Southern Exposure New Music Series

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Southern Exposure New Music Series

Southern Exposure is a non-profit contemporary music series based at the University of South Carolin

The Southern Exposure New Music Series features internationally renowned guest artists and University of South Carolina School of Music faculty and students in one of the southeast's most dynamic, exciting, and popular concert series. Honored with the prestigious Chamber Music America / ASCAP Award for Adventurous Programming, Southern Exposure presents a wide variety of boundary-stretching contem

porary music. Recent seasons have included such notable guests artists as International Contemporary Ensemble, Alarm Will Sound, JACK Quartet, So Percussion, Gamelan Galak Tika, and the Los Angeles Piano Quartet. Southern Exposure events are free, so we rely on the generous contributions of our audience to help sustain this vital series. While many concerts are standing room only, for a donation of just $100 or more you can reserve a seat for the entire year. (To make a donation and reserve a seat, click on the following link, then select “School of Music” and “Southern Exposure” on the subsequent pages:

https://giftsonline.sc.edu/give/give.asp

07/17/2026

We’re thrilled to announce our partnership with Luna Composition Lab, in celebration of their 10th anniversary, @10! During our 2026-27 season, Southern Exposure New Music is commissioning and premiering a new work by Luna Lab alum Carolina Bragg. Join us on Saturday, April 17, 2027, for this premiere by Eighth Blackbird.

@10

03/24/2026

Holy Visions! Thanks to Eliza Bagg, Elizabeth Bates, Sarah Brailey, Rachel Calloway Streisfeld, and Kirsten Sollek for the extraordinary performance this past Friday to close our 24th season! And for Eliza (aka Lisel) for her thrilling set at Saturday's Gala. Enjoy the attached photos, and stay tuned for our 2026-27 season announcement. See you next year!

03/21/2026

TONIGHT! Our 2026 Gala Fundraiser featuring Lisel and Deux Saisons. Join us for an intimate gala evening in support of Southern Exposure. Guests will enjoy food, drinks, sound painting, and a silent auction in a speakeasy-style atmosphere.

Tickets: https://connect.sc.edu/AG/sfp/mus/southern-exposure-gala-2026

University of South Carolina School of Music

03/20/2026

TONIGHT!!! 7:30PM! Recital Hall!

Southern Exposure presents HOLY VISIONS, a virtuosic all-female vocal new music super group, including USC's own Rachel Calloway, comes together in Columbia for a special night centered around John Zorn's The Holy Visions.

All Southern Exposure concerts are FREE.

University of South Carolina School of Music

03/19/2026

Southern Exposure Gala ’26 is coming up! The Gala takes place on Saturday, March 21, 2026, 8-11 p.m. at a super secret warehouse location!! The event features a special, intimate, one-woman performance for voice and electronic processing by the extraordinary vocalist and composer Eliza Bagg, aka Lisel. Highlights of the evening include: Snacks, desserts, alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages, Live music featuring Deux Saisons, Sound painting led by USC composer Austin Engelhardt, A silent auction, Live painting by Michael Krajewski!

We hope to see you there. Get your tickets on the Southern Exposure web page here:
https://connect.sc.edu/AG/sfp/mus/southern-exposure-gala-2026

University of South Carolina School of Music

03/18/2026

SPOTLIGHT on USC faculty RACHEL CALLOWAY, featuring performer on Friday night’s concert.

Praised by the New York Times for her “penetrating clarity” and “considerable depth of expression,” mezzo-soprano Rachel Calloway is a leading interpreter of new music, having premiered hundreds of works and collaborated with ensembles such as JACK Quartet, Third Coast Percussion, and Ensemble Signal. She has performed with major orchestras and festivals including the New York Philharmonic, Los Angeles Philharmonic New Music Series, BAM Next Wave Festival, and the Ojai Festival. At USC, she serves as Assistant Professor of Voice and Director of Spark: Music Leadership at Carolina.

On Friday, March 20, 2026, Holy Visions, a virtuosic all-female vocal new music super group, comes together in Columbia for a special night centered around John Zorn's The Holy Visions.

All Southern Exposure concerts are FREE.

University of South Carolina School of Music

03/17/2026

SPOTLIGHT on LAURA GARNER, our Featured Artist on Friday night's concert in the Recital Hall featuring Eliza Bagg, Elizabeth Bates, Sarah Brailey, Rachel Calloway, and Kirsten Sollek performing music by Zorn, Dufay, Kirsten, Lang, Lyons, Maiben and Smiley.

Columbia-based painter and art conservator Laura Garner brings a deep love of art history, materials, and process to her work. Trained in South Carolina, the Netherlands, and Florence, she now works at the Columbia Museum of Art while continuing to paint and create in her studio. Her work blends tradition, curiosity, and playful experimentation—often inspired by time spent creating alongside her young daughter.

www.artbylaura.net

University of South Carolina School of Music .michaelharley

03/15/2026

We really hope you will join us Saturday, March 21 at the Southern Exposure Gala Fundraiser for a unique and extraordinary performance where ancient vocal practices meet futuristic sound design—part concert, part sonic journey.

Lisel (Eliza Bagg) brings her genre-blurring sound world to the stage—where early music, experimental pop, and cutting-edge electronics collide. A celebrated vocalist who has performed with the New York Philharmonic, Los Angeles Philharmonic, and artists like John Zorn, esperanza spalding, Nico Muhly, and Bryce Dessner, Bagg channels her virtuosic voice through autotune, delay, and live processing to create something entirely her own.

Drawing inspiration from Renaissance polyphony, minimalism, hyperpop, and ambient electronics, Lisel’s Patterns for Auto-tuned Voices and Delay explores the voice as both human instrument and technological medium. The result is a mesmerizing sound world that bridges centuries of vocal tradition with the possibilities of modern production.

Tickets can be purchased here: https://connect.sc.edu/AG/sfp/mus/southern-exposure-gala-2026

University of South Carolina School of Music .jpeg

03/13/2026

ONE WEEK!

On Friday, March 20, 2026 we will present Holy Visions, a virtuosic all-female vocal new music super group, including USC's own Rachel Calloway, that comes together in Columbia for a special night centered around John Zorn's work The Holy Visions.

All Southern Exposure concerts are FREE. See you in the Recital Hall at 7:30!

.michaelharley University of South Carolina School of Music

03/09/2026

Columbia painter Michael Krajewski is a mainstay on the local art scene. His style is distinctive: quirky, zany, full of fun and a unique vision. Mike will be featured painting LIVE at our March 21 Southern Exposure Gala 2026 -- and his creation(s) auctioned off to the highest bidder. Come join the fun!

Address

University Of South Carolina School Of Music, 813 Assembly Street
Columbia, SC
29201

Telephone

+18037774280

Website

http://www.sc.edu/study/colleges_schools/music/concerts_and_events/southern_exposure/index.php

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