FREE ART & FUN at the KOGER CENTER FOR THE ARTS THIS SUMMER!

The Koger Center for the Arts is so much more than a ticketed venue featuring the best of both local and touring performing arts. In addition to being the home of the Jasper Project’s Nook Gallery space in the Second Tier Lobby, Koger boasts an impressive collection of rotating and permanent art and offers free performances on the Outside Stage directly in front of the building.

Recently, Koger hosted the multimedia arts troupe, Squonk, on the outside stage and the front lawn was filled with folks on blankets and in lawn chairs enjoying picnics and a free performance by the 30-year-old entertainment organization. And there’s more to come!

Read below for a quick look at some of the FREE ART offered by the Koger Center for the Arts this summer.

Jasper offers the work of new artists year-round (though we’re taking a breather while the Koger gets new carpet this summer), in our Nook Gallery space. Jasper shows run monthly with opening receptions on the First Thursday of every month in conjunction with the Vista Guild’s First Thursday celebrations.

In the Upstairs Gallery Space the Koger Center hosts exhibitions by local artists such as BEAT OF THE HEART through July 1st, featuring local artists Rodgers Boykins, Ryan McClendon, Jeffrey Miller, Keith Tolen and Fred Townsend

In addition to hosting the SOUTHEASTERN PIANA FESTIVAL, a ticketed event, the Koger will also host a FREE LUNCHTIME CONCERT at noon on Tuesday June 11th in the Grand Tier Lobby. (Check out Malik Greene’s visual art in the Nook while you’re up there!)

Make Music Day is a free celebration of music around the world on June 21st. Launched in 1982 in France, it is now held on the same day in more than 1,000 cities in 120 countries.

Completely different from a typical music festival, Make Music Day is open to anyone who wants to take part. Every kind of musician - young and old, amateur and professional, of every musical persuasion - pours onto streets, parks, plazas and porches to share their music with friends, neighbors and strangers. All of it is free and open to the public. Make Music Day Columbia is hosted in conjunction with Rice Music House and is funded through a grant given by the City of Columbia. 

This year's Make Music Day schedule includes: 

10 – 11:30am Petting Zoo & Ruckus Hour 

12 – 1pm Music Lessons with Columbia Arts Academy (Ukelele & Voice)

1-5pm Recitals (Rice Music House and Freeway Music)

5:30-6:30 Drum Circle 

Don’t want to leave the house? Check out the Center’s Virtual Tour of Columbia-based artist Philip Mullen’s work from the comfort of your own home.

Philip Mullen came to South Carolina in 1969 and is one of the most renowned artists in the state. His works have been hanging in the Koger Center for the Arts since 1990, filling the space with his pieces that examine light and air. Throughout his art displayed in the Koger Center, Mullen explores the juxtaposition of light and how light touches everything around it. He has been described as creating works with even distribution of thought-out technique and carefree fluidity. From the Whitney Museum to the San Francisco Museum of Art, Mullen’s pieces have showcased his abilities all across America and the Koger Center is proud to house a permanent exhibit.  

Philip Mullen Art at the Koger Center is located on all three levels throughout the building.

You may take a virtual tour here for FREE! 

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Visit the Koger Center for the Arts’ website for more exciting info on both FREE and ticketed events coming up this summer!

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.

Tuesday is MAKE MUSIC DAY brought to you by One Columbia and friends

 

This Tuesday, June 21, Columbia will take part in its second annual Make Music Columbia event. Music will be played just about everywhere, from Five Points, Main Street, the State House, Lexington and more. It’s a perfect indoor and outdoor event for music-lovers of all ages to experience all sorts of music, happening from 9 am – 9 pm. There will be music of all styles, from rock, hip hop, folk, jazz, experimental and anything in between.

Make Music Columbia is part of a broader network that is the Make Music Day Alliance. The first Make Music Day was in France in 1982, and it is now a worldwide event, with over 700 cities in 120 countries participating. It happens each year on the summer solstice, a great way to celebrate the longest day of the year.

Anyone is free to participate in Make Music Columbia, and there will be a number of mass appeals, which are large groups of people playing the same instruments together. These will take place at the State House, and anyone is welcome to walk up and join in. They’ll have ukulele songbooks, harmonicas and more for the crowd. No musical skill required!

There will be buskers all around the city along with other organized concerts, which are all free and open to the public. People are also welcomed and encouraged to sign up to either host or perform. This is primarily a collaborative effort, made possible by the committed work of One Columbia, Rice Music House and WXRY FM.

OVER 64 ARTISTS!

MORE THAN 25 VENUES!

ANOTHER CITY-ENHANCING EVENT FROM YOUR FRIENDS AT ONE COLUMBIA

Most performances can be caught in Five Points, Main Street, and The Village at Sandhills, and there will be outdoor concerts at Tapp’s Arts Center and The Lula Drake on Main Street. There are still a lot more places to enjoy performances, and these can be found at makemusiccolumbia.org.

“The idea is to create so much music that people encounter it during their daily activities,” says Ashleigh Lancaster, Office Manager at One Columbia. “The idea that you can fill a whole city with performances like that is really exciting… It makes the streets feel so alive.”

Lancaster believes this is a great event for Columbia to be able to participate in a worldwide event while also enjoying the stress–relieving qualities of music. It can put a smile on people’s faces, and give them the opportunity to let go during the week.

THREE MASS APPEALS:

• First up – Join the Sound Circle!  Led by Girls Rock Columbia, make music using your voice – strange noises, bleeps, boops, even screams come together to create a unique chorus! Starts around 6pm.
• Then – Learn the Harmonica! Thanks to Hohner, we’ll be handing out 100 free harmonicas! Walk right up and learn how to play – then we’ll try our new skills as a group. Starts around 6:30pm.
• And, then – Uke it Up! The Cola Ukulele Band will perform their sweet tunes for you, but not before teaching you a few things they’ve learned! Be sure to bring your ukulele. There will be some books on hand with sheet music. Starts around 7:15pm 

So no matter how talented or less-than-talented you feel in your musical abilities, Lancaster and all the other good folks organizing Make Music Columbia invite you to make or just enjoy some music this Tuesday, June 21. It’ll be a great way to celebrate the summer solstice, and join the worldwide Fête de la Musique (meaning both “festival of music” and “make music” in French).

-- Ony Ratsimbaharison