Rachel Lee Priday
Columbia, S.C. – The South Carolina Philharmonic presents Beethoven & Blue Jeans January 15, 2022 at 7:30 PM at the Koger Center for the Arts. This annual event is often the highest-attended concert for the orchestra each season, and this year’s installment features a blockbuster lineup of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 7 in A Major, Barber’s Violin Concerto, op. 14 and Carlos Simon’s contemporary composition Fate Now Conquers. The Barber will feature critically-acclaimed and internationally-known guest soloist Rachel Lee Priday on violin. All concerts this season are presented in person and livestreamed.
Barber’s Violin Concerto and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 7 were originally slated to be performed in January of 2021, but due to the orchestra’s need to pivot programming due to the pandemic, these pieces were postponed and programmed for this season’s Beethoven & Blue Jeans. Music Director Morihiko Nakahara was drawn to the exuberance and excitement of the Beethoven symphony paired with the lyricism and melancholy of the first two movements of the Barber concerto.
Guest violinist Rachel Lee Priday will be performing the Barber concerto with the SC Phil. As an artist who has toured internationally, she has been profiled in The New Yorker, The Strad, Los Angeles Times and Family Circle. Priday previously performed the Barber concerto with the SC Phil during the organization’s music director search which began in 2007. When Nakahara met Priday in Maine last season, he was enthusiastic to bring her back to Columbia for this season’s Beethoven & Blue Jeans.
The concert will open with Carlos Simon’s Fate Now Conquers. Commissioned by the Philadelphia Orchestra in 2020, Simon composed this piece as a direct response to Beethoven's Symphony No. 7, utilizing Beethoven's harmonic gestures in the 2nd movement of the symphony. The title, a quotation from Iliad, was found in one of Beethoven's journal entries. “Simon's piece is brief - around 5 minutes,” said Nakahara, “yet it packs so much power and drama. It is going to provide a perfect opener for this program.”
Beethoven & Blue Jeans will be presented on Saturday, January 15, 2022 at 7:30 PM at the Koger Center for the Arts. In-person or livestream tickets may be purchased at scphilharmonic.com or by calling the Koger Center Box Office at 803-251-2222. Audiences are encouraged to visit the Koger Center’s website to learn about all safety protocols for in-person performances: kogercenterforthearts.com. The SC Philharmonic will continue to follow CDC and University of South Carolina guidelines for the safety of the audience and musicians. For the January 15 concert, audience members will be required to wear masks and are asked to watch the performance virtually if they are not vaccinated.
The South Carolina Philharmonic is committed to performing live symphonic music and providing dynamic educational opportunities in the Midlands. We carry forward a legacy of passion for the music and embrace our responsibility to be a vibrant part of the cultural fabric of our diverse community.
For more information about the South Carolina Philharmonic, please visit SCPhilharmonic.com or follow on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
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