Admission Cost: FREE

Admission Cost: FREE

Admission Cost: FREE

Admission Cost: FREE

Admission Cost: FREE

Admission Cost: General public - $30 Seniors/military / USC faculty and staff - $25 Children under 18 and non-USC students with ID - $8 USC Students - free with student ID

Dr. Alicia W. Walker leads the USC Symphony Orchestra, Concert Choir and University Chorus in a performance uniting war and peace. Accompanied by soloists Tina Milhorn Stallard, soprano; Serena Hill-LaRoche, soprano; Rachel Calloway, mezzo-soprano; Dominic Armstrong, tenor and baritone; and Jacob Will, bass, the musicians will perform Haydn’s Missa in tempore belli and Vaughan Williams’ Dona nobis pacem in a powerful close of the ensembles’ seasons. 

Join USC Symphony conductor and music director Dr. Scott Weiss for a pre-concert talk at 6:45 p.m. in the Koger Center Grand Tier.

Tickets are available in-person at Koger Center Box Office (803-251-2222, Monday–Friday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.) or online at KogerCenterForTheArts.com.

Admission Cost: FREE

Admission Cost: FREE

Admission Cost: FREE

Admission Cost: $27.00 to $32.00

About This Show

The Koger Center and ColaJazz Foundation are excited to present to you the new 2026 Live in the Lobby Jazz season! Featuring 6 stunning performances, you can get your season tickets today to get every show for one low price.

Created as a partnership between the Koger Center for the Arts and the ColaJazz Foundation, Live in the Lobby 2026 will consist of six concerts held throughout the Koger Center facility. Join us to experience this one-of-a-kind series designed for audiences seeking premier jazz and specialty experiences in an exceptional setting. 

About the Artist

Vocalist, composer, and multi-instrumentalist Mar Vilaseca was born in 1998, in Barcelona, Spain. Mar grew up in a musical environment and learned how to play and sing at a very young age, being exposed to a wide variety of music. She was classically trained in piano and traditional harmony at the Conservatorio del Liceo. At the age of 14, she started singing professionally in her father’s band, where she began her career in jazz and modern music.

Mar finished her classical studies in 2016 and despite her love for classical piano, she decided to focus her career on vocal jazz. She was accepted at the Escuela Superior de Música de Catalunya, where she studied her undergraduate degree in Jazz Voice Performance, graduating in 2020. During those college years, Mar became more and more passionate about the music and history of jazz and took her first of many trips to New York City. The diversity of culture and music captivated her, and soon she would decide to move to the United States. In 2020, before taking that step, she released her first album entitled Find the Way, which presents all original compositions. The recording was released by a British Label named Ubuntu Music.

Subsequently, Mar moved to New York to study her Master of Music in Jazz Studies at The Juilliard School, with Professors Wynton Marsalis, Carla Cook, Elio Villafranca, Kenny Washington, and Donald Vega among others. She gained experience in such different music majors including performance, education, music business, arranging and production, and she expanded her repertoire in multiple music genres. She graduated in 2022 with the Juilliard Career Advancement Fellowship Award.

For tickets please visit:

Admission Cost: FREE

Carolina Alive, USC’s vocal jazz ensemble, will present their final performance of the year.  Join us for an evening of fabulous singing! The concert is free and open to the public.

Admission Cost: FREE

Admission Cost: FREE

The New Sounds Quartet, USC's premiere graduate ensemble dedicated to exploring contemporary string quartets, gives their spring recital. 

Admission Cost: FREE

Admission Cost: FREE

Admission Cost: FREE

Location: Johnson Hall, DMSB 101

Admission Cost: FREE

Dr. Christopher White, Associate Professor of Music Theory at UMass Amherst will present “One Thousand Years of AI-ifying Music.” His research uses big data techniques to study how we hear and write music. Dr. White is a frequent contributor to regional publications on a wide range of topics, including music analysis, computational modeling, and artificial intelligence.

The event is free and open to the public.

Admission Cost: FREE

Admission Cost: FREE

Student chamber music ensembles of diverse instrumentation (typically including string quartets, piano trios, wind quintets and mixed instrument groups) perform chamber music from Baroque to contemporary.

Admission Cost: FREE

Admission Cost: Free Admission

About ghis Show

The Koger Center for the Arts is excited to host the Levitt AMP Columbia Music Series, a free outdoor concert series sponsored by the Levitt Foundation. Dedicated to amplifying the cultural landscape of our city, the Levitt AMP Columbia Music series aims to provide free varied and engaging entertainment for the residents of Columbia and the Midlands. Our concert dates for the 2026 Season are set: stay tuned to find out the acts!

All concerts will take place on the outdoor Plaza Stage, with our rain location being the lobby of the Koger Center.

SCHEDULE – All concerts take place from 5-7 p.m.

• 
  

  April 18, 2026 - River Shook Duo, Soda City Brass Band

  
  
  
• 
  

  April 25, 2026 - Sunny War, Death Ray Robin

  
  
  
• 
  

  May 2, 2026 - Five OHM, Rock & Roll MF's

  
  
  
• 
  

  May 9, 2026 - Carolyn Wonderland, Philip Thomas

  
  
  

Admission Cost: FREE

Admission Cost: FREE

Cormac Cannon, conductor
David Warren, guest conductor
Scott Herring, percussion

The Wind Ensemble concludes their season in a shared concert with the USC Alumni Concert Band. The Wind Ensemble portion includes two new works commissioned in part by the USC Wind Ensemble. Professor of Percussion Dr. Scott Herring will be featured on Joseph Schwantner’s thrilling new concerto for percussion and wind ensemble, Fast Track. Also included is Brian Balmage’s epic new symphony for band, Windows and Mirrors. USC Bands Alumni will gather to rehearse, reminisce, and perform the second half of the program.

Program:

Kabalevsky/Hunsberger, Overture to “Colas Breugnon”
Schwantner, Fast Track (Consortium Premiere)
Balmages, Windows and Mirrors: Symphony for Band (Consortium Premiere)
Alumni Concert Band program TBD

Admission Cost: FREE

Admission Cost: FREE

Admission Cost: $5 students, $10 adults

The USC String Project Concert celebrates the dedication and musical growth of our student and adult musicians. This performance features ensembles from across the String Project program, showcasing players at a variety of stages in their musical journeys.

Tickets are $5 for children (ages 2–17) and $10 for adults. Tickets purchased online will be available at Will Call on the evening of the concert under the name provided at checkout. Tickets may also be purchased at the concert.

Admission Cost: $10 at the door

Admission Cost: $57.00 - $131.00

About This Show

The World’s MOST Iconic Ballet – With a LIVE Orchestra!

The legendary tale of Swan Lake takes flight in a breathtaking production from World Ballet Company, as fate and magic entwine in a timeless battle between good and evil. Performing with a Live Orchestra, and featuring a cast of 50 international dancers, over 150 radiant hand-sewn costumes, and stunning hand-crafted sets, this spellbinding ballet captures every heart-pounding moment – from the Dance of the Little Swans to the Black Swan’s 32 fouettés, and every pirouette in between. 

With Tchaikovsky’s unforgettable score soaring through the air and played LIVE, immerse yourself in this mesmerizing journey where dreams, heartbreak, and hope unfold right before your eyes.

Duration: 2 hours 30 minutes (including 20-minute intermission)
Audience: For ages 5 & over

World Ballet Company – Ballet Everywhere, Ballet For All.

Based in Los Angeles, and led by Sasha Gorskaya and Gulya Hartwick, World Ballet Company presents the most beloved and iconic ballets of our time in cities nationwide. Driven by the belief that ballet is for everyone, performances appeal to newcomers and seasoned ballet goers alike. The company attracts many international artists and comprises renowned professional dancers representing over ten countries.

To date, World Ballet Company has traveled to more than 300 cities, reaching an audience of more than 500,000 fans.

For tickets, please visit:

Admission Cost: $10 at the door

Admission Cost: $27.45 - $98.90

About This Show

“The Music of Hans Zimmer & Others” is an unforgettable concert and audiovisual experience for all age groups, film enthusiasts, music lovers, and families. The best music will be performed by the Hollywood Film Orchestra in an impressive show with light installations, laser projections, and selected film clips. Star soloists from the Original Broadway Production will perform excerpts from “The Lion King”, Zimmer’s most beloved box office smash hit.

No other composer has influenced the film world in the past two decades as much as the Oscar-, Globe- and Emmy-winning composer Hans Zimmer with his staggering compositions for films such as “James Bond”, “The Lion King”, “Pirates of the Caribbean”, “Gladiator”, “The Dark Knight”, “Man of Steel”, “Inception”, and “Interstellar”.

Hans Zimmer wrote the film scores of more than 200 movies, won his second Oscar for “Dune” (2022), following his first Academy Award for “The Lion King” (1994). He named Ennio Morricone as his idol and role-model, whose work will be featured with excerpts from the films “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly” and “Once Upon a Time in the West”. Zimmer followed Morricone’s example of composing the film music often before – instead of after – filming, and shaped the entire film. He changed the beginning of Ridley Scott’s “Gladiator” for example, and the world-famous director moved into the studio of Hans Zimmer.

THE HOLLYWOOD FILM ORCHESTRA

The Hollywood Film Orchestra has been created for this concert series and works usually with state Orchestras from Europe. It has performed in the leading music venues of the world, from the Koncerthuset in Copenhagen to the Konzerthaus in Vienna, from Großes Festspielhaus Salzburg to Salle Pleyel in Paris, from Laeiszhalle Hamburg to Tonhalle Zürich.

Pirates of the Caribbean, James Bond, The Lion King, Dune, and other mentioned film titles are trademarks of their respective owners.  This concert is an independent event and is not affiliated with or endorsed by the studios or production companies.

For tickets, please visit:

Admission Cost: Free Admission

About ghis Show

The Koger Center for the Arts is excited to host the Levitt AMP Columbia Music Series, a free outdoor concert series sponsored by the Levitt Foundation. Dedicated to amplifying the cultural landscape of our city, the Levitt AMP Columbia Music series aims to provide free varied and engaging entertainment for the residents of Columbia and the Midlands. Our concert dates for the 2026 Season are set: stay tuned to find out the acts!

All concerts will take place on the outdoor Plaza Stage, with our rain location being the lobby of the Koger Center.

SCHEDULE – All concerts take place from 5-7 p.m.

• 
  

  April 18, 2026 - River Shook Duo, Soda City Brass Band

  
  
  
• 
  

  April 25, 2026 - Sunny War, Death Ray Robin

  
  
  
• 
  

  May 2, 2026 - Five OHM, Rock & Roll MF's

  
  
  
• 
  

  May 9, 2026 - Carolyn Wonderland, Philip Thomas

  
  
  

Admission Cost: Free Admission

About ghis Show

The Koger Center for the Arts is excited to host the Levitt AMP Columbia Music Series, a free outdoor concert series sponsored by the Levitt Foundation. Dedicated to amplifying the cultural landscape of our city, the Levitt AMP Columbia Music series aims to provide free varied and engaging entertainment for the residents of Columbia and the Midlands. Our concert dates for the 2026 Season are set: stay tuned to find out the acts!

All concerts will take place on the outdoor Plaza Stage, with our rain location being the lobby of the Koger Center.

SCHEDULE – All concerts take place from 5-7 p.m.

• 
  

  April 18, 2026 - River Shook Duo, Soda City Brass Band

  
  
  
• 
  

  April 25, 2026 - Sunny War, Death Ray Robin

  
  
  
• 
  

  May 2, 2026 - Five OHM, Rock & Roll MF's

  
  
  
• 
  

  May 9, 2026 - Carolyn Wonderland, Philip Thomas

  
  
  

Admission Cost: FREE

Carolina LifeSong Initiative Recital Spring Semester Recital

Admission Cost: $26.00 - $106.00

About This Show

On sale to the public on March 13, 10 a.m.

Get ready for the ultimate rock experience as BAT OUT OF HELL roars back to North America in 2026! The iconic music of Jim Steinman and Meat Loaf will once again shake the stage, delivering an electrifying journey that will ignite your love for rock like never before.

This heart-pounding experience, with a powerhouse eight-piece live band on stage, delivers a new production with sprawling multi-level platforms to transport you from Raven’s bedroom to the underground world of the Lost in a visual feast that pushes the boundaries of live theatre

Featuring songs from one of Meat Loaf’s best-selling albums, Bat Out of Hell, this cast will bring these anthems to life, including I’d Do Anything For Love (But I Won’t Do That), Paradise By The Dashboard Light, Two Out of Three Ain’t Bad, Dead Ringer For Love, and, of course, Bat Out of Hell.

Brace yourself for a legendary night of rock ‘n’ roll as BAT OUT OF HELL: The Musical explodes back onto the stage, promising a spectacle that will leave you breathless!

For tickets, please visit: 

Admission Cost: Free Admission

About This Show

As a member of the Vista Guild, the Koger Center for the Arts partnered with The Jasper Project to open a new rotating art space, titled The Nook, in celebration of Third Thursday Art Night. May 2026’s featured artist in The Nook is Kathryn Morganelli.

Artist Biography

Kathryn Morganelli holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of South Carolina. With postgraduate studies in Textile Design and Animation, she has built a solid foundation in the arts.

Admission Cost: FREE

Admission Cost: $17.87 - $161.75

About This Show

John Crist is one of today’s fastest-rising stand-up comedians, earning more than one billion video views, more than 7.9 million fans on social media and sold-out shows from coast to coast and continuously charts as one of Pollstar’s Top 10 Global Touring Comedians. John has sold out the majority of his 2025 U.S. ‘Jokes For Humans’ dates and recently launched a Fall extension – which kicked off at Las Vegas’ Encore Theater and will visit cities like Austin, Louisville, Cleveland and more later this year.

His latest comedy special John Crist: Emotional Support (February 18), showcases his skills in delivering witty, pop culture commentary through clean humor. Filmed just six miles from his childhood home in Lilburn, GA, John Crist: Emotional Support sees the viral comedian diving into the ever-changing dynamics of growing up Christian in the 90s, navigating family group texts, mediating fights on the neighborhood Facebook page and more. In its first three weeks, the special earned more than 2.1 million stand-alone views, with social media clips surpassing 20 million views, as it continues to grow in viewership.

Crist’s latest comedy special follows a record touring year in 2024 and his 2023 special John Crist: Would Like To Release A Statement, which amassed more than 4.2 million views and more than 200 million views across social media clips. In 2022, his independently-released special What Are We Doing? racked up more than 100 million views across platforms and is now available to stream on Hulu.

Crist’s Net Positive Podcast regularly charts on Spotify and Apple’s top podcast charts and is filmed in downtown Nashville. It has featured a variety of guests including Matt Rife, Leanne Morgan, Michael W. Smith, Creed Lead Singer Scott Stapp, Dave Ramsey, Kirk Herbstreit, David Crowder, Brett Cooper, Breland, Ernest, Trey Kennedy, Tyler Hubbard, Warren Zeiders, Chelcie Lynn (“Trailer Trash Tammy”), Michael Knowles, John Delony, Clay Travis, Jenn Johnson, Matt Walsh and more.

Earlier this year, Crist made his late-night debut on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, and he has also made appearances on ESPN’s SEC Network “SEC Gameday” as a co-host, Good Morning America, SHERRI, ESPN, Sports Illustrated, CBS Sports, Barstool Sports, Buzzfeed and Theo Von’s This Past Weekend just to name a few. For more information, visit johncristcomedy.com.

For tickets, please visit:

Admission Cost: $5 USC Students; $25 General Admission

The School of Music’s illustrious piano faculty (Phillip Bush, Scott Price, and Nicholas Susi) will perform.

Tickets go on sale May 1!

Purchase tickets in person at the Koger Center Box Office or online. New this year: save $ by purchasing an event package of all SEPF signature concerts!

Admission Cost: $5 USC Students; $25 General Admission

Described in The WholeNote as “an innovative musician and aggressive thinker with a gift for keyboard brilliance,” Dr. Nicholas Susi enjoys a multifaceted career living out his deep love of music. He recognizes that Classical music has been a transformative force in his life, and seeks to share its power with others through his teaching and performing.

Dr. Susi is Assistant Professor of Piano at the University of South Carolina, President of the American Matthay Association and Associate Director of the Southeastern Piano Festival. He previously taught piano and music theory at The College of St. Scholastica in Duluth, MN. He completed his doctorate at the University of Michigan, with previous studies at the University of Kansas and at the Hochschule für Musik und Tanz Köln as a two-time DAAD grantee. Primary teachers include Zena Ilyashov, Jack Winerock, Nina Tichman and Arthur Greene.

Tickets go on sale May 1!

Purchase tickets in person at the Koger Center Box Office or online. New this year: save $ by purchasing an event package of all SEPF signature concerts!

Admission Cost: $5 USC Students; $25 General Admission

Pianist and curator Pedja Mužijevic has defined his career with creative programming, unusual combinations of new and old music, and lasting collaborations with artists and ensembles. 

Highlights of 2025/26 season include Homage to Mixtapes recital program at UNLTD Powered by Verbier Festival, 92NY and Southeastern Piano Festival in Columbia, SC; Chopin and Beethoven piano concertos with Fort Worth Symphony and String Orchestra of the Rockies in Missoula, MT, as well as leading Concert in 21st Century workshops at Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, The Juilliard School in New York, Colburn School in Los Angeles.

Born in Sarajevo, Bosnia Herzegovina, Pedja lives in New York City, where he is the artistic administrator at Baryshnikov Arts, an arts organization that supports artists in all disciplines through presentations and residencies. Pedja is also the artistic advisor at Tippet Rise Art Center in Montana, a 12,500 acre working sheep and cattle ranch with large-scale outdoor sculptures and a summer concert season. Pedja directs workshops entitled Concert in 21st Century for young musicians from Verbier Festival Academy and Banff Center to Colburn and Longy schools, in which he examines concert from perspectives of programming, stage presentation, marketing and funding in an attempt to make it more accessible and relevant today.

Tickets go on sale May 1!

Purchase tickets in person at the Koger Center Box Office or online. New this year: save $ by purchasing an event package of all SEPF signature concerts!

Admission Cost: $5 USC students; $25 general admission

Hailed by The New York Times as “prodigiously accomplished and exciting” and as one of the piano’s “brilliant stars,” pianist Blair McMillen has forged a musical life that is unbounded by convention. He is well-known for his advocacy of living composers and contemporary music, as well as for championing very early keyboard music and more recent neglected masterpieces. For more than two decades, McMillen has divided his time as piano soloist, chamber musician, music festival director, and educator/teacher.

Blair McMillen is the co-founder and co-director of the Rite of Summer Music Festival. Rite of Summer is a free, outdoor contemporary-music series held on New York City’s Governors Island. The festival has presented boundary-pushing artists such as the JACK Quartet, Bang on a Can All-Stars, Tigue, Theo Bleckmann, Todd Reynolds, Contemporaneous, and Don Byron’s New Gospel Quintet. Celebrating its twelfth season in 2023, Rite of Summer is the only annual music festival on Governors Island, a place the New Yorker has called “an enormous playground for the arts.”

Blair McMillen holds degrees from Oberlin College, Manhattan School of Music, and The Juilliard School.

Blair McMillen has performed in major concert venues in New York, throughout the United States, and around the world. 

Tickets go on sale May 1!

Purchase tickets in person at the Koger Center Box Office or online. New this year: save $ by purchasing an event package of all SEPF signature concerts!

Admission Cost: TBD

First prize winner of the Naumburg International Piano Competition and the Concert Artist Guild International Competition, Korean-American pianist Soyeon Kate Lee has been lauded by The New York Times as a pianist with “a huge, richly varied sound, a lively imagination and a firm sense of style,” and by The Washington Post for her “stunning command of the keyboard.”

Highlights of recent seasons include appearances at the National Gallery, Library of Congress, Gina Bachauer Concerts, Purdue Convocations, Music@Menlo, Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center on tour, San Francisco Performances, Camerata Pacifica tour, Chamber Music Chicago and the Cleveland Art Museum. She was a member of Lincoln Center Chamber Music Society’s Bowers program, and is a regular participant in numerous chamber music festivals including the Great Lakes, Santa Fe and Music Mountain Chamber Music Festivals. Ms. Lee has collaborated with conductors Carlos Miguel Prieto, Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos, Jahja Ling, and Jorge Mester with the London, San Diego, Hawaii, Louisiana, Naples symphony orchestras among others.

She has commissioned works by prominent composers and has given world premieres of works written by Frederic Rzewski, Paola Prestini, Marc-André Hamelin, Alexander Goehr, Gabriela Lena Frank, Texu Kim and Huang Ruo.

As a Naxos recording artist, her discography spans a wide range of repertoire from two volumes of Scarlatti Sonatas, Liszt Opera Transcriptions, two volumes of Scriabin, and Clementi Sonatas. Ms. Lee’s recording of Re!nvented under the E1/Entertainment One (formerly Koch Classics) label garnered her a feature review in Gramophone Magazine and the Classical Recording Foundation’s Young Artist of the Year Award.

Tickets go on sale May 1!

Purchase tickets in person at the Koger Center Box Office or online. New this year: save $ by purchasing an event package of all SEPF signature concerts!

Admission Cost: $5 USC Students; $25 General Admission

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.

Tickets go on sale May 1!

Purchase tickets in person at the Koger Center Box Office or online. New this year: save $ by purchasing an event package of all SEPF signature concerts!

Admission Cost: FREE

Admission Cost: FREE

Admission Cost: FREE

Admission Cost: FREE

Admission Cost: FREE

Admission Cost: FREE

Admission Cost: FREE

Admission Cost: FREE

Admission Cost: FREE

Admission Cost: FREE

Cormac Cannon, conductor

Sousa, Easter Monday on the White House Lawn

Bergman, Dream Machine

Svanoe, The Author’s Suite
Brenna Curtis, conductor

Schwantner, Recoil

Gershwin/Brubaker, An American in Paris

Admission Cost: FREE

Admission Cost: FREE

Admission Cost: FREE

Admission Cost: FREE

Admission Cost: General public - $30 Seniors/military / USC faculty and staff - $25 Children under 18 and non-USC students with ID - $8 USC Students - free with student ID

Tickets are available in-person at Koger Center Box Office (803-251-2222, Monday–Friday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.) or online at KogerCenterForTheArts.com.

Admission Cost: FREE

Admission Cost: FREE

Admission Cost: FREE

Admission Cost: FREE

Admission Cost: FREE

Violinist Fung Chern Hwei defies easy categorization. Equally at home in the precision of classical repertoire and the spontaneity of contemporary and folk traditions, he brings a rare fluidity to every performance. His playing moves seamlessly across styles—at once virtuosic and deeply expressive—revealing unexpected connections between musical worlds. Whether interpreting a canonical work or reimagining it through improvisation, Fung’s artistry transcends boundaries, inviting listeners into a space where genres dissolve and music speaks in its most direct, human form. Come hear this versatile musician in the intimacy of the School of Music recital hall. 

Admission Cost: FREE

Admission Cost: FREE

Admission Cost: FREE

Shandon Presbyterian Church
607 Woodrow Street
Columbia, SC

Admission Cost: FREE

Admission Cost: FREE

Jay Jacobs, conductor

Sousa, Easter Monday on the White House Lawn

Bergman, Dream Machine

Svanoe, The Author’s Suite
Brenna Curtis, conductor

Schwantner, Recoil

Gershwin/Brubaker, An American in Paris

Admission Cost: FREE

Admission Cost: FREE

Admission Cost: FREE

Admission Cost: FREE

Echoes of Identity brings together a rich and varied tapestry of violin music by Jewish composers, highlighting both heritage and individuality of expression. Ernest Bloch’s Baal Shem stands as a cornerstone of the repertoire, evoking the spiritual depth and intensity of Jewish tradition, while Meira Warshauer’s Yiddish Fantasy offers a vibrant and personal reflection on cultural memory from a contemporary voice rooted here in Columbia, South Carolina. The program is further enriched by works of Israeli composers Paul Ben-Haim and Shulamit Ran, whose music expands the narrative in strikingly different ways, blending lyricism, modernism, and rhythmic vitality. Together, these works reveal the diversity and expressive breadth of Jewish composers across time and place.

Admission Cost: FREE

Admission Cost: FREE

Cormac Cannon, conductor

Sousa, Easter Monday on the White House Lawn

Bergman, Dream Machine

Svanoe, The Author’s Suite
Brenna Curtis, conductor

Schwantner, Recoil

Gershwin/Brubaker, An American in Paris