Blog

Spoleto Festival USA has announced Live from Spoleto 2025: Orchestra, the first release in a new, multi-project partnership with Apple Music Classical and Phenotypic Recordings. Recorded live during the 2025 Festival season, the album captures the urgency, risk, and vitality that define Spoleto’s orchestral performances.  […]

The 2026 Spoleto Festival USA, running May 22–June 7, 2026, features more than 110 performances across opera, dance, theater, music, jazz, and community programs. The season arrives at a pivotal national moment—the 250th anniversary of the United States—and is shaped by a unifying theme of […]

Spoleto Festival USA proudly announces the appointment of eight exceptional leaders to its Board of Directors: Sarah Beardsley, Anthony Grant, Lou Hammond, Anil Matai, Wenda Harris Millard, Denis O’Hare, Renee Romberger, and Loren Ziff. Together, they bring decades of expertise spanning business, finance, real estate, […]

From May 23 to June 8, 2025, Charleston transformed into a living stage, where stories were told, shared, and reimagined. For 17 days, Spoleto Festival USA welcomed audiences to over 120 performances spanning 23 artistic disciplines, featuring more than 450 artists from around the globe. […]

Spoleto Festival USA is thrilled to announce the appointment of Dr. Amanda Quist as Music Director of the Spoleto Festival USA Chorus, beginning with the 2026 Festival. Dr. Quist brings a wealth of experience, a distinguished academic background, and a dynamic vision for the future […]

From Friday, May 24 to Sunday, June 9, 2024, the 48th Season of Spoleto Festival USA transformed Charleston into a vibrant, international hub of artistic expression. Over the course of 17 days, 13 venues hosted more than 100 performances, featuring 389 artists in 21 unique […]

Cellist and composer Paul Wiancko will become the next Charles E. and Andrea L. Volpe Director of Chamber Music, debuting in the role in the 2024 season. Wiancko’s appointment marks the first time in the Festival’s history that the standing director is both a performer […]

Wolf Trap Foundation for the Performing Arts and Spoleto Festival USA have partnered to bring Wolf Trap’s customizable arts-based teaching and learning programs to early childhood classrooms in southeastern South Carolina. The partnership creates Lowcountry South Carolina Wolf Trap, Wolf Trap’s newest addition to a […]

After a remarkable 19-year tenure, Joe Miller, the esteemed Director of Choral Activities at Spoleto Festival USA, will conclude his role in June 2025. Miller has accepted a new position to become Music Director at Vocal Arts Ensemble Cincinnati, Greater Cincinnati’s premier professional vocal ensemble. […]

Pianist and Spoleto’s founding Artistic Director of Chamber Music Charles Wadsworth died May 29, 2025, in New York City. He was 96. A preeminent leader in the field of chamber music, Wadsworth expanded the genre’s populist appeal, at Spoleto and worldwide. Presenting innovative programming and […]

The Spoleto Festival USA community is deeply saddened by the passing of Scott Nickrenz, a visionary chamber musician and the director of the festival’s beloved Chamber Music series for over a decade. Nickrenz, who died March 17 at the age of 87, leaves behind a […]

Spoleto Festival USA’s General Director & CEO Mena Mark Hanna announced today the appointment of conductor Timothy Myers as music director of the Spoleto Festival USA Orchestra, one of the world’s most prestigious ensembles for emerging musicians. In his new role, Myers will lead its […]

Today, Spoleto Festival USA’s General Director and CEO Mena Mark Hanna announced the appointment of Rachel Coker as Chief Advancement Officer. Coker joins the team following a months-long search conducted by Isaacson, Miller, with support from Festival Board members and senior staff.  A talented and […]

Omar, the transformative opera by Rhiannon Giddens and Michael Abels centering the story of an enslaved Muslim scholar, received the 2023 Pulitzer Prize in Music, Columbia University announced today. The work was recognized for its expansion of the traditional opera canon, challenging its standard practice […]

Geoff Nuttall, co-founder and first violinist of the St. Lawrence String Quartet and Spoleto’s Charles E. and Andrea L. Director of Chamber Music, passed away last week after undergoing treatment for pancreatic cancer. Like many Charlestonians and Spoleto supporters, I shared a deep, abiding friendship […]