Joye in Aiken is returning with a full schedule this year.
“After two years of COVID challenges, we’re excited to be able to present a full week of live events again. Our audiences have really missed the live experience, and so have our artists. There’s really nothing that compares with having these amazing performances happen right before your eyes,” said Janice Jennings, Joye in Aiken’s executive director.
The arts festival will be March 4 through March 11 in Aiken and will feature a variety of performances and events. It opens with a signature concert March 4.
“Our season opener is called ‘King of Instruments: An Organ Spectacular,’ and ‘spectacular’ isn’t too strong a word,” according to Joye in Aiken President Sandra Field in a news release. “Paul Jacobs is the chair of Juilliard’s Organ Department and universally regarded as the world’s greatest living organist. He’ll be performing with the 48-member Symphony Orchestra from the University of South Carolina in Columbia. Like the St. Matthew Passion in 2014 and our Juilliard Opera production of Dido and Aeneas in 2019, this is a highly prestigious event that brings renown to Aiken, and that’s made possible by our longstanding relationship with The Juilliard School.”
The concert will be at 8 p.m. at St. John’s United Methodist Church, 104 Newberry St. N.W. Tickets are $50.
Other performances include the 2022 edition of the Joye of Jazz at The Willcox with a day of jazz on March 5. Vocalist Charles Turner will perform at brunch from 11 am. to 1 p.m.; eclectic ensemble The Lovestruck Balladeers will be from 2 to 5 p.m., and Alphonso Horne and the Gotham Kings headlining from 7 to 9 p.m.
Tickets are $75-$100 for brunch; $50-$75 for the afternoon session and $100-$125 for the evening session. The all-day pass is $250 per person.
“The Joye of Jazz is so popular not only because the artists are always exceptional, but because of the very special ambience at The Willcox,” Field said.
The Los Angeles-based dance company BODYTRAFFIC returns with a performance at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 8, at the Amentum Center for Performing Arts. The group previously appeared at Joye in Aiken in 2017. Tickets are $30.
“The festival isn’t limited just to music – this year, for example, we’re having an LA-based dance company called BODYTRAFFIC. And we feature a pretty broad range of styles, from classical to jazz to bluegrass. But most of our artists are coming from The Juilliard School and Jazz at Lincoln Center, so no matter what the genre is, the level of quality is always really high,” said Jennings.
Two concerts will be performed on Thursday, March 10
At noon will be the sanctuary concert series with Juilliard Vocal Arts and Historical Performance Departments at First Presbyterian Church, 224 Barnwell Ave. The concert is free.
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That evening will be the Invoke concert at 7:30 p.m. at USCA Etherredge Center. Tickets are $30.
Invoke is an Austin, Texas-based, multi-instrumental string quartet that “blurs the lines between classical and other genres, including jazz, Appalachian fiddle tunes and bluegrass,” according to a news release.
Joye in Aiken ends March 11 with the Anderson and Roe Piano duo at 8 p.m. at the University of South Carolina Aiken Etherredge Center. Tickets are $50
Many of the events offer free student admission with an ID.
For additional information, visit joyeinaiken.com.
Charmain Z. Brackett is the managing editor for The Augusta Press. Reach her at charmain@theaugustapress.com
