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Violinist Samuel Thompson, a former USC student who gained national attention for his performances of Bach for Hurricane Katrina survivors in the New Orleans Superdome, will give a benefit concert Jan. 26 at the USC School of Music.
Seating is first come, first served for the 7:30 p.m. performance, which will be at the school's Recital Hall. A $10 contribution is encouraged. Proceeds from the performance, titled "USC Cares: Renewal Through Music," will benefit public-school music programs in New Orleans and professional musicians who were displaced by the hurricane.
Thompson, who was lauded for bringing encouragement and peace through music to the survivors, will perform classical pieces such as Vivaldi and Respighi's "Sonata in D major," Vaughan Williams' "The Lark Ascending," and Beethoven's "Sonta in F Major, Op. 24, Spring."
Photos of Thompson playing the violin at the Superdome during the flooding of New Orleans were published in national newspapers and on news broadcasts. A Charleston native, Thompson began playing the violin at age 9. He was a semifinalist in the 2000 New World Symphony Concerto Competition and was second violinist in the Marian Anderson String Quartet in the summer of 2000.
The concert will be the School of Music's second for Katrina victims under the "Renewal Through Music" series. The first was held Oct. 4 and benefited South Carolina Cares, a private non-profit organization aiding the Katrina victims who relocated to the Midlands.
Merrill Lynch is sponsor of the concert, which also will be part of the School of Music and city of Columbia's Mozart Festival, which takes place Jan. 20-Feb. 11.
For more information, call Leslie Wrenn at 6-5897 or go to www.music.sc.edu.
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Samuel Thompson
