The music of composer George Gershwin will be celebrated at the Etheridge Center on the USC Aiken campus on Saturday, April 27th at 7:30 p.m.
Baritone Robert Sims and soprano Louise Toppin, accompanied by piano, will perform “Broadway's Gershwin” as part of the Cultural Series. Their program is completed with classics such as “Fascinatin' Rhythm,” “Lady Be Good,” and “Strike Up the Band.”
Gershwin and his lyricist brother Ira were a songwriting team whose voices mimicked the sounds of the Jazz Age. Throughout the 1920s and his 1930s, the brothers composed dozens of scores for Broadway and Hollywood, including the opera Porgy and Bess.
Their music remained popular after their death and was featured in musicals such as “An American in Paris'' and “Nice Work If You Can Get It.'' Gershwin also achieved success in the concert field as a piano virtuoso, conductor, and composer, and is the author of such works as “Rhapsody in Blue'' and “Concerto in F Major.''
A finalist at the Munich International Competition and winner of the Metropolitan Opera Regional Auditions, Louise Toppin has won acclaim for her opera, orchestral, and oratorio performances in the United States and around the world, including Sweden and the United Kingdom. I am getting. She has appeared in a series of concerts held at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Merkin Hall, Teatro Richeux in Barcelona, and the International Albéniz Her Festival in Camprodon, Spain.
Robert Sims, an American Tradition Competition gold medal winner, has been praised by critics for his rich tone, energetic performances, and convincing stage presence. Robert has toured extensively throughout the United States, Germany, Austria, and Switzerland as a featured soloist. He is the recipient of the Living Heritage Foundation Lifetime Achievement Award and the Friends of Negro Spirituals Heritage Keeper Award.
In addition to the “Gershwin on Broadway” performance that night, Louise and Robert will also host a master class for USCA music students on Saturday morning.