Artistic Director Donny McCaslin is best known as the saxophonist on David Bowie’s last album, Blackstar. The noted composer and bandleader has released a dozen albums over his genre-defying, GRAMMY-nominated career.

He now brings you BLACKSTAR SYMPHONY, the most electrifying presentation of Bowie’s final work to date. Set for a 55-70 piece orchestra featuring arrangements by some of the world’s best musicians, the evening is truly not to be missed!

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Blackstar Symphony: The Music of David Bowie

Gaillard Center

Discover the history and influence of the Harlem Renaissance, a groundbreaking movement for the arts!

Members of Project Aurora assemble in a multimedia program celebrating the resurgence of African-American culture in the early 20th Century.

Featuring special guest vocalists, musicians, and artists, immerse yourself in a golden age of African-American culture and jazz with works by Duke Ellington, Cab Calloway, James P. Johnson, Trevor Weston, Laura Karpman, and more.

We invite you to experience the soulful, syncopated, and captivating music written and inspired by some of the most important artistic leaders of the 1920s and ‘30s.

Harlem Renaissance

The CSO’s own Yuriy Bekker conducts this performance of Giuseppe Verdi’s Requiem. Special guest vocalists and choirs will join forces to present a powerful and moving Requiem unlike any other.

Verdi’s Requiem

In this Masterworks Series finale, the CSO travels through time and across the globe with music heavily infused with folk dances and sounds masterfully merged with orchestrated composition. Edvard Grieg’s Piano Concerto, Antonín Dvořák’s Symphony No. 7, and an exciting opening piece that we can’t wait to announce soon.

Dvořák’s Seventh Symphony

The action-packed adventure pits man against prehistoric predators in the ultimate battle for survival. Featuring visually stunning imagery and groundbreaking special effects, this epic film is sheer movie magic 65 million years in the making.

Now audiences can experience Jurassic Park as never before: projected in HD with a full symphony orchestra performing John Williams’ iconic score live to picture.   

Jurassic Park in Concert

The stars align in this program with Holst’s The Planets, Starburst by Jessie Montgomery, and Prokofiev’s Second Piano Concerto, plus guest conductor Tito Muñoz, pianist Maxim Lando, and the Women of the CSO Chorus.

The Planets

Don’t miss this rare opportunity to experience legendary violinist Itzhak Perlman in concert with the Charleston Symphony. For one night only, Perlman will dazzle audiences with a program of celebrated works that showcase his unparalleled virtuosity and pay homage to Jewish culture.

Among his impressive list of accolades, Mr. Perlman has been honored with a Presidential Medal of Freedom, National Medal of Arts, a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, 16 GRAMMY® Awards, and 4 Emmy Awards. 

An Evening with Itzhak Perlman

Music and other art forms are inextricably linked and have been for ages, bridging the gaps of time and uniting people through storytelling. In this concert, the CSO will explore works inspired by the written word and one piece that is rooted back in time yet sounds fresh and colorful. Three American composers – Bernstein, Simon, and Marsalis – also reveal the melting pot that comprises this nation’s history and its people.

The Music of Bernstein and Marsalis

Cirque de la Symphonie brings the magic of cirque to the music hall with your Charleston Symphony. Artists include the most amazing experts of exceptional cirque programs throughout the world — aerial flyers, acrobats, contortionists, dancers, jugglers, balancers, and strongmen. The stunning aerialists, dazzling dancers, and unbelievable feats are superbly choreographed to classical masterpieces and popular music performed live onstage with the orchestra.

Cirque de la Symphonie

Father and son Gerard and Julian Schwarz return to Charleston following their crowd-pleasing performance with the CSO during the 2022-23 season. In this concert, the CSO will present favorites from Johannes Brahms and Antonín Dvořák – two immensely talented composers who were friends.

Schwarz Conducts Brahms

Unwrap the joy with your Charleston Symphony this season and join us for one of Charleston’s favorite winter traditions! We are excited to bring you this annual concert once again – a celebration for audiences of all ages and from all backgrounds. Enjoy your favorite new holiday tunes, traditional carols, audience sing-alongs, and more. There will be something for everyone – including grand vocal works, fun visits from Santa and the Grinch, beloved pipers, and special guest dancing guests.

Holiday Pops!

“Hallelujah!” Few excerpts are familiar to as many, and Messiah remains Handel’s best-known work. There is no better time of year to enjoy Handel’s sacred oratorio that has long been associated with good will and charity.

Join the CSO for this glorious holiday tradition, Holy City Messiah, with the CSO Chamber Chorus and four guest soloists at three beautiful churches in downtown Charleston, Daniel Island, and Summerville.

Holy City Messiah, Downtown

Cathedral of St. John the Baptist

Saint Clare of Assisi Catholic Church

St. Theresa The Little Flower Church

Take a trip to Neverland. Make a getaway sailing the oceans with Jack Sparrow. Join the battle of good against evil with Frodo on his quest. All this and more with your Charleston Symphony Orchestra!

Plan an escape from reality to enjoy the first Pops concert of the season with music from these popular fantasy movies: Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, Avatar, Willow, Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, Pirates of the Caribbean, How to Train Your Dragon, and Hook.

Music of The Movie: Fantasy films

This concert program emotionally resonates with the juxtaposition of lightness and darkness and highs and lows, through brilliant music and voices, with works by Anton Bruckner and Morten Lauridsen. 

Majestic Bruckner

Nothing says “it’s the most wonderful time of the year” in the Lowcountry like Holiday Strings at the Charleston Library Society! The CSO’s string quintet will perform an annual tradition of Holiday works with your classic favorites announced from the stage. 

Holiday Strings

Charleston Library Society

This concert showcases musical masterworks from the Baroque, Classical, and Romantic Periods (Vivaldi, Mozart, Bruch, and Tchaikovsky), and features internationally prominent soloists performing alongside the CSO.

An Evening with Zukerman

Experience world-class dance with the Nashville Ballet. The Tony Award-winning choreographer behind Steven Spielberg’s 2021 West Side Story, Justin Peck’s Year of the Rabbit will make its Charleston debut. Hailed as “thrilling,” “poetic,” and “brilliant” by  The New York Times, Year of the Rabbit blends the athleticism of classical ballet with boundary-breaking movement for a performance that is both visually stunning and physiologically intriguing. Year of the Rabbit will be accompanied by Artistic Director Emeritus Paul Vasterling’s full-length Firebird, performed to Stravinsky’s iconic score!

Nashville Ballet

You don’t have to leave the country for a true Oktoberfest celebration! Enjoy an entertaining evening of craft beer and music right in your own backyard.

Oktoberfest (Charleston)

Pacific Box & Crate

Join us for a free outdoor concert on Seabrook Island featuring the Charleston Symphony under the direction of Principal Pops Conductor and Artistic Director, Yuriy Bekker!

Seabrook Pops

Seabrook Island

The CSO will open this season with Maestro Thomas Wilkins at the podium and guest pianist Michelle Cann. The concert will showcase three works that premiered during a transformative period in history – between 1899 and 1934 – that are timeless musical treasures by composers from France, the U.S., and England.

Elgar’s “Enigma”

You don’t have to leave the country for a true Oktoberfest celebration! Enjoy a lively experience with craft beer and music right in your own backyard. Event is free to attend.

Oktoberfest! (James Island)

Island Plaza

The City of Charleston and the CSO are thrilled to continue its celebration of the arts with a special free-to-attend Independence Day concert at “The Joe” – home of the Charleston RiverDogs. Experience a captivating evening under the stars with your Charleston Symphony. Enjoy a delightful blend of patriotic melodies, cherished classical favorites, and a spectacular fireworks show. 

2023 Independence Day Weekend Concert

The Joe 

Join us for the Charleston Symphony Youth Orchestra’s final performance of the season on Monday, May 29 at 11am at the Charleston Music Hall. Admission is free and all are welcome!

The Charleston Symphony Youth Orchestras showcases nearly one hundred young musicians from over twenty schools throughout the Lowcountry. CSYO and CSYS engage and inspires young musicians in a collaborative environment, where students strive for excellence with the highest quality performing arts education and offers unique opportunities for growth through mentorship from Charleston Symphony musicians.

CSYO Piccolo Spoleto Festival Concert

Charleston Music Hall

Join us for Sunset Serenade – now at the Charleston Music Hall! A free concert to launch the 2023 Piccolo Spoleto Festival featuring the Charleston Symphony under the direction of Artistic Director, Yuriy Bekker.

Featuring vocalist Alva Anderson and the College of Charleston Trumpet Ensemble, under the direction of our very own Antonio Marti, CSO Principal Trumpet.

The program will include popular and festive selections by John Williams, George Gershwin, Giuseppi Verdi, and more classical favorites.

Sunset Serenade

Sponsored by the Charleston Symphony Orchestra League (CSOL®), the 2023 Symphony Tour of Homes – Historic Charleston will be the 3rd Symphony Tour of Homes in Historic Charleston. The CSOL is known for its distinctive Home Tours featuring design, architecture and Lowcountry lifestyles on both Kiawah Island and Downtown Charleston.

This year’s tour in Historic Charleston will include a variety of properties with architectural features and design style spanning over 250 years.

CSOL Symphony Tour of Homes - Historic Charleston

CSOL Symphony Tour of Homes – Historic Charleston

Come join the CSO Brass Sextet at The Refinery for “Brass on the Grass,” an afternoon of music from Broadway, New Orleans, Latin America, and the Great American Songbook. Craft beers from the incredible curated tap list of The Whale Craft Beer Collective will be specially matched with the music and discussed by The Whale’s General Manager Jesse Mellinger. This event a co-production of The Refinery, Charleston Symphony Orchestra, The Whale Collective, and Ohm Radio; proceeds to benefit Ohm Radio.

Brass on the Grass

The Refinery Charleston

Join the Charleston Symphony for an elevated Chamber Music experience this season! Enjoy an intimate evening of ensemble music at the beloved Charleston Library Society that will showcase the brilliant talent of your CSO musicians. Performances will offer an exciting range of chamber music literature and robust programming.

We are excited to feature renowned pianist Wendy Chen on our 2022-23 series finale. No stranger to Charleston, Wendy participated in the Spoleto Festival USA Chamber Music Series for 15 years under the leadership of Charles Wadsworth. At the age of fifteen, Wendy Chen debuted with the Los Angeles Philharmonic under conductor André Previn. In 1990 she became the youngest winner ever of the National Chopin Competition, was one of the inaugural recipients of the Irving S. Gilmore Young Artists Award and was named a Presidential Scholar by the National Foundation for the Arts. Since then, her career has flourished, adding Young Concert Artists International Auditions and Washington International Competition to her numerous awards.

Brahms Horn Trio with Wendy Chen

For violinist Gil Shaham, the list of accolades is long: winner of multiple Grammy Awards, recipient of an Avery Fisher Career Grant and Avery Fisher Prize, 2012 Instrumentalist of the Year by Musical America—just to name a few. He performs regularly with the world’s leading orchestras (Berlin Philharmonic, Boston Symphony, Chicago Symphony, Israel Philharmonic, Los Angeles Philharmonic, New York Philharmonic, Orchestre de Paris, San Francisco Symphony) and has an impressive discography of recordings. In this final Masterworks concert of the season—his first performance with the CSO in several decades—he will shine alongside other giants in the orchestral world.

Inspired by Hollywood film music of the 1930s (or, perhaps, vice versa since the composer was a regular contributor to the genre), Korngold’s virtuosic Violin Concerto never fails to showcase the technical skills of its performers. Shaham as soloist on the Violin Concerto is guaranteed to be pure bliss.

The Titans

In this final Pops concert of the 2022-2023 season, it will be difficult to stay in your seat with spirited music from around the world. From tangoes and rumbas to folk dances and waltzes, the CSO has it covered in this melting pot of sounds, accompanied by special dance groups.

George Gershwin was inspired by a trip to Cuba for his Cuban Overture. Let the toe-tapping commence with selections from Slavonic Dance composed by Antonín Dvořák, Piazzolla’s Tangos, and Manuel de Falla’s Suite No. 1 from The Three-Cornered Hat to Cinco de Salsa and music from Lord of the Dance. Enjoy the high-energy “Mambo” from West Side Story and more. You’ll be on your feet for the evening!

Let's Dance!

Music is certainly one way to express individuality, but it is also a great unifier, helping to relate people to one another despite their differences. It can connect people across cultures and continents with ideas and feelings. In this concert, two incredible symphonies from two seemingly disparate composers (Antonín Dvořák and William Dawson) will demonstrate how traditional music from their cultures informed their symphonic works. William Dawson incorporated African American spirituals while Antonín Dvořák integrated folks tunes from his Czech homeland.

Dvořák’s Eighth Symphony constantly beckons the listener to dance, though it is not a dance piece. Even in its more solemn moments, the symphony is spirited, graceful, and optimistic. The music soars over and traces the spirit of Bohemia so much that the listener is transported to Dvořák’s home country.

Dvořák 8th Symphony

The international, chart topping supergroup Il Divo debuted in 2004 with instant success. With songs in four languages, their debut album Il Divo became a Top 4 sensation in 19 countries, hitting #1 in eight. The group went on to be a world leader in their unique pop-opera genre, achieving second to none success around the world, performing before personalities such as former US presidents George Bush, Bill Clinton or Barack Obama and the Queen of England. To date, Il Divo has sold over 30 million records throughout its career, achieved 160 gold and platinum records in more than 33 countries, and completed six world tours at the most important venues around the world including the Broadway stage. They have ten studio albums, two live albums, one compilation album, plus numerous special editions, duets and collaborations with other artists such as Celine Dion, Tony Braxton, Kristin Chenoweth or Michael Ball among others. The group’s latest album For Once In My Life: A Celebration of Motown, is the group’s robust and joyful song sojourn into the timeless, classics from Motown’s legendary vaults.

Il Divo

Join the Charleston Symphony for an elevated Chamber Music experience this season! Enjoy an intimate evening of ensemble music at the beloved Charleston Library Society that will showcase the brilliant talent of your CSO musicians. Performances will offer an exciting range of chamber music literature and robust programming.

Composed by 16-year-old prodigy, Felix Mendelssohn’s epic, exuberant, and virtuosic string octet remains one of the ultimate masterpieces in chamber music repertoire. Featuring the Charleston Symphony string quartet performing with members of the orchestral fellowship program. Also, our CSO musicians will perform works by Rubstov, Dorff, and Dvořák.

Mendelssohn Octet

Join the Charleston Symphony Youth Orchestras live at the Gaillard Center on Saturday, March 4, 2023, at 2:00 pm! 

Performances by Charleston Symphony Youth Strings (CSYS) and Charleston Symphony Youth Sinfonietta (CSYO) will showcase over 100 young musicians from the Tri-county! This performance is open and free to the public; come support our young musicians!

Charleston Symphony Youth Orchestra Side-by-Side concert

During Women’s History Month, this program will feature the world renowned, award-winning pianist Olga Kern and conductor Sarah Hicks for two evenings filled with Russian masters. Also on the program: a Project Aurora-inspired work titled Fate Now Conquers composed by Carlos Simon.

Simon is the Composer-in-Residence for the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and boasts an impressive resumé of chamber music, vocal, orchestral, and solo works. Fate Now Conquers was commissioned by the Philadelphia Orchestra for their series celebrating Beethoven’s 250th birthday, which featured living composers’ pieces written in response to Beethoven’s symphonies 4, 7, and 8. Simon’s specifically speaks to the second movement of the Seventh Symphony, and it has been performed by the Boston Symphony Orchestra and the New York Philharmonic, among others. 

Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto

Multi-talented musician, composer, educator, producer, Charlestonian, and GRAMMY award winning Quentin Baxter joins the CSO for an evening of jazzy sounds inspired by various art forms. Along with Baxter, several other special guests will perform.

The concert will feature music from a recent recording project of the Quentin Baxter Quintet, “Art Moves Jazz.” Charleston’s musical talent will certainly shine with Ravel’s Bolero, Bach’s Concerto for Two Violins, Fantasia on an Ellington Theme (featuring drum solos), and feisty tangos by Astor Piazzolla.

Art Moves Jazz

UNDER AN INDIGO SKY showcases works by Charleston native, Edward Hart: Under an Indigo Sky and A Charleston Concerto, two concertos that celebrate and interrogate the history and culture of our beloved Lowcountry.

A Charleston Concerto was written to commemorate the 350th Anniversary of the City of Charleston; it features a collaboration with the Charleston Symphony and the world-renowned Harlem Quartet. It takes an unflinching yet ultimately hopeful view of the city’s complex history over those three and a half centuries. Under an Indigo Sky for violin and orchestra is a musical love letter written to Hart’s geographical home. It explores both the physical splendor of the mountains and coast, but also the feel and “soul” of these breathtaking places.

Under an Indigo Sky

Emmy-award winner and Grammy nominee Miguel Harth-Bedoya will conduct the CSO in a program featuring two works by Maurice Ravel. Harth-Bedoya is the Music Director Laureate of the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra. He currently has several appointments directing higher education orchestral studies programs, and, as a sought-after conductor, has appeared with many major international and American orchestras throughout his career.

Born and raised in the American South, William Grant Still was a Guggenheim Fellow and earned several important commissions from the likes of the Cleveland Symphony and the 1939 New York World’s Fair. A celebrated composer renowned for his artistic excellence, he was the first African American to have a symphony performed by a leading American orchestra, the first to conduct a major American orchestra, and the first to have an opera performed by a major opera company. His Serenade is performed on this concert program in a nod to the CSO’s Project Aurora to elevate the music of superbly talented yet traditionally overlooked Black artists. 

Daphnis and Chloe

Join us for Magnetic South, an innovative partnership between the Charleston Symphony Orchestra (CSO) and the College of Charleston Department of Music. It combines the resources of the two institutions to present contemporary classical music in Charleston in an informative context. The goal of the Magnetic South partnership is to bring to the audiences of the Lowcountry, including students at the College, masterworks of the 20th and 21st centuries along with important new works by living composers.

Magnetic South

Lowcountry roots run deep, and they often form lasting connections. Jonathon Heyward is no stranger to Charleston; having grown up here, he was a shining star of the Charleston Symphony Youth Orchestra (CSYO) and was mentored by the late CSO Music Director David Stahl. Since then, he has made a name for himself conducting both internationally and stateside for the London Symphony, BBC National Orchestra of Wales, BBC Symphony, Seattle Symphony, Grant Park Music Festival, Los Angeles Philharmonic, and the National Symphony Orchestra—just to name a few. With this homecoming concert featuring works by masters of the classical music repertoire, he is making his much-anticipated conducting debut with the Charleston Symphony. We are thrilled to congratulate Maestro Heyward for his recent appointment as Music Director Designate of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra.

Beethoven and Tchaikovsky

We invite you to join us at the Gaillard Center for a masterclass and luncheon with Maestro Jonathon Heyward, featured speaker, on his homecoming debut with the Charleston Symphony. Sharing highlights of the CSO and CSOL Music Education programs will be Nisan Ak, Charleston Symphony Youth Orchestra Music Director, Mitsuko Flynn, Director of Education and Beth Connolly, CSOL Education Committee. CSOL scholarship winners will perform a brief program. A special fundraising “auction” will be held to raise funds for CSO music education programs.

A Charleston Homecoming with Jonathon Heyward

There’s nothing quite like Charleston during the winter holidays, and there’s no better way to get in the holiday spirit than with the Charleston Symphony! An annual tradition for audiences of all ages, Holiday Pops embodies the sounds of the season highlighted by a variety of musical choices, vocal performances, special guests such as dancing Santa and joyous pipers, and fun celebrations for all.

Nothing says “it’s the most wonderful time of the year” in the Lowcountry like Holiday Strings at the Charleston Library Society! The CSO’s string quartet will perform an annual tradition of Holiday works with your classic favorites announced from the stage. The program will include Corelli’s “Christmas Concerto,” works by Bach and Vivaldi, and your favorite Christmas carols and Hanukkah songs. Sing along with the strings to end a festive evening that will surely put you in the holiday spirit.

Holiday for Strings

Come to Frothy for some holiday cheer! On December 14 we will join our friends at Frothy for a Holiday Karaoke Caroling and Ugly Sweater Party! Join us for festive holiday carols complete with a sing along and enough fun for the rest of 2022. Plus Frothy Beard will be giving out prizes for the wildest most tacky sweater you can come up with! We hope to see you there!

Holiday Karaoke Caroling and Ugly Sweater Party

Ashley Landing

Charlton Singleton and The Beehive Orchestra join the Charleston Symphony onstage for one night only. Curated by Grammy Award winner Charlton Singleton and the CSO’s Associate Conductor Kellen Gray, the night celebrates premier jazz musicians Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn and their arrangements of your favorite “hits” from The Nutcracker. You’ll delight in their arrangement of the “Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy”, which has been transformed into “Sugar Rum Cherry.” And dance in your seat during the “Peanut Brittle Brigade,” a reimagination of The Nutcracker’s March.

Dueling Nutcrackers

“Hallelujah!” Few excerpts are familiar to as many, and Messiah remains Handel’s best-known work. There is no better time of year to enjoy Handel’s sacred oratorio that has long been associated with good will and charity.

Join the CSO for this glorious holiday tradition, Holy City Messiah, with the CSO Chamber Chorus and four guest soloists at three beautiful churches in downtown Charleston, Mount Pleasant, and Summerville.

Holy City Messiah, Summerville

St. Theresa the Little Flower Catholic Church

In partnership with the Charleston Gaillard Center, this Nutcracker performance will feature a full cast of Dance Conservatory of Charleston dancers ages 5-18. Performing is the essence of dance and a key part of the student-centered approach, and as such, DCC is thrilled to present a production in which every role is danced by a student.

The Charleston Symphony Youth Orchestra musicians, under the direction of conductor, Dr. Nisan Ak, are proud to collaborate with the dancers of the Dance Conservatory of Charleston in an all-student-led performance of Scenes from the Nutcracker. The Charleston Symphony Youth Orchestras showcase over 100 young musicians from throughout the Lowcountry in grades 4-12 annually. For more information about CSYO, please visit https://charlestonsymphony.org/csyo/.

Scenes from The Nutcracker

Like the Ashley River, for more than 350 years, music has flowed through and been an intrinsic part of the soul of Charleston. In this concert, the CSO explores the roots, traditions, and sounds of the Holy City in this tribute to our hometown. Curated by members of Project Aurora (aka New Aurorean Coterie), the program highlights the choral music and vocal traditions of African American culture—inherently Charleston’s culture—as we honor under-recognized artists and celebrate the lasting influence. Special guests will join the CSO: the Claflin University Concert Choir, a highly acclaimed group that performs not only in U.S. tours, but also internationally; talented solo vocalists; and the beloved CSO Chorus.

The Charleston Sound: Gershwin, Ellington, and More

Filling the stage with 60 exceptional musicians playing gorgeous symphonic music from Mozart, Wagner, Beethoven, and more, the Charleston Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Kellen Gray, will perform a full masterworks style concert.

This concert follows the Annual Symphony Tour of Homes on Kiawah and Seabrook Islands, a Charleston Symphony Orchestra League fundraiser. Tickets are required for the Tour of Homes and can be purchased in advance.

Tour of Homes Concert

Each year the Charleston Symphony Orchestra League, Inc. showcases some of the most stunning and exclusive island homes in the Lowcountry. This year is the 25th anniversary of the tour, and the homes on view on Kiawah Island will be no exception. We are pleased to welcome Freshfields Village as our valued partner in this very special event.

CSOL Symphony Tour of Homes

Join the Charleston Symphony Youth Orchestras live at the Gaillard Center on Saturday, October 29, 2022, at 1:00 pm! 

Performances by Charleston Symphony Youth Sinfonietta (CSYS) and Charleston Symphony Youth Orchestra (CSYO) will showcase over 100 young musicians from the Tri-county! This performance is open and free to the public; come support our young musicians!

Charleston Symphony Youth Orchestras Fall Concert

Andrew Litton, Music Director of the New York City Ballet, GRAMMY Award winner, and accomplished pianist, will be conducting from the keyboard while performing Beethoven’s Triple Concerto. Though the violin-cello-piano combination is often heard in chamber music ensembles, it is much rarer as a trio of three soloists with orchestra. The concerto will feature Cellist and 2018 Sphinx Medal of Excellence Winner, Christine Lamprea, and the CSO’s Concertmaster, Yuriy Bekker. Litton, Lamprea, and Bekker will shine in one of Beethoven’s most soulful, challenging, and charming concertos.

Beethoven’s “Triple” Concerto

The Charleston Gaillard Center presents Disney’s timeless holiday classic, Tim Burton’s “The Nightmare Before Christmas” with music performed live by the Charleston Symphony.

About the Film
First released in 1993, Tim Burton’s “The Nightmare Before Christmas” was directed by Henry Selick (“James and the Giant Peach”) and based on a story and characters by Tim Burton. The film follows the earnest-but-misguided adventures of Jack Skellington, Halloween Town’s beloved Pumpkin King, as he attempts to take over the Christmas holiday. Against the advice of Sally, a lonely rag doll who has feelings for him, Jack enlists three mischievous trick-or-treaters – Lock, Shock, and Barrel – to help him kidnap Santa Claus. The film is rated “PG.”

Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas

Don’t miss the Southeast premiere of Dance Theatre of Harlem’s newest ballet, co-commissioned by Charleston Gaillard Center and the International African American Museum!  Punctuated by Dance Theatre of Harlem’s signature style fusing a modern interpretation of the classical art form, the two evening performances will feature live orchestral accompaniment as well as original and reimagined music inspired by the life and times of jazz luminary Hazel Scott.

Dance Theatre of Harlem is a leading dance institution of unparalleled global acclaim, encompassing a professional touring company, a leading studio school, and a national and international education and community outreach program. Each component of Dance Theatre of Harlem carries a solid commitment towards enriching the lives of young people and adults around the world through the arts. Founded in 1969 by Arthur Mitchell and Karel Shook, Dance Theatre of Harlem is considered “one of ballet’s most exciting undertakings” (The New York Times). Shortly after the assassination of The Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Mitchell was inspired to start a school that would offer children — especially those in Harlem, the community in which he was born — the opportunity to learn about dance and the allied arts. Now in its sixth decade, Dance Theatre of Harlem has grown into a multi-cultural dance institution with an extraordinary legacy of providing opportunities for creative expression and artistic excellence that continues to set standards in the performing arts. Dance Theatre of Harlem has achieved unprecedented success, bringing innovative and bold new forms of artistic expression to audiences in New York City, across the country and around the world.

Dance Theatre of Harlem

The opening concert of the Charleston Symphony Pops season will commemorate timeless music from classic movies such as Breakfast at Tiffany’s (“Moon River”), Dances with Wolves, The Wizard of Oz, Vertigo, Titanic and the renowned musicals West Side Story and La La Land.

Known for his memorable and award-winning film scores, legendary composer and conductor John Williams celebrated his 90th birthday in 2022. This concert will feature music from Williams’ film score from Lincoln and Jurassic Park. 

Music of the Movies: The Oscar Goes To…

You don’t have to leave the country for a true Oktoberfest celebration! Enjoy an entertaining evening of craft beer and music right in your own backyard.

Join the Charleston Symphony Polka Band downtown at Edmund’s Oast Brewing Co & Taproom for an Oktoberfest Celebration Concert featuring traditional Polka music mixed with modern mashups.

The program will include genres such as Disco, Classical, and familiar hits from Brittany Spears and OneRepublic to Dexys Midnight Runners, Guns and Roses, music from Star Wars and more.

Oktoberfest! (Charleston)

It’s a musical family affair for the opening weekend of the CSO’s 2022-2023 season with father and son Gerard and Julian Schwarz! 

For the first time in history, the CSO will perform a work by Valerie Coleman—a highly sought-after composer for orchestra commissions. Coleman’s Umoja (“unity” in Swahili) was originally written as a song for women’s choir; it has also been reimagined for woodwind quintet and, in 2019, commissioned as a full orchestral work by The Philadelphia Orchestra. Emotive folk melodies collide with bold brass and percussion, taking the listener on a journey, addressing societal tension and social injustice, and then the music returns to its undeniable theme–and brings everyone together.

Charleston Symphony

Apr 27, 2024

Blackstar Symphony: The Music of David Bowie

Apr 6, 2024

Harlem Renaissance

Charleston Symphony