Feb
27
2024
Events
Opera 101
Tuesday, Feb 27, 2024 @ 2:00 pm - 4:00 pm
Category:
The Sandcastle, Kiawah Island SC
Opera 101 welcomes both the uninitiated and experienced lovers of classical western opera from its inception in Italy over 400 years ago to the present, and is open to all Kiawah residents.
Contact Susan Wright Sullivan at [email protected] to be included in email communications for related reading materials and suggested videos.
Dr. Edward Hart – Composer in Residence, Charleston Symphony Orchestra (2019-2020) Professor of Composition and Music Theory, College of Charleston
Strauss and beyond
Richard Strauss carried on the tradition of German Romantic opera established earlier by Richard Wagner. Early landmark works, including Salome and Elektra, pushed the boundaries of musical/dramatic expression, inspiring the younger generation of Austro-Germanic composers including Alban Berg. Strauss’ later operas marked the last full flowering of musical romanticism first seen in the nineteenth century.
Edward’s music has been performed in the United States, Latin America, Africa, and Europe, including performances in New York, Los Angeles, Kiev, Vienna, Mexico City, Buenos Aires, Johannesburg, Moscow, Boston, and at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. Reviewers have described his music as “mesmerizingly rich, clearly visual,” and “an accessible style that clearly communicates to audiences.” His works include concerti for violin, piano, string quartet, and guitar as well as various orchestral works, chamber music, solo piano compositions, choral music, and art songs. Ensembles that have performed his music include the Kiev Philharmonic, Arpeggione Chamber Orchestra (Austria), Orquesta de Baja California, Philharmonica de Montevideo, Symphony of the Americas, Charleston Symphony, Lviv Philharmonic, and the Harlem, Shanghai, and Arabella quartets. In 2023, his album Under an Indigo Sky, featuring the Charleston Symphony, spent six weeks on the Billboard Top Ten Traditional Classical Albums list. He has received many commissions and has served as Composer in Residence of the Charleston Symphony. Hart’s choral music is published by Colla Voce.
Edward is a native of Charleston, South Carolina and holds a Doctorate from the University of South Carolina where his primary composition teacher was Gordon “Dick” Goodwin. He is on the music faculty of the College of Charleston.
Location
The Sandcastle