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 History

A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE

 CHARLESTON CHAMBER MUSIC SOCIETY

by

Betty  Warner

     The Charleston Chamber  Music Society was founded in 1942 by John Hiersoux. 

     In the early years  the concerts were performed by leading local musicians, ranging from  soloists, trios, and quartets to chamber orchestras.

    John Hiersoux  conducted the orchestras in works by Bach,Vivaldi, Corelli, Mozart, Grieg, Tchaikowski, Arensky, Milhaud, and more, including the Haydn Farewell  Symphony with appropriate staging. Another program included the  Mendelssohn Octet.  Memorable soloists were violinist Richmond Houston  and pianist Jose Hiersoux.

     The  1948 season was the first season to engage an  outside group the Paganini Quartet.  In following seasons, international ensembles were interspersed with local artists. After 1956 all performers  were  drawn from the rosters of the leading national and international chamber music artists.

    In the mid-1950 a committee of women volunteers was organized by Rebecca Godfrey. She became the executive secretary, a post she filled until her retirement. She was succeeded in 1980 by N. David Stern who still serves in this
capacity.

    Venues in the early years were St. John's church hall, Thomas Jefferson Junior High School auditorium, the Baptist Temple (notably for The Play of Daniel), the Columbia Gas auditorium, and later the University of Charleston.

    Currently the concerts are presented at Christ Church
United Methodist.