For a long time now, the College of Charleston’s School of the Arts has had a special relationship with Bishop Gadsen: Charleston’s Episcopal Church-affiliated retirement community. Talented student musicians perform there regularly – check out my last post below, covering the amazing bunch of young Uruguayan musicians from “El Sistema” that wowed us in the BG Chapel just last Monday.

Bishop Gadsden has also furnished generous support of Habitat for Humanity in recent years: their efforts have resulted in the construction of one home thus far. Their fundraising drive for a second home got its final push just last Thursday, when an accomplished assortment of both former and current C of C musicians gathered at the Memminger Auditorium for a delightful (and very generous) evening of great music. Hosting the affair was Enrique Graf, distinguished pianist and C of C Artist-in-Residence.

First up was guitar star Marco Sartor – who recently won the JoAnn Falletta International Guitar Competition: one of the world’s most prominent contests. His winning concerto performance was broadcast nationally on NPR’s “Performance Today” a few weeks back. He beguiled us here with two favorite pieces from Argentinian tango king Astor Piazzolla.

Then came a lovely performance of Antonin Dvorak’s juicy, ultra-romantic Piano Quintet in A Major – one of the greatest works of its kind. Performing were Tomas Jakubek (violin I) and Peter Kiral (viola) – both from Slovakia. Tomas and Peter also perform regularly as part of the Charleston Symphony’s superb strings section. Jimena Lovon (violin II), from Peru, is a gifted undergraduate. On cello was Yun Hao Jiang, a passionate young artist and recent grad (I blogged about him just below), who also appeared later in the program with the Terranova Trio.

And the glue who held them together was pianist (and Curtis grad) Sean Kennard – who proved to be a sensitive and accomplished chamber musician – on top of his established credentials as a brilliant solo pianist. Since coming to Charleston to study with Enrique Graf, he’s won top prizes in quite a few major international piano competitions. He cemented a touching and memorable performance that reflected fully professional standards.

The matter of his heroic recent last-minute substitute appearance – playing the Grieg concerto with the Honolulu orchestra (he learned it on the plane during his flight to Hawaii) – is a story for another blog.

After intermission, we got a brace of operatic delights, courtesy of soprano Maria Artúnez and tenor Martin Nusspaumer – both from Uruguay. They reminded us why they’ve been among the top stars of the College’s vocal program since their enrollment in SOTA’s Artist Certificate program two years ago. After Maria’s moving rendition of an aria from Puccini’s La Boheme, Martin gave a ringing account of “Granada,” Augustin Lara’s most famous song. Then they teamed up for delicious duets by Verdi and Lehar.

Providing sensitive support was senior-year piano whiz Benny John Plasencia. He’s from Peru – and he’s one of the most gifted among Enrique Graf’s outstanding current crop of undergrad students. Vocal accompaniment is a tricky business – and Benny John’s passionate instincts and fleet fingers were just about perfect. You should hear him play solo sometime, too.

Finishing things off were the terrific members of the Terranova Trio – a fabulous ensemble that’s been wowing Chucktown audiences for several years now. They’ve also toured Central- and South America to great acclaim. Their excellent violinist is Javier Orman, who is polishing off a master’s degree in Michigan … and who will soon be instrumental in bringing “El Sistema” (previous post) to the Lowcountry. Pianist Giuliana Contreras is the very personification of keyboard elegance and assurance. Choice cellist Yun Hao Jiang (also blogged about below) rounded out the brilliant bunch.

They gave us a rousing go at contemporary American master Paul Schoenfeld’s popular Café Music – a wild tumble of early 20th-Century Americana (well, mostly – he threw in a Gypsy tune, too). We heard everything from sweet, bluesy “campfire songs” to jazzy ragtime passages that evoked “Little Rascals” chase scenes.

This joyful musical snapshot of the College’s ever-improving music program was something to behold. Keep track of the SOTA’s frequent concert and other offerings HERE. And watch for these performers’ names as the season progresses – I’ll be telling you more about many of them. You owe it to yourself to hear them if you can.