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The 2005 South Carolina Cello Choir took place on September 16-17 at the Koger Center and the USC School of Music with the largest number of participants in its 26-year history. 147 cellists came from all over South Carolina, as well as from Georgia, North Carolina and as far away as Virginia to participate in the Large and Small Choirs, the Friday master classes, and the AllState workshops.

The clinician this year was David Ying, cellist with the Ying Quartet and teacher at the Eastman School of Music. He did a superb job in leading the Choirs, and in working with the young cellists in the master classes.

The SC Cello Choir began as usual on Friday with three master classes for high school and college cello students. This year there was again an overflow of demand for these classes. Sixteen cellists performed movements of concertos by Shostakovich, Kabalevsky, Lalo, Haydn, Saint-Saens, Boccherini and JC Bach, in addition to other works from the cello repertoire by such composers as Popper, Faure, Bach and Stravinsky. It is exciting to hear the level of solo cello playing in South Carolina improving with each passing year of this event.

On the final concert each choir performed about 6 pieces, including several original cello compositions by Gruetzmacher, Critelli, and Nelson, and arrangements of works by Strauss, Faure, and Bartok. One of the highlights was a performance of Schubert's Erlking in an original arrangement by SC's own ASTA president, Andrew Levin. In this version each of the song's characters are played by a different section of cellos: the narrator, the father, the son, the horse, and the Erlking.

Many of South Carolina's professional cellists contributed their time and expertise to help make this weekend a success. Christopher Hutton (Furman University) gave a wonderful master class for the younger pre-college students. Cellists Sharon Gerber (Bob Jones University) and David Saliny (private cello teacher, Greenville) led the workshops on the All-State audition pieces. It was wonderful having James Holland (principal cellist, Charleston Symphony) as principal cello of the Large Choir, and we welcomed Natalia Khoma, the new cello teacher at the College of Charleston, who sat principal cello of the Small Choir. Kristen Kirby (private cello teacher, Columbia) worked intensively with the younger cellists of the Large Choir while the other events occurred during the day.

The USC student ASTA chapter was instrumental in organizing this year's Cello Choir weekend, helping with everything from taking the registrations, making signs and posters, setting up the stage, making the programs, and even baking and cooking for the Friday evening reception! Particularly noteworthy was the work of cellists Sara Duncan, the current ASTA chapter president, and Dana Newton, the past ASTA chapter president, for organizing all the other members' participation, in addition to their own work and their own playing in the Choirs! It is one of the great joys of teaching to be working with such fine young people, who are going to be wonderful educators in the future. They are already touching the lives of so many young people with their work.

We also appreciated the support of Bernhardt House of Violins, who came from Greenville with instruments for the participants to try out.

The next South Carolina Cello Choir will take place on September 15-16, 2006 at Bob Jones University in Greenville.