The Charleston Symphony's 2025-2026 season promises an exhilarating lineup of musical performances highlighting renowned composers, talented musicians, and creative collaborations. This season begins with a breathtaking tribute to Beethoven and Tchaikovsky and spans an array of genres and cultural themes. From orchestral and chamber music to choral performances and cross-over events, the Charleston Symphony invites audiences to experience the power of music in celebrating community, unity, and artistic expression.

Charleston Symphony's 2025-2026 Season: A Celebration of Music and Unity

The Charleston Symphony is set to enchant audiences with an extraordinary lineup for its 2025-26 season. Celebrating its 90th anniversary, this season promises a diverse array of performances ranging from orchestral masterpieces and chamber music to choral works and crossover productions. Featuring world premieres, celebrated guest artists, and profound musical experiences, the Charleston Symphony invites music lovers on a journey that explores the depth and richness of classical music while highlighting the talents of both local and international musicians.

Charleston Symphony's 2025-26 Season: A Celebration of Musical Mastery and Cultural Heritage

Unwrap the joy of the season with Charleston’s most cherished holiday tradition! Holiday Pops is back with a spectacular celebration that is bigger and brighter than ever. This year promises an enchanting blend of festive favorites, show-stopping singers and dancers, beloved choruses, and delightful surprises that will fill your heart with holiday cheer. This magical evening is the perfect experience to get into the holiday spirit with friends and family of all ages. Secure your seats now for the most joyous event of the year!

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Holiday Pops!

Gaillard Center

Join us for Holiday Strings at the Library Society – one of our most cherished Chamber Music traditions. Enjoy an intimate evening to lift your spirits as we enter the holiday season. A festive lineup of seasonal works will be announced from stage.

Chamber Music 2

Charleston Library Society

Enjoy four magnificent works of music by three composers from near the turn of the 20th century, yet each one unique in their own right: the French Lili Boulanger and Camille Saint-Saëns and the Russian Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov. Zuill Bailey, one of the top cellists in the world, will join the CSO as guest soloist. Also featured will be Yuriy Bekker, who in addition to other roles, has been Concertmaster of the CSO since 2007.

Scheherazade

Embark on a Symphonic Journey with Rick Steves, America’s favorite European travel expert, for a breathtaking musical adventure as the CSO kicks off its 2025-2026 Pops series. Take a trip through seven European countries without leaving your seat, with stirring anthems by Strauss, Verdi, Wagner, and more—each paired with Rick’s cultural insights and stunning video montages. From Austria to Italy, this one-of-a-kind concert celebrates freedom, history, and unity. Don’t miss this educational and inspiring program that will ignite your wanderlust!

Rick Steves’ Europe: A Symphonic Journey

This program features music by three of the world’s most beloved composers: Brahms, Mozart, and Dvořák. Andrew Litton, the GRAMMY Award-winning Music Director of the New York City Ballet, will return to Charleston to conduct. Charles Messersmith, Principal Clarinet, will take the stage as soloist for Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto. Plus, the Charleston Symphony Chorus will join the orchestra for Johannes Brahms’s “Song of Destiny.”

New World Symphony

Join us for an unparalleled chamber music experience featuring core members of the Charleston Symphony and our artist-in-residence, Grammy Award-winning cellist Zuill Bailey.

The Mozart Oboe Quartet displays the virtuosity and delicacy of the oboe, Dohnányi presents lush and folk Hungarian melodies in his Serenade, and the masterful Brahms Sextet closes the program in a deeply expressive and warm finale. You won’t want to miss this program that explores the brilliance and passion of classical music!

Chamber Music 1

To celebrate our 90th anniversary, the 2025-26 Charleston Symphony season kicks off with performances highlighting our community and its incredible local talent. CSO musicians Benjamin Mekinulov, who became Principal Cellist in 2023, and Concertmaster Yuriy Bekker, will perform the world premiere of a new double concerto by Charleston composer Yiorgos Vassilandonakis. 

Beethoven & Tchaikovsky

In the chaos of modern life, we can all benefit from an hour of basking in an oasis of calm. The chorus provides you this opportunity by presenting a concert of reflection under the baton of our new artistic director, Nicholas Quardokus.

Charleston Symphony Chorus – A Concert of Reflection

Grace Church Cathedral

Join us for Sunset Serenade on the steps of the landmark U.S. Custom House! This free concert launches the 2025 Piccolo Spoleto Festival featuring the Charleston Symphony and special guest soloists. Led by CSO conductor, Ryo Hasegawa, the program will feature familiar musical favorites, with works by George Gershwin, Leonard Bernstein, Andrew Lloyd Webber, and more. Grab your beach chair or blanket and head downtown for a lively night of music under the stars. Arrive early and enjoy the festival atmosphere as Charleston gathers to celebrate the arts!

Sunset Serenade

U.S. Custom House

Join the Charleston Symphony Youth Orchestras live at the Scottish Rite Center on Sunday, May 4 at 4pm! Doors open at 3pm.

Performances by the Charleston Symphony Youth Sinfonietta (CSYS) and Charleston Symphony Youth Orchestra (CSYO) will showcase over 100 young musicians from the greater Charleston area, performing side-by-side with CSO musicians.

Charleston Symphony Youth Orchestras Spring Concert

Scottish Rite Center

Join us for an exhilarating evening of music celebrating the majestic combination of brass and organ. Featuring core members of the Charleston Symphony and special guests.

Brass & Organ Chamber Concert

Ernest Bloch’s Avodath Hakodesh (Sacred Service), a choral-orchestral masterwork for cantor, chorus, and full orchestra “remains the watershed (by many assessments peerless) artistic engagement with the Hebrew liturgy… It was conceived as a transcendent, even inclusive humanistic work of universal spiritual experience” (Neil Levin, Milken Archive). A pinnacle of drama in the Jewish musical canon, this work speaks to Jews and to the masses, much like the great masterworks of other traditions. Grounded in tradition, but revolutionary in its scope, Bloch’s Avodath Hakodesh is a can’t-miss sacred work. For the grand conclusion of its 275th Anniversary celebration, KKBE is partnering with the Charleston Symphony and Taylor Festival Choir with KKBE’s Music & Artistic Director, Bates O’Neal, and choir, Koleinu, to bring an unforgettable performance of this work, along with other works by Mahler, Korngold, and Bernstein!

Ernest Bloch Sacred Service

Looking for a special and elegant Night out?

Nothing portrays passion like the power of operatic voices and live orchestra! This romance and drama filled concert showcases some of Opera’s greatest hits by Verdi, Puccini, Bellini, Giordano, and Gounod performed by world class soloists and the incredible Charleston Symphony.

Serenata Romantica

College of Charleston

Take a trip with the Charleston Symphony through lush Spanish musical themes via Rimsky-Korsakov and Joaquín Rodrigo, with a detour to Austria for Brahms’ inviting and intricate Symphony No. 2. Conductor José Luis Gomez returns to the podium with Grammy nominated guitarist Mak Grgic for the CSO’s final Masterworks concert of the 2024-2025 season.

Brahms’ Symphony No. 2

Join us for our third annual Orchestral Fellowship Showcase! These talented musicians will present a vibrant and dynamic program that celebrates their Charleston community, friendship, and cultures.

Fellowship Showcase Recital

Second Presbyterian Church Charleston

Experience Mahler’s transcendent masterpiece as more than 200 musicians and singers take you on an unforgettable journey filled with breathtaking melodies, powerful climaxes, and its famous awe-inspiring finale.

Mahler 2

The CSO is excited to present the final performance of the 2024-2025 Pops series with a selection of songs and scores spanning decades and generations from the iconic James Bond films. No matter if you take yours “shaken or stirred,” secret agent 007 never sounded so good!

Bond and Beyond

Join us for our final concert of the CSO’s Chamber Music series at the Library Society. Enjoy engaging repertoire that will feature both classical favorites and modern innovations in an intimate setting. Schubert’s joyous, melodic, and energetic “Trout” piano quintet is enjoyed as one of the most famous chamber works in its genre and is not to be missed!

Schubert’s Trout Quintet

Now is the perfect time to introduce your entire family to the magic of the symphony! Beethoven’s iconic Symphony No. 5 remains one of the most celebrated and instantly recognizable masterpieces in classical music. With its unforgettable “da-da-da-dum” opening, this timeless work comes to life in a casual, family-friendly setting with your Charleston Symphony. Enjoy an interactive and engaging musical experience where audience participation is part of the fun!

Family Concert

Behold the brilliance in this program featuring Beethoven’s groundbreaking 5th Symphony and the incredible prize-winning pianist George Li performing Liszt’s Piano Concerto No. 1. The highly accomplished Multiple GRAMMY-winning conductor JoAnn Falletta, acclaimed by American Public Media as “a mighty figure on the global music scene,” returns to lead the CSO.

Beethoven’s 5th Symphony

Make history with the Charleston Symphony as we take on the world’s most renowned stage! Joined by the Charleston Symphony Youth Orchestra and the College of Charleston Orchestra, click here for full details about HOLY CITY IN THE BIG APPLE!

A Charleston Celebration

Carnegie Hall

In a program infused with artistically flowing themes, internationally renowned conductor Michael Francis and violinist Tessa Lark will join the CSO. Montgomery’s rhythmic Strum, Tchaikovsky’s remarkable Violin Concerto, Sibelius’ calming The Oceanides, and Claude Debussy’s inspired La mer will leave you awash with awe at the ever-changing whims of nature and humankind.

Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto

In our annual tradition of performing music from popular films and television, the CSO will perform selections from your favorite 80s movie soundtracks. This year, Yuriy Bekker and the CSO welcome a special co-host and guest artist to the concert: Jean Louisa Kelly actress, singer, and dancer on Broadway, television, and film. She is best known for roles in “Yes, Dear,” Uncle Buck and Mr. Holland’s Opus, and she recently appeared in Top Gun: Maverick. Enjoy a “totally tubular” trip down memory lane with music from “bodacious” films like Beetlejuice, Beverly Hills Cop, E.T., Ghostbusters, Back to the Future, Rocky, and more!

Music of the Movies: Totally 80s

“Due to the natural disaster in her hometown of Los Angeles, Anne Akiko Meyers regretfully has had to cancel her performances with the Charleston Symphony. She looks forward to returning to Charleston in future seasons.”

Symphonie fantastiqu

Charleston’s favorite holiday tradition continues! With the CSO Chorus, beloved soloists, dancers, and surprises along the way — Holiday Pops will feature seasonal holiday classics from around the world. This spectacular celebration of joy and holiday cheer is guaranteed to entertain and delight audiences of all ages.

Join us for Holiday Strings at the Library Society – one of our most cherished Chamber Music traditions. Enjoy an intimate evening to lift your spirits as we enter the holiday season.

Holiday Strings

Experience the magic of the season with Handel’s Messiah – a timeless masterpiece with its recognizable “Hallelujah!” chorus. There’s no better time of year to immerse yourself in the uplifting spirit of this sacred oratorio, synonymous with good will and charity.

Join the Charleston Symphony Orchestra for the beloved holiday tradition, Holy City Messiah. Enjoy the majestic sounds of the CSO Chamber Chorus and four distinguished guest soloists at three stunning churches in downtown Charleston, Daniel Island, and Summerville. Don’t miss this glorious celebration of the season!

Holy City Messiah

Cathedral of St. John the Baptist

Saint Clare of Assisi Catholic Church

St. Theresa the Little Flower Catholic Church

The Gershwins and Lerner & Loewe! Bernstein and Copland! Bob Dylan and Leonard Cohen!  (With many more!)  Revel in the best of the American Songbook  – the works of Jewish composers and lyricists.  Yurriy Bekker and his friends at the CSO, with a jazz combo and vocalists Mary Ott and KKBE’s Bates O’Neal, Laura Owens and George Slotin, present a cabaret style evening with drinks, dancing and (a light) dinner. Who could ask for anything more?

Jewish Composers and the Great American Songbook

Festival Hall

Kick off your holiday season with Puccini’s heartwarming and heartbreaking masterpiece La Bohème produced by Charleston Opera Theater. La Bohème captivates audiences with its festive portrayal of the Bohemian Lifestyle, youthful ardor, passionate music, and soaring melodies. This full production features a stellar lineup of talent accompanied by the Charleston Symphony and will be performed in Italian with English Supertitles.

SOLD OUT: La Bohème

Join us for our first concert of the CSO’s Chamber Music series at the Library Society. Enjoy engaging repertoire that will feature both classical favorites and modern innovations in an intimate setting. Bohuslav Martinů’s “Three Madrigals for Violin and Viola” will kick off the evening, showcasing a vivid dialogue between the violin and viola with energetic and rhythmic interplay. Following, the audience will enjoy Jean Françaix’s “Divertissement for Oboe, Clarinet, and Bassoon,” a piece renowned for its light-hearted and witty character, offering a delightful contrast through its use of woodwind timbres. Ludwig van Beethoven’s intense “String Quartet in F minor, Op. 95,” often called the “Serioso,” will provide a dramatic counterpoint with its profound depth and robust textures. The night will conclude with a world premiere by Charleston native, Thomas Cabaniss. The String Quartet by Cabaniss titled “Denmark Vesey,” promises to be a compelling addition to the chamber music repertoire, reflecting on historical themes through a contemporary lens.

Beethoven’s Serioso Quartet

Join the Charleston Symphony Youth Orchestras live at the Gaillard Center on Saturday, November 9, 2024, at 1:00 pm! 

Charleston Symphony Youth Orchestras Fall Concert

Conductor Andrew Grams leads the CSO in an all-American program of music that expresses the pulse of freedom that courses through all of us, from Aaron Copland and Samuel Barber to the operatic storytelling of history in Sanctuary Road, created by Paul Moravec and Mark Campbell. 

Sanctuary Road

Set to Carl Orff’s masterful choral score, John Butler’s Carmina Burana is among Richmond Ballet’s most popular works. In partnership with the Charleston Gaillard Center and featuring 64 musicians from the Charleston Symphony and 90 singers from the Charleston Symphony Orchestra Chorus, this monumental performance on the Gaillard Center stage will showcase the brazen strength and hypnotizing passion of Butler’s original choreography, bringing to life one of the most groundbreaking ballets of the 20th century.

Carmina Burana

Featuring music by the Charleston Symphony Polka Band!
Enjoy a lively afternoon 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. This is a free performance. Tickets are not required.

Oktoberfest

Pacific Box & Crate

Join us for a concert that celebrates extraordinary creative forces joining together. Of all the great piano concertos ever written, Rachmaninoff’s 3rd tops the list. Acclaimed young American pianist Drew Petersen is a sought-after soloist, recitalist, and chamber musician. He has been praised for his commanding and poetic performances of repertoire ranging from Bach to Zaimont. He is the recipient of the 2018 Avery Fisher Career Grant and winner of the 2017 American Pianists Awards and Christel DeHaan Classical Fellowship.

Rachmaninoff’s 3rd Piano Concerto

Join us for a free outdoor concert for Seabrook Island residents featuring the Charleston Symphony! A lively mix of classical and pop favorites under the baton of conductor Ryo Hasegaw

Seabrook Pops

Seabrook Island

Join us for Brass on the Grass! Enjoy live music at The Refinery Charleston brought to you in partnership with Ohm Radio! Bring your friends and family for a fun (and free!) afternoon of Polka Band performances in a relaxed outdoor setting.

Brass On The Grass

The Refinery Charleston

Join our partners at Charleston County Parks! Evening at McLeod will tell the story of Mr. William Dawson and his powerful transition from slavery to freedom to military service, accompanied by selections from the Charleston Symphony Brass Ensemble. The event will also offer drinks, light hors d’oeuvres from Carolima’s Lowcountry Cuisine, and feature local African American artists.

Evening at McLeod

McLeod Plantation Historic Site

Renowned trumpeter, conductor, singer, actor, and multi-talented performer Byron Stripling returns to lead and perform with the Charleston Symphony for an exhilarating evening of symphonic jazz. Featuring works such as I Got Rhythm, Saint Louis Blues, Someone To Watch Over Me, Sweet Georgia Brown, and more. Join us in celebrating 100 years of the Harlem Renaissance, an electrifying artistic revolution that ignited the golden age of African American culture and left a lasting impact on the landscape of popular music.

Byron Stripling’s Harlem Renaissance

The stars of the Charleston Symphony will shine in the season’s opening weekend! Concertmaster and Artistic Director Yuriy Bekker returns to the podium to conduct. Principal Oboe Kelly Mozeik will take center stage with Mozart’s Concerto for Oboe. The program, featuring works by Saint-Georges, Rossini, and Tchaikovsky, promises to delight audiences as the 2024-2025 season kicks off. 

Mozart & Tchaikovsky

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,  special guest vocalists Saundra DeAthos and Harold Meers, and a spectacular fireworks show.

2024 Independence Day Weekend Concert

The Joe 

Join us for Sunset Serenade on the steps of the landmark US Custom House! A free concert to launch the 2024 Piccolo Spoleto Festival featuring the Charleston Symphony under the direction of Artistic Director, Yuriy Bekker and featuring vocalist Kyaunnee Richardson. Grab your beach chair or blanket and head downtown for a lively night of music under the stars. Arrive early and enjoy the festival atmosphere as Charleston gathers to celebrate the arts!

United States Custom House

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!

Blackstar Symphony: The Music of David Bowie

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 Novelettes No. 3 & 4 by Samuel Coleridge Taylor.

Dvorak’s Symphony No. 7

The Charleston Symphony Inclusion Fellowship is pleased to present the second annual Fellowship Showcase Concert on Tuesday, April 16 at 6pm. Join us at the beautiful Second Presbyterian Church for a program infused with themes of diversity, equity, and inclusion.

We are excited to share the culmination of teamwork and education from the 2023-24 cohort, while featuring the musical achievements of our orchestral fellows.

Fellowship Showcase Concert

Join the Charleston Symphony for an elevated musical experience in an intimate setting. Enjoy carefully curated Chamber Music from your beloved Charleston Symphony musicians up close and personal as they perform distinguished works by Beethoven, Prokofiev, and Strauss.

Beethoven, Prokofiev, and Strauss

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

Join the Charleston Symphony for an exquisite Chamber experience this season! Indulge in an exceptional evening with intimate ensemble music at the prestigious Charleston Liberal Society, presented by your esteemed CSO musicians. The programming will consist of riveting works from composers such as Brahms, Gilére, and Cabaniss!

Brahms String Quintet with FOUR ELEMENTS

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.

“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

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. 

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)

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!

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

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.

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

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.

Charleston Symphony

9 - 10 Jan, 2026

Bruch’s Violin Concerto

Jan 23, 2026

Cirque Musica: Heroes and Villains

6 - 7 Feb, 2026

Tchaikovsky’s 4th Symphony

13 - 14 Mar, 2026

An Evening with Emanuel Ax

Mar 21, 2026

Portrait of a Nation: America Celebrates 250

18 - 20 Dec, 2025

Holiday Pops!

11 - 12 Dec, 2025

Chamber Music 2

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