As Charleston prepares to welcome thousands for Spoleto Festival USA and Piccolo Spoleto this year, the Charleston Symphony Orchestra prepares to kick off Piccolo on May 22 at 8p.m. with the annual Sunset Serenade performance.
Each year, the city of Charleston offers a free orchestra concert given by the Charleston Symphony Orchestra featuring guest artists. Piccolo Spoleto is the sister festival to Spoleto Festival USA that provides accessible events showcasing local artists.
“We hope that the concert can inspire a spirit of celebration and excitement as the opening concert of [Piccolo], while also giving citizens and visitors a chance to come together in mutual appreciation of the arts,” said Latayna Hardee, the city’s production coordinator. She describes the concert as the festival’s kick-off.
“Our festival theme this year is ‘From Here,’ so we are actively seeking to celebrate what it is like to be from Charleston: to walk our streets, eat our food, and enjoy the depth of artistic talent that we have to offer.”
In 1989, after Hurricane Hugo destroyed much of South Carolina, then-Mayor Joseph P. Riley Jr. commissioned the Charleston Symphony Orchestra to put on a free concert on the steps of the U.S Custom House in South Carolina as a way to inspire and uplift the community after such devastation.
“The Custom House concert for Piccolo was a brainchild of Mayor Riley,” said Hardee. “He instilled it to be an annual tradition. Additionally, after Hurricane Hugo, the CSO together with the City of Charleston played a free concert for the community a few days after Hurricane Hugo. This concert also took place at the Custom House. It was a pivotal moment for our city.”
Following the 1989 concert, the CSO continued the tradition and incorporated it into the Piccolo Spoleto as an annual performance that has evolved into one of Piccolo’s most attended events.
Charleston Symphony Orchestra Artistic Director Yuriy Bekker said he believes the event serves as a way to bring the Charleston community together.
“For a moment, people forgot about all their hurdles and troubles,” said Bekker. “And the music was able to heal and bring people joy.”
This year, the orchestra will focus on performing American songs and composers in homage to the festival’s theme, celebrating America’s 250th birthday.
“The orchestra is going to play Bernstein, Copland’s Hoedown, a piece by Valerie Coleman called Umoja, which means unity, and also a couple of John Williams pieces, one from Cowboys and music from Star Wars,” said Bekker.
The program will focus on works created by renowned American composers and conductors Leonard Bernstein and Aaron Copland, as well as iconic Star Wars composer John Williams. Set to be featured as well is two-time Grammy winner Quianna Parler.
Piccolo’s longstanding commitment to accessible arts and events has become the anchor that grounds the festival in community, inclusivity, and creativity.
“Investing in free and accessible public arts programming is important because it ensures that culture belongs to the entire community, not just to people who can afford tickets or who already feel connected to the arts,” said Hardee.
Hardee described Sunset Serenade as an event that encompasses the values of Piccolo, with origins rooted in community healing, resilience and celebration.
“The community comes: some bring picnics and chairs and blankets, and they get all around and enjoy the music,” said Bekker.
Sunset Serenade has garnered a loyal and consistent audience, with people sometimes arriving to the performance hours in advance for the evening event. Bekker describes past attendees as often spending the day leading up to the performance near the Custom House, eating and sitting outside while awaiting the late-May event.
“Events like Sunset Serenade create spaces where residents and visitors of all ages, backgrounds, and income levels can experience live performance together, strengthening Charleston’s sense of identity and community pride,” said Hardee.
“For me, I think [participating in Piccolo] is such a vital part of [the Charleston Symphony Orchestra] and our mission,” said Bekker. “We’re bringing people together through our music, and what better way than to celebrate the opening of a great festival with a free concert?”
Jordyn Britton is an arts journalism and communications graduate of the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University.
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