{"id":8227,"date":"2026-03-16T15:41:19","date_gmt":"2026-03-16T15:41:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/gpstrianglenews.com\/index.php\/2026\/03\/16\/muzika-to-start-fifth-season\/"},"modified":"2026-03-16T15:41:19","modified_gmt":"2026-03-16T15:41:19","slug":"muzika-to-start-fifth-season","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gpstrianglenews.com\/index.php\/2026\/03\/16\/muzika-to-start-fifth-season\/","title":{"rendered":"Muzika. to start fifth season"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Muzika. Festival<\/span><\/span> will return to South Carolina this June for its fifth season, coinciding with the 25th anniversary of its parent organization, Varna International<\/span><\/span>.<\/p>\n

What began as a world-traveling production company has established South Carolina<\/span><\/span> as its permanent cultural home, bringing international performers and emerging artists to local stages.<\/p>\n

The 2026 season will be led by Gregory Buchalter<\/span><\/span> of the Metropolitan Opera<\/span><\/span> and will feature more than 50 faculty members mentoring and performing alongside more than 300 emerging artists from around the world.<\/p>\n

“For 25 years, Varna International has brought world-class artistry to stages around the globe,” said Kalin Tchonev<\/span><\/span>, festival director. “Over the past five years, South Carolina has become the vibrant center of that work. Muzika. demonstrates that our state belongs on the international cultural stage.”<\/p>\n

2026 Featured Performance Lineup<\/h3>\n

Sacred Service<\/strong> by Ernest Bloch<\/span><\/span>
June 11, 7:30 p.m.
Koger Center for the Arts<\/span><\/span>
A choral work that kicks off the festival’s signature concert series.<\/p>\n

From Stage to Screen<\/strong>
June 12, 7:30 p.m.
Koger Center for the Arts<\/span><\/span>
A musical journey through 80 years of Broadway favorites and iconic Hollywood film scores.<\/p>\n

The Magic of Broadway<\/strong> (Regional Tour)
June 9, 7 p.m. – Icehouse Amphitheater<\/span><\/span>
June 14, 7 p.m. – Ground Zero
June 15, 7 p.m. – Hartness Performing Arts Center<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Little Women: The Musical<\/strong>
June 20, 7 p.m., and June 21, 3 p.m.
Lexington Two Performing Arts Center<\/span><\/span>
A Broadway adaptation of the novel by Louisa May Alcott<\/span><\/span>.<\/p>\n

Carmen<\/strong> by Georges Bizet<\/span><\/span>
June 27 at 1 and 7 p.m.; June 28 at 3 p.m.
Lexington Two Performing Arts Center<\/span><\/span>
A fully staged production of the classic opera.<\/p>\n

Detska Kitka: Bulgarian Female Youth Choir<\/strong>
Various dates
An award-winning youth choir from Plovdiv, Bulgaria, performing folklore and contemporary choral music while celebrating the sister-city relationship with Columbia<\/span><\/span>.<\/p>\n

Festival organizers estimate the event generates $1.46 million in direct local spending and more than $1.5 million in total annual economic impact. A key part of the mission is the Varna International Music Academy<\/span><\/span>, which awards about $250,000 in scholarships each year to support emerging artists.<\/p>\n

Tickets and the full performance schedule are available online, and early reservations are encouraged due to limited seating at several venues.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Muzika. Festival will return to South Carolina this June for its fifth season, coinciding with the 25th anniversary of its parent organization, Varna International. What began as a world-traveling production company has established South Carolina as its permanent cultural home, bringing international performers and emerging artists to local stages.Continue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":8228,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[35],"tags":[159],"class_list":["entry","author-john-griggs","post-8227","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-entertainment","tag-live-performance"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/gpstrianglenews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Muzika_2026_630x350.jpg?fit=630%2C350&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gpstrianglenews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8227","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gpstrianglenews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gpstrianglenews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gpstrianglenews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gpstrianglenews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8227"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/gpstrianglenews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8227\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gpstrianglenews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8228"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gpstrianglenews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8227"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gpstrianglenews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8227"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gpstrianglenews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8227"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}