The University Of South Carolina School Of Music Presents Southeastern Piano Festival

Schedule Of Events:

June 7, 2025

7:30pm - Artist Showcase - Usc Jazz Faculty

Usc School Of Music, Recital Hall
$25

The Stellar Faculty Of Usc’s Burgeoning And Nationally-Recognized Jazz Program Launch The 2025 Southeastern Piano Festival With A Performance That Is Sure To Thrill.

June 8, 2025

4:00pm - Celebration Concert

Usc School Of Music, Recital Hall
$25

The Usc School Of Music’s Illustrious Piano Faculty (Phillip Bush, Scott Price, Omar Roy, Nicholas Susi) In A Diverse And Delightful Program To Celebrate Sepf’s 23rd Season.

June 9, 2025

1:00pm - Lunchtime Concert

Koger Center For The Arts, Grand Lobby
Free

Bring Your Lunch Or Pick It Up From One Of The Food Trucks Outside And Enjoy An Informal Concert By Our Sepf Associates And Graduate Assistants Who Are All Young Rising Artists Studying Piano At Usc.

7:30pm - Artist Showcase - Congaree Trio

Usc School Of Music, Recital Hall
$25

Founded In 2021, The Congaree Trio Is An Ensemble Made Up Of Three University Of South Carolina Faculty Members –Ari Streisfeld, Violin; Claire Bryant, Cello; Phillip Bush, Piano– Known For Their Passionate Interpretations Of Both New Works And Pillar Scores Of The Classical Tradition. The Ensemble Is Named After South Carolina’s Congaree River, A Wide, 53-Mile Waterway That Flows From Columbia To Charleston.

June 10, 2025

12:00pm - Downtown Lunchtime Concert

1208 Washington Street
Free

Bring Your Lunch Or Grab-And-Go From Any Of The Many Nearby Establishments And Enjoy Performances By The Student Participants Of The Usc Piano Institute, All In This Gorgeously Restored 1924 Venue In Downtown Columbia.

7:30pm - Artist Showcase - Clayton Stephenson

Usc School Of Music, Recital Hall
$25

American Pianist Clayton Stephenson’s Love For Music Is Immediately Apparent In His Joyous Charisma Onstage, Expressive Power, And Natural Ease At The Instrument. Hailed For “Extraordinary Narrative And Poetic Gifts” And Interpretations That Are “Fresh, Incisive And Characterfully Alive” (Gramophone), He Is Committed To Making An Impact On The World Through His Music-Making.

Growing Up In New York City, Clayton Started Piano Lessons At Age 7 And Was Accepted Into The Juilliard Outreach Music Advancement Program For Underprivileged Children The Next Year, Where He Attended Numerous Student Recitals And Fell In Love With Music. At The Age Of 10 He Advanced To Juilliard’s Elite Pre-College Program With The Help Of His Teacher, Beth Nam. At Juilliard He Studied With Matti Raekallio, Hung-Kuang Chen And Ernest Barretta. Clayton Practiced On A Synthesizer At Home Until He Found An Old Upright Piano On The Street That An Elementary School Had Thrown Away; That Would Become His Practice Piano For The Next Six Years, Until The Lang Lang Foundation Donated A New Piano To Him When He Was 17.

He Credits The Generous Support Of Community Programs With Providing Him Musical Inspiration And Resources Along The Way. As He Describes It, The “3rd Street Music School Jump-Started My Music Education; The Young People’s Choir Taught Me Phrasing And Voicing; The Juilliard Outreach Music Advancement Program Introduced Me To Formal And Rigorous Piano Training, Which Enabled Me To Get Into Juilliard Pre-College; The Morningside Music Bridge Validated My Talent And Elevated My Self-Confidence; The Boy’s Club Of New York Exposed Me To Jazz; And The Lang Lang Foundation Brought Me To Stages Worldwide And Transformed Me From A Piano Student To A Young Artist.”

Recent And Upcoming Highlights Of Clayton’s Burgeoning Career Include Appearances With The Calgary Philharmonic, Chicago Sinfonietta, And The Fort Worth, Louisville, Lansing And North Carolina Symphony Orchestras; As Well As Recitals At The Phillips Collection Concert Series In Washington, Dc, Foundation Louis Vuitton Auditorium In Paris, Bad Kissinger Sommer Festival And Beethovenfest In Germany, Colour Of Music Festival, Ravinia Festival And Weill Recital Hall At Carnegie Hall. He Has Been Featured On Npr, Wuol, And Wqxr, And Appeared In The “Grammy® Salute To Classical Music” Concert At Carnegie’s Stern Auditorium.

He Now Studies In The Harvard-Nec Dual Degree Program, Pursuing A Bachelor’s Degree In Economics At Harvard And A Master’s Degree In Piano Performance At The New England Conservatory Under Wha Kyung Byun. And His Accolades Along The Way Have Been Numerous - In Addition To Being The First Black Finalist At The Van Cliburn International Piano Competition In 2022, He Was Named A 2022 Gilmore Young Artist, As Well As A 2017 U.S. Presidential Scholar In The Arts And A Young Scholar Of The Lang Lang International Music Foundation. He Also Received A Jury Discretionary Award At The 2015 Cliburn International Junior Piano Competition And Festival.

June 11, 2025

7:30pm - Artist Showcase - Caleb Borick

Usc School Of Music, Recital Hall
$25

Caleb Borick Shot Onto The International Classical Piano Scene After Winning First Prize, The Audience Prize, And Special Prizes For Chamber And Contemporary Music At The 2023 Telekom Beethoven Competition In Bonn, Germany. With Playing Hailed As “Crystal-Clear” And “Immensely Passionate” (General-Anzeiger Bonn), He Has Appeared As A Soloist With Several Orchestras, Including The Deutsches Symphonie Orchester Berlin, The Beethoven Orchester Bonn, The Charleston Symphony Orchestra, And The South Carolina Philharmonic.

He Has Appeared On Wpr’s The Midday With Norman Gilliland And On Npr’s From The Top And Participated In Numerous Music Festivals Including The Southeastern Piano Festival, International Institute For Young Musicians, The Green Lake Festival Of Music, The Cliburn Junior Festival, And Musicfest Perugia.

June 12, 2025

7:30pm - Artist Showcase - Drew Petersen

Usc School Of Music, Recital Hall
$25

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.

June 13, 2025

10:00 Am - 6:00 Pm - Arthur Fraser Piano Competition

Usc School Of Music, Recital Hall
Free

Festival Participants Compete For A Chance To Perform With The South Carolina Philharmonic In A Masterworks Concert And More Than $10,000 In Cash Prizes.

June 14, 2025

7:30 Pm - Winners Recital

Usc School Of Music, Recital Hall
$25

The Winners Of The Arthur Fraser Piano Competition Are Featured In Evening Of Dazzling Showstoppers.

Date: June 7-14, 2025

Location: Various Venues in Columbia, SC

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