AIKEN CHORAL
S O C I E T Y
Collaborating Musicians
Enhancing your concert experience.
Whenever appropriate to support our wide repertoire, our Artistic Director and Board contract highly-skilled musicians from the Aiken-Augusta area and beyond to add richness and authenticity to our performances. In our continuing efforts to increase public awareness of the value of the arts, we also invite other local choruses to join us. Our goal is to provide our audience and our singers with the most inspiring and authentic concert experience we can offer. Below are examples of recent performances with guest artists.
Carl Purdy, Instrumentalist
A versatile instrumentalist and composer, Carl Purdy has performed with the Aiken Choral Society in a variety of roles over the years as both a featured player and a member of special guest groups like The Kiokee Quintet. He and his family are featured performers during our annual Madrigal Dinner: A Renaissance Yuletide Feast. Mr. Purdy attended the New England Conservatory of Music and is currently on the faculty at Augusta University. He has recorded and toured internationally on the viola, jazz violin, recorder, classical guitar and folk guitar.
Our Local Choruses
ACS believes in working with other local choruses, and several have joined us in special presentations: St. Paul's Lutheran Church Choir under director Kathleen Cartlage (for Josef Haydn's Creation); Bound to Sing, an auditioned boys' choir under the direction of James Bennett, shown in rehearsal at left, (for Rutter's Mass of the Children); and South Boundary men's chorus. We have also been joined by several local high school choir programs including the South Aiken High School Concert Choir and the North Augusta High School Choir.
Our Local Orchestras
The Aiken Choral Society has been fortunate to partner with both the Aiken Symphony Orchestra and the Aiken Civic Orchestra on numerous occasions to provide vocal accompaniment during concerts throughout the year.
The Kiokee Quintet
For the 2015 Spring Concert THE GREAT CHORUS, we were joined by the Kiokee Quintet as we celebrated our favorite choral masterworks from across time.
Harpsichord
Aiken Choral Society owns a fine 2-rank harpsichord built in 1984 in Charleston. Whenever ACS performs period music in concert or at its annual Renaissance Dinner, you can expect to hear this special sound.