Make Music Day at the Koger Center for the Arts featuring USC School of Music, SC Philharmonic, Whiskey Tango Review and MORE!

On Wednesday, June 21, the Koger Center for the Arts will host Make Music Day, a free family friendly day of creating and listening to music. The Koger Center is presenting the day in conjunction with Rice Music House and the SC Philharmonic, as well as the City of Columbia.

From 12 to 8 p.m., every hour will bring musicians of all ages to the Vista for everyone to enjoy. Presented by the NAMM Foundation, Make Music Day is a worldwide celebration held in more than 1000 cities in 120 countries, with origins from France in 1982. The day is all about exposing communities to the power of music from all genres.

The early half of the day features an experimental “ruckus hour” where visitors can play around and make music with unconventional instruments--like boomwhackers--alongside percussive ones like steel drums. Varna International Music Academy, Rice Music House, SC Youth Philharmonic, and Rhodes Music Studio will have several students and affiliates perform recitals throughout the Koger Center lobby, stage, and Upstairs Gallery. The SC Youth Philharmonic will also host an instrument petting zoo, a perfect opportunity for aspiring musicians to learn a little bit more about different instruments.

At 4 p.m., Columbia Operatic Laboratory will perform excerpts from their production of Pirates of Penzance as well as give an announcement about their season. Afterwards, around 4:30 the duo Alexandra Fowler and Max Feltes will perform covers of hit indie songs for audiences.

The night concludes with outdoor events, starting out with a drum circle open for everyone to participate in. The circle will be led by Ashley Cobb, a graduate assistant at the University of South Carolina’s School of Music. There will be three bands afterwards performing on the plaza stage: Whiskey Tango Revue with Lauren Sherr, Martha’s Vault, and Sam & Illia. All stage performances are also free, and don’t forget your lawn chair or blanket!

Make Music Day Columbia is a yearly event that helps to make the slower summers of Columbia that much more musical. For more information on the complete lineup, visit the Koger Center website or the Make Music Day Columbia site.

Columbia Operatic Laboratory presents original production of Mozart’s The Impresario 5/12

Columbia Operatic Laboratory (COLab) is presenting the opera The Impresario, which features music by Mozart and a new libretto and book by Evelyn Clary at 6:00 pm on Thursday, May 12 at Jubilee! Circle.

Originally created in 1786 for a private performance for Emperor Joseph II and eighty of his besties, the story tells the tale of two sopranos vying to be prima donna of an opera company.  In this new English adaptation of the libretto, Frances Honda Coppola, sung by Maria Beery, and her assistant Bradley Pittman, played by Bradley Fuller who also serves as the accompanist, are leading a financially struggling small opera company. Bitcoin investor Gil Bates, played by Austin Means, offers to fund their entire season if they employ his…er…mature girlfriend Goldie Dawn, played by Clary, and his new young fling, Alicia Silverstone, played by Sara Jackson. Of course, all manner of hilarity ensues. Michael T. Brown is directing the performance.

True to COLab fashion, the show has gotten a makeover.  The show is set in modern day Columbia with spoken words and dialogue in contemporary English.  Gone are the sexist overtones of women tearing each other down rather than working together, and clunky dialogue that plagued the original.  “Impresario is arguably the world’s first musical comedy. Its spoken dialogue, arias that can be taken out of context, social commentary, everyday characters and happy ending put it more in line with musical comedy than the operas of its day,” says Clary. 

“The enduring legacy of this show lies in its larger commentary on the business of making art” says Brown.  “The issues that were tackled in the original of how an arts organization can stay ‘true’ to the spirit of their work and maintain financial viability, all while handling plenty of off-stage drama has captured the imagination of performers and audiences for over two hundred years.  And as is often the case, presenting this as satire prompts us to reflect on serious issues with some levity and fun.”

 This is a comic one act opera for everyone – not just for the opera aficionados. This is not something you will hear every day!

CoLab is hoping to extend this run and is hoping to book gigs at other venues for this piece as well as others from their expanding repertoire.

Jubilee! Circle is located at 6729 Two Notch Rd right next to Very’s Restaurant in Columbia. Admission is $10 by cash or check at the door. Jubilee! Circle will have snacks and drinks available for purchase.

Columbia Operatic Laboratory is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. For booking, please email ColumbiaOperaticLaboratory@gmail.com. For more information on the production, or to make a donation, go to Columbia Operatic Laboratory on Facebook.