The Benjamin B. Dunlap Chamber Music Series at Wofford College announces four performances for the 2025-26 season.
Founded in 2005 to bring international guest artists to campus, the series is free and open to the public. All performances will be held in Main Building’s Leonard Auditorium on the Wofford College campus.
“This year’s lineup is especially exciting, with more performances than in recent years,” says Dr. Aaron Harp, assistant professor and chair of the Department of Music. “I’m excited for the variety of ensembles and repertoire our audiences will experience this season.”
The season opens at 7 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 20, with the Suen-Kam Guitar Duo. Guitarists Shiuen-Huang Suen and Kenneth Kam met while pursuing their doctorates at the Eastman School of Music and have performed together since. Their repertoire spans the 17th to 20th centuries, including works by Granados, Rameau, Sor and Schubert.
Cantus, a low-voice vocal ensemble, will perform on Monday, Nov. 17. Cantus will present the program “Land That I Love” in celebration of America’s upcoming 250th birthday. The concert features music from composers with migration stories, including Saunder Choi from the Philippines, Chen Yi from China, Gloria Estefan from Cuba and Bob Marley from Jamaica.
On Monday, Feb. 9, the Manhattan Chamber Players, a collective of New York-based musicians, will perform a program featuring piano, strings and clarinet: Schumann’s “Märchenerzählungen,” Brahms’ “Clarinet Trio” and Fauré’s Piano Quartet No. 1. Members of the ensemble are alumni of the Curtis Institute, the Juilliard School, the Colburn School and New England Conservatory.
The final performance of the season will be Thursday, April 16, with the Sinta Quartet, a saxophone ensemble known for its virtuosic, memorized performances that blend 18th- to 20th-century masterpieces with contemporary commissions and arrangements. They have performed at Carnegie Hall, Walt Disney Hall and the Beijing Center for the Performing Arts.
“These really are exceptional performers, and I’m grateful that, through the college’s continued commitment to the arts, we are able to make these concerts available to our campus and the Spartanburg community at no cost,” Harp says.
The series was named in honor of Dr. Benjamin Bernard Dunlap, the college’s 10th president. He was a contributor to the arts as a soloist and principal dancer at the Columbia City Ballet before coming to Wofford as the Chapman Family Professor in the Humanities in 1993. He became president in 2000 and served for 13 years. His academic interests were in the arts, literature, Asian studies and film. During his leadership, Wofford increased opportunities for students interested in studying the arts. Dunlap also secured funding to renovate what is now the Montgomery Music Building.
There is no ticketing or registration required to attend the concerts. Seating is general admission. Accessibility seating and entrance to the building may be found at Wofford.edu/chambermusic