC

The Masterworks choir, under the direction of Dr. William Carswell, presents their annual spring concert featuring the music of Mozart, plus a special event - the premiere of a choral work by renowned conductor and composer Dale Warland. Concert is a 5pm. Admission is free.

The concert will be held at the Francis Marion University Performing Arts Center, located at 201 South Dargan Street, in downtown Florence.

Masterworks Choir Ushers in the Holiday Season

The Masterworks Choir presents its annual Christmas Concert on Sunday December 9, 2012 at Central United Methodist Church. There will be 2 performances, one at 4 PM and the other at 7 PM. The church is located in downtown Florence at the Corner of Irby and Cheves Streets. All are welcome to this free concert. Bring the whole family, a nursery for the little ones will be provided.

The program will feature 2 great works for the Season, The Rutter GLORIA and Handel’s MESSIAH. Under the baton of the Masterwork’s new Music Director, Dr. Will Carswell the 70 plus voice choir will be joined by soloists Tina Milhorn Stallard, soprano; Janet Hopkins, mezzo-soprano; Walter Cuttino, tenor and Eric Kesler, Bass.

Dr. William Carswell is an Associate Professor of Music and Director of Choral and Vocal Studies at Coker College in Hartsville, SC.  In addition to conducting the Coker Singers and Coker Chamber Singers, he teaches conducting, voice, and courses in music education.  Dr. Carswell recently completed five seasons as Music Director and Conductor of the Columbia Choral Society in Columbia, SC.   Walter Cuttino Upon completing his education, Mr. Cuttino performed throughout Europe, with over 1,000 operatic performances to his credit.  Ferrando (Cosi fan Tutte), Almaviva (Barber of Seville), Tamino (The Magic Flute), Lenski (Eugene Onegin), Alfredo (La Traviata) and Rodolfo (La Boheme) are a sampling of the more than forty roles in his repertoire.  He has also performed over 500 concerts, including a concert tour with the late Leonard Bernstein to London and Moscow.  Janet Hopkins New York Metropolitan Opera mezzo-soprano Janet Hopkins has won world wide critical acclaim for her wide-ranging operatic and concert repertoire.  Active as a concert artist, soprano Tina MilhornStallard has performed solos in works such as Brahms’ Ein Deutsches Requiem, Haydn’sThe Creation, Bach’s St. John Passion, Poulenc’s Gloria and Handel’s Messiah. In June, 2011, she made her Lincoln Center debut as soprano soloist in Timothy Powell’s Incarnation Mysteria.  Eric Kesler holds a Master in Music Performance and Bachelor in Music Education degrees from Appalachian State University. He is currently a Candidate for the Doctorate of Musical Arts degree from the University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC and is adjunct professor of voice at Coker College, Hartsville, SC.

John Rutter is, perhaps, the most widely known and respected living composer of choral music today. He is best known for his Christmas carols including What Sweeter Music, Shepherd Pipe’s Carol, Star Carol, and Candlelight Carol, to name a few.  Many know him from his wedding anthem composed for the wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton; This is the Day which the Lord Hath Made.

Messiah, the most famous oratorio ever written, is quite unlike Handel's other ones, let alone those by most earlier and later composers. A German who initially made his fame writing Italian operas for English audiences, Handel found in the 1730s that the public wanted something new and more understandable. After composing some three dozen Italian operas, works of great musical brilliance but often dramatically inert and set to mediocre librettos, he shifted his energies to creating what are in essence sacred English operas.

This project is made possible through funding from the Florence

Regional Arts Alliance's Quarterly Grants Program, which is funded in

part by a generous award from Honda of South Carolina, the South

Carolina Arts Commission and the John and Susan Bennett Memorial Arts

Fund of the Coastal Community Foundation of SC.

Coker's Matsuo named Steinway Artist

In a surprise campus presentation this week, Associate Professor of Music Will Carswell announced that Assistant Professor of Music Jun Matsuo has been designated a Steinway Artist.

“A pianist who achieves the title ‘Steinway Artist’ reveals to those who study with that artist, and those who hear that artist perform, that they are serious about their craft and are committed to extraordinary results as a teacher and performer,” said Carswell, who chairs Coker’s department of dance, music and theater, coordinates the music and music education programs and directs the choral studies program.

“Steinway & Sons is proud to welcome Jun Matsuo to our illustrious roster of Steinway Artists,” said Steinway & Sons President – Americas Ron Losby.  “Matsuo has demonstrated not only a commitment to personal excellence, but also a commitment to bringing out excellence in her students. It is especially fitting that Professor Matsuo teaches at Coker College, which has committed to becoming an All-Steinway School.”

In accepting the award, Matsuo deflected the attention from the prestigious accomplishment to her music, saying simply, “I’ll be playing here next Monday.”

Last month, the music program presented a gala concert to celebrate the College’s All-Steinway Initiative, a commitment to using Steinway-designed instruments in classrooms, practice studios and in performance spaces campus-wide and to engaging a Steinway Artist on the faculty.

Less than one percent of colleges and universities worldwide are designated as All-Steinway Institutions.  Coker will be one of only three colleges in South Carolina with this distinction.

Jyotindra Parekh, owner of Rice Music House of Columbia, S.C., a Steinway partner in the region since 1924, his wife, Mary, and Losby were present for the celebration.

Matsuo joined the Coker College faculty in 2009 as a visiting assistant professor of music, teaching piano and music theory.

She is versatile as both a solo and collaborative performer. In addition to South Carolina, she has appeared as a guest pianist in New York, Maine, Florida, North Carolina and Texas. Her international activities have included a recital and lecture at the Universitii Sains Malaysia in Penang, Malaysia; performances of Spanish and South American Music for Cello and Piano in Japan; and master classes with Dominique Merlet, Pascal Devoyon, Noel Lee, and Roy Howat at the French Piano Institute in Paris, France. She also recently presented a lecture on Carl Czerny at the World Piano Conference in Novi Sad, Serbia. 

Matsuo earned her Doctor of Musical Arts in piano pedagogy from the University of South Carolina, and prior degrees from Binghamton University and the State University of New York at Plattsburgh.

Matsuo’s teachers include Nanako Tamaki, Kathryn Stuart, Peter Takacs, Walter Ponce and Charles Fugo as well as Diane Richardson and John Keene in collaborative study. 

Matsuo and cellist Richard Thomas will perform a recital, which is free and open to the public, at 7:30 p.m. Monday, Nov. 5 in the Hannah Lide Coker Recital Hall.

For more information about music programs at Coker College, please contact Carswell at 843-383-8063 or wcarswell@coker.edu.

Masterworks Choir Rehearsal kicks off Saturday, September 8th

The Masterworks Fall Kick-off Rehearsal begins Saturday, September 8th @ 9:30 am at Central United Methodist Church.  Come enjoy a continental breakfast, check out music scores, and pay semester dues.  Then read through the music for the fall term.  The regular weekly rehearsals will begin on Monday, September 10th @ 7:30 pm.  Dr. Carswell will be conducting auditions from 6:00 - 7:00 pm on Monday, September 10th and 17th.

For more information, contact:

Mary Ann Nash
Masterworks Choir 
manash42@aol.com

Ketter's Honors Project aims to Reach Local Young People

Reaching Children Through Music: A Middle School Choral Clinic will take place at Hartsville’s First Baptist Church on March 31^st.  Reaching Children Through Music is Coker College’s Marlin Ketter’s Senior Honors Project. 

Middle School students from in and around Hartsville will be treated to an all-day clinic (9am to 4pm) and then will perform at concert at 4pm.  Admission is free and everyone is invited to attend.

First Baptist Church is located at 104 East Home Avenue in downtown Hartsville.

For more information, contact Ketter through his Facebook page.