Sunset Serenade

Join us for Sunset Serenade on the steps of the landmark U.S. Custom House! This free concert launches the 2025 Piccolo Spoleto Festival featuring the Charleston Symphony and special guest soloists. Led by CSO conductor, Ryo Hasegawa, the program will feature familiar musical favorites, with works by George Gershwin, Leonard Bernstein, Andrew Lloyd Webber, and more. Grab your beach chair or blanket and head downtown for a lively night of music under the stars. Arrive early and enjoy the festival atmosphere as Charleston gathers to celebrate the arts!

A special thank you to Piccolo Spoleto Festival and the City of Charleston for making this concert happen. For more information on additional event, visit their website!

ARTISTS

Kyaunnee Richardson, Soprano
Daniela Liebman, Piano
Ryo Hasegawa, Conductor

PROGRAM

John Stafford Smith, arr. Arthur Frackenpohl
Star Spangled Banner

Adolphus Hailstork
Fanfare on “Amazing Grace” 

George Gershwin
Rhapsody in Blue

Leonard Bernstein
“Glitter and Be Gay” from Candide

George and Ira Gershwin, and DuBose Heyward
“Summertime” from Porgy and Bess

Andrew Lloyd Webber
“Think of Me” from Phantom of the Opera

George Gershwin
An American in Paris

…and more!

ABOUT THE SOLOISTS

Kyaunnee Richardson, soprano, made her professional debut as Papagena in Mozart’s The Magic Flute with the Festival of the Arts Boca in 2016. In 2021, Kyaunnee starred as Calpurnia in the world premiere of The Secret River with Opera Orlando and made her 2020 Opera Orlando debut as Adele in Die Fledermaus.

Ms. Richardson counts among her highest honors singing for President Barack Obama and other dignitaries at the funeral of South Carolina Senator and Rev. Clementa Pinckney, who was murdered by a domestic terrorist at Mother Emanuel A.M.E. church in Charleston, S.C. Among her awards, she was awarded first place in 2023 Opera Ebony’s Benjamin Matthews Vocal Competition, the Sherrill Mlines American Opera Award and a semifinalists in the 30th Annual American Traditions Vocal Competition, placed third in both the New York Lyric Opera Theatre and Opera Ebony’s Benjamin Matthews Vocal Competition and won the Audience Favorite Award in the Harlem Opera Theater Competition. She was a finalist in SAS Performing Arts Company Vocal Competition, Orchestra Noir’s International Medallion Competition and the Michael Ballam Concorso Lirico Opera Competition; received an Encouragement Award from the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions and the Stuart Smith Audience Favorite Award from Opera Ebony. While completing her masters at Florida State University, Ms. Richardson performed the roles of Rose Maurrant in Weill’s Street Scene and Despina in Così fan tutte.

Her performances as a soloist with orchestra include Handel’s Messiah with the Civic Chorale of Greater Miami and the Alhambra Orchestra, and Vivaldi’s Gloria with the Delray Orchestra. She also has been a featured soloist with the Brevard Symphony, Symphony of the Americas, Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra, South Florida Symphony Orchestra, Hallandale Symphonic Pops Orchestra, Sugar Pops Orchestra, Opera Fusion Orchestra, Coral Gables Chamber Orchestra and Sunrise Symphonic Pops Orchestra.

Twenty-one-year-old Mexican pianist Daniela Liebman has rapidly established herself as an artist of eloquence, poise, and nuance. Since her debut at age eight with the Aguascalientes Symphony, Daniela has performed with more than thirty orchestras on four continents..

This season, Daniela makes her debut with the Reno Philharmonic, Orquesta Sinfónica del Sodre (OSSODRE), and Orquesta Juvenil Universitaria Eduardo Mata (OJUEM). She will return with the Orquesta Filarmónica de Jalisco and recently appeared as soloist with the Orquesta Filarmónica del Desierto, Orquesta Sinfonica de la Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León (OSUANL), Richmond Symphony, Minas Gerais Philharmonic, Wichita Symphony, the Sequoia Symphony, the Adrian Symphony, Flagstaff Symphony, and Hartford Symphony. She has also made return appearances with the Orquesta Sinfónica del Estado de México and the Ontario Philharmonic. In past seasons, she has performed with the the Corpus Christi Symphony, the National Symphony of Ecuador, Orlando Philharmonic, the Boca Raton Festival of the Arts Orchestra, San Angelo Symphony, the Radio Philharmonic Orchestra of Peru, the National Symphony of Bogotá, and the Guatemala City Orchestra, among others.

Daniela received first prizes in the 2017 Piano Texas Concerto Competition, the 2012 Russian International Piano Competition in California, and the 2011 “Night in Madrid” in Spain. In 2013, Daniela was selected to participate in Lang Lang’s Junior Music Camp in Munich. Born in Guadalajara, Mexico, Daniela began her piano studies at age five, studying with Dr. Tamás Ungár from 2014-2021 in Fort Worth, Texas. Now attending The Juilliard School, she currently studies with Julian Martin and previously studied with Yoheved Kaplinsky. Daniela is a Warner Classics artist and an international Yamaha artist.