To ring in the New Year with musical engagements, the Aiken Symphony’s string section will be performing their second concert in the 2023-24 Chamber Series, “Strings Attached,” on Friday, Jan. 19, 2024, at 7:30 p.m. in downtown Aiken.
Led by Music Director and Conductor Scott Weiss, the concert is part of the symphony’s 2023-24 celebration for its ninth season.
“It endeavors to provide artistic leadership to the greater Aiken community through the presentation of symphonic music that educates, entertains and enriches the human spirit,” stated a press release from the symphony. “The ensemble includes some of the best professional classical instrumentalists from South Carolina and Georgia, putting it on par with several regional orchestras from larger towns and cities.”
Hosted at the Amentum Center for Performing Arts, located at 126 Newberry St., according to a press release from the orchestra, the program will begin with “the otherworldly and multidimensional ‘Starburst’” by up-and-coming composer Jessie Montgomery, who is currently the Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s Mead Composer-in-Residence.
The program will follow with the “heart wrenching ‘Adagio for Strings’” by Samuel Barber, which played following the deaths of Franklin Delano Roosevelt and John F. Kennedy, and in the days after the 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center.
“This work became America’s music for mourning,” stated a press release from the symphony. “Through his prolific output and accessible approach to modern music, Barber cemented himself as a great American composer, with accolades such as the American Prix de Rome and two Pulitzer Prizes adding to his reputation.”
Next, the strings section will perform Ralph Vaughan Williams championed English folk tunes with “Five Variants of ‘Dives and Lazarus,’” beginning with an introduction, opening theme and five variations, before ending with Tchaikovsky’s “Serenade for Strings,” a “masterful combination of his signature soaring melodies and lush harmonies.”
Seating is general admission with single tickets costing $40 each. Active military members are eligible for $10 off each ticket by calling the box office at 803-295-0313.
Tickets are available for purchase online at https://aikensymphonyorchestra.com/ or by calling the box office.
