Piccolo Spoleto Festival Memorial Day Concert
2018 Piccolo Spoleto Festival Memorial Day Concert
Over 230 people attended the annual Piccolo Spoleto Memorial Day Concert in the Church at Mepkin Abbey on Monday, May 28th. The first part, entitled “Liturgical Elegance,” was performed by the Taylor Festival Choir (TFC), conducted by Robert Taylor. This is a professional chamber choir based in Charleston, South Carolina. Since its inception in 2001, TFC has established a reputation for excellence among choral specialists and critics as well as the nation’s finest ensembles. The choir performed works by Jakob Handl, John Sheppard, Stephen Paulus, Brian Galante, and Henryk Górecki.
After a short break, the second part, entitled “Earth’s Crammed with Heaven,” featured the Ensemble of St. Clare at Mepkin Abbey. The ensemble is comprised of professional musicians from the Charleston Symphony and the College of Charleston music faculty. The works performed included concertos by Johann Sebastian Bach and Benedetto Marcello and concluded with Ennio Morricone’s “Gabriel’s Oboe,” from the feature film The Mission. The conductor was Yuriy Bekker, the solo violinist was Micah Gangwer, and the oboe soloist was Zachary Hammond.
The concert met with a warm reaction from all those in attendance and was followed by an extended standing ovation. A reception followed the concert. The audience enjoyed a chance to socialize and celebrate the outstanding performance.
