College of Charleston Students Perform, Live the Arts in Boston
As part of the College of Charleston Boston Arts Tour, the CofC Orchestra and Opera performed at Boston's Symphony Hall.
Photos by Hilary Scott
As part of the College of Charleston Boston Arts Tour, the CofC Orchestra and Opera performed at Boston’s Symphony Hall on March 29, 2026, celebrating America’s 250th with a vibrant program of iconic American composers.
The College of Charleston Orchestra was one of only five featured ensembles invited to perform at Boston’s Symphony Hall as part of the Boston Instrumental Festival. Following performances by four distinguished high school orchestras, the College of Charleston Orchestra and Opera served as the event’s centerpiece, delivering the concert’s grand finale of American classics by Leonard Bernstein, Aaron Copland and George Gershwin.
RELATED: Read more about the performance at Boston’s Symphony Hall.
“The performance was such an enthralling experience,” says Yuriy Bekker, who conducted the performance. “Watching our students succeed and thrive and carry themselves so professionally was the perfect culmination of their hard work and a testament to the talent we have at the College.”
“An experience like this is also important to the professional development of students,” says freshman music major Eli Halso. “Of course, when performing on the Sottile stage with the Charleston Symphony Orchestra gives the sense that, yes, you can make opera your career, you can be successful. However, to be able to perform in the Boston Symphony Hall, a National Historic Landmark, grants not only a sense of accomplishment and achievement, but even more the feeling that music making not only can be but is currently a reality.”
Listening Arts
In addition to the monumental performance at Boston’s Symphony Hall, the College’s student musicians enjoyed a variety of activities around the city. One memorable highlight was the Boston Symphony Orchestra concert of Dvořák Symphony No. 9 (New World Symphony) and Three Scenes from Nixon in China with opera luminaries Renée Fleming and Thomas Hampson.
“Seeing these two venerable performers was an unforgettable experience for the students,” says Saundra DeAthos-Meers, director of College of Charleston Opera and chair of the music department. “Our orchestra and opera students were walking among giants, and they followed these giants onto the same stage the following day to deliver their own dazzling performance.”
“Being able to watch the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Renée Fleming and Thomas Hampson perform on the historic stage, and then, less than 24 hours later, perform on the same stage, is an incredible feeling, especially for college students who are in their critical formative years as musicians and as people,” says Halso. “It was an opportunity for which I cannot be more grateful for, and I’m sure that my fellow students feel the same way.”
Colin Covington, who was the featured soloist at the performance, certainly feels the same.
“The acoustic of the hall was like nothing I had ever heard,” says the junior majoring in music and minoring in international studies. “I couldn’t believe that I would be performing on the same stage where so many legends performed.”
In addition to visiting popular Boston sites, such as the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, student orchestral musicians participated in a masterclass with internationally acclaimed conductor and music director of Boston Ballet Mischa Santora, who also conducts the Boston Ballet Orchestra and composes music and writes scores for theater and film projects.
Learning Arts
This College of Charleston Boston Arts Tour was a multidisciplinary effort representing successful programs at the College of Charleston School of the Arts. The Department of Studio Art joined the orchestra and opera programs on the journey to Boston, embarking on a deep dive into the city’s storied art scene. From the ancient artifacts at the Museum of Fine Arts to the avant-garde installations at the Institute of Contemporary Art and the eclectic treasures of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, students explored the evolution of human expression from prehistory to the present day.
“Students were excited to see in person the very artwork they’ve studied in class,” says Susan Klein, chair of the studio art department. “Moving from the textbook to the museum gallery created a ‘full circle of learning’ that was impactful on them as burgeoning artists.”
“My classmates and I were able to experience works we had previously studied in lectures and studio courses in person, which deepened our understanding of our education,” says senior studio art major Hayes Martini. “The trip also gave us valuable exposure to graduate programs, allowing us to speak with current students about their experiences and gain insight into the next steps we can take as we transition into the professional world as artists.”
Indeed, the trip offered a vital glimpse into the next stage of artistic development. Students toured the graduate studios at Boston University (BU) and the School of the Museum of Fine Arts (SMFA) at Tufts.
For Jack Jemison, a senior double-majoring in studio art and urban studies, the experience provided a powerful sense of clarity: “Seeing the work of BU and SMFA graduate students in their studios felt like looking into the future.”
Living Arts
“The type of community building that happens on a tour cannot be understated, as I believe it strengthens connections, prompts dialogue and allows students a new environment to grow and understand each other,” says Halso. “It certainly helped me feel a much stronger sense of community and connection than I had before. For that I am immensely grateful.”
From walking in the footsteps of legends and performing in a historically renowned venue to seeing masterpieces in the flesh and getting a glimpse of graduate school practice, our students didn’t just study music and art in Boston. They lived it. And they returned to Charleston with the confidence that their future as professional creators is already a reality.
