The USC School of Music's and SEPF's illustrious piano faculty launch the 2026 Festival with a performance that is sure to thrill.

TICKETS: $25 individual; $5 students (with valid school ID) and children ages 18 and under.

Described by The WholeNote as “an innovative musician and aggressive thinker with a gift for keyboard brilliance,” Susi will present a recital featuring two of his passions: French Impressionism and the music of Franz Liszt.

Bring your lunch or pick it up from one of the food trucks outside and enjoy an informal concert by our SEPF Associates and Graduate Assistants who are all young rising artists studying piano at USC.

FREE

TICKETS: $25 individual; $5 students (with valid school ID) and children ages 18 and under.

In the 1970s, cassette players revolutionized how we experienced music at home. For the first time, we could record, curate, and create our own playlists, free from algorithms or formulas. Pedja Muzijevic’s program is a tribute to that era. From Bach to Haydn, to Glass to Beach, this is more than a concert; it’s a celebration of the art of listening, a homage to the joy of discovery, and a nod to the creative freedom of mixtapes.

Bring your lunch or grab-and-go from any of the many nearby establishments and enjoy performances by the gifted young students of the USC Piano Institute, all in this gorgeously restored 1924 venue in downtown Columbia.

FREE

TICKETS: $25 individual; $5 students (with valid school ID) and children ages 18 and under.

Hailed by the New York Times as “prodigiously accomplished and exciting,” Blair McMillen takes the stage with a dynamic program featuring the music of Claude Debussy, Brian Wilson, Margaret Bonds, William Bolcom and more.

BUY TICKETS: $25 individual; $5 students (with valid school ID) and children ages 18 and under.

First prize winner of the Naumburg International Piano Competition and the Concert Artist Guild International Competition, Korean-American pianist Soyeon Kate Lee has been lauded by The New York Times as a pianist with "a huge, richly varied sound, a lively imagination and a firm sense of style." After performing in the Bank of America Chamber Music series at the 2026 Spoleto Festival USA in May, she joins us at SEPF presenting a solo recital featuring Debussy, Schumann, Prokofiev, Prestini and Scriabin.

Festival participants compete for a chance to perform with the South Carolina Philharmonic in a Masterworks concert and more than $10,000 in cash prizes.

FREE

The winners of the Arthur Fraser Piano Competition are featured in evening of dazzling showstoppers.

TICKETS: $25 individual; $5 students (with valid school ID) and children ages 18 and under.