• Providing engaging visits to area schools by our guest soloists
• Offering complimentary/reduced price tickets to area students and teachers
• Hosting master classes by world-class musicians to area music students
• In conjunction with the Friends of the Aiken Symphony, the presentation of a free symphony concert to 5th grade students in Aiken and surrounding counties
• And much more!
From the excitement of a full concert celebrating the magic of American composer John Williams at Redcliffe Elementary in 2021 – with Darth Vader himself in attendance – to COVID-mandated virtual streaming videos made available to the Aiken County Public School District and more, we are making a difference. We invite you to join us as we spread the joy of symphonic music throughout our community! Whether you are a student, educator, parent, or music lover, there are many ways to get involved!
Interested?
Contact us at info@aikensymphony.com or consider sending a gift of support - Donate today!
Support for Symphony Inspires! comes from organizations: Women of Woodside, Bridgestone, Young Concert Artists, the SC Arts Commission, and many generous individual donors.
In April 2021, Aiken Symphony brought the legendary music of Star Wars to Redcliffe Elementary School with a live concert performance in the cafeteria. The students, many of whom had never seen music performed live before, were spellbound. In addition, Board members were on hand (some in costume) to provide “jedi lightsaber training” – there was even a visit from Darth Vader!
We received several thank you letters from students following the concert. While all the letters were special, one was so impactful that it spurred one of our sponsors, CCNB, to provide funds for that child to purchase a saxophone (her instrument of choice)!
What an amazing morning of music education!
Your Aiken Symphony introduced our first educational outreach program, Concerts in Classrooms, during the pandemic of 2020 when in-person outreach was prohibited.
The collaboration with the Aiken County Public School District created a set of 12 videos, all professionally recorded and produced by Meadows Media LLC. These videos were edited into sets of three – one geared toward elementary children, one to middle school, and the last to high school students. Each video set featured our Cover Conductor and Librarian “interviewing” a musician. Their instrument (violin, clarinet, cello, and percussion) was highlighted as well as a brief summary of their experiences as professional musicians, including amusing anecdotes, and discussion about famous composers. The videos were sent to every public school in Aiken County for use in the classroom.
It had long been a goal for your Aiken Symphony to find a way to establish an educational program to introduce students to the wonders of classical music. It was, however, surprising that with the upheaval in the 2020-2021 school year, we would find such a great opportunity to begin these efforts.
With the onset of distanced learning brought on by the COVID pandemic, your AS, with the support of grants and sponsorships, offered patrons the opportunity to purchase livestream access to select concerts.
While not recorded for the general public, the livestream was made available for free to all Aiken County Schools.
262 East Gate Drive, PMB 334,
Aiken, SC 29803
