FAIRFIELD COUNTY – Laura Dye says this kind of music is not often heard in Fairfield County.
“Normally if you want to hear classical music on this level, you have to kind of keep your ear to the ground about what’s going on in Columbia or Charlotte, but it’s right here in Ridgeway, so I’m excited about that,” says Dye, a member of the Winnsboro Music Study Club and organizer of an upcoming concert featuring internationally acclaimed pianist Teresa de Freitas.
“The concert is free, but we’ll be encouraging donations which go toward the club’s scholarships for music students.”
On Sept. 20, de Freitas will perform at 7 p.m. at the Aimwell Presbyterian Church in Ridgeway.
Born in France and raised in Brazil, de Freitas began playing the piano at age 5 and performing at age 7. As a child, she won many contests, studying with several pianists as a teen and young adult.
She moved to the United States to earn her master’s degree in piano performance and is currently pursuing a doctorate, while also working as music director at a church in North Carolina.
Moved to Tears
Dye says she was moved to tears the first time she heard de Freitas perform a concert with a small orchestra. This time, de Freitas will be performing on her own.
“The piano is one instrument with one person pouring out her soul into a piece of music, and that’s just… it is a wonderful thing. It’s a different kind of experience,” Dye says.
“It’s one thing to flip to a YouTube channel and listen to some classical music, and you might not know the name or whatever – it’s another thing to hear it in person with a live artist who puts her heart and soul into it.”
The piano at the church where the concert will be held is a Steinway, she says, and the historic church building has the right acoustics to make it a special experience.
Music Study Club meets monthly to study topics related to music. Last year the club celebrated its 100th anniversary.
The Club has been home to several notable members in the last century and has long impacted the community. But its focus has not merely been the enjoyment of great music.
“In the 1940s, music club members worked with the Fairfield County school board to encourage the teaching of music in our schools,” Nicholson says. “As a result, music club members ended up filling those teaching positions,” says Ellen Nicholson, a former president of the club.
“Marian Sewell Ketchin, Sarah Lynn Gladden, and Nelle McMaster Sprott all contributed to my love of music,” Nicholson said. “Ms. Sprott wrote songs to teach school students about the history, geography, and beauty of South Carolina.”
In 1970, the Tricentennial Commission published ten of Sprott’s songs and distributed them to all the schools in the state. The music was accompanied by a record made by the Singing Sandlappers, some of Sprott’s students.
In addition to teaching music in the schools, many members contributed to the music of various churches by singing in choirs and/or playing the piano or organ.”
Current club president Kerry Matthews mentioned other notable members that included Nicholson who is the organist at St. John’s Episcopal Church.
“Dr. Clyde McCants, an ARP minister – retired from both Bethel and White Oak Churches in Fairfield County – published several books on opera,” Matthews says. “He was a wonderful pianist, playing often at The News and Herald Tavern.
“Other professional musicians still with us are Laurens ‘Bootsie’ McMaster Livings, a former opera singer and sister of Nelle, now teaches piano and voice in Winnsboro and is organist at Bethel ARP Church,” she said.
In addition to the monthly club meetings – where members learn about a series of topics and listen to music focused on a different theme each year – the club also sponsors a scholarship that’s given each year to one Fairfield County student studying to become a musician.
Dye says anyone who’s interested in finding out more about the club, should attend the concert on Sept. 20. It will also be a great opportunity to talk to members of the club.
Aimwell Presbyterian Church is located at 245 Means St. in Ridgeway.
