The Chamber Music of I'On Village
Sponsored by the I'On Trust
I'Onissimo! performs chamber music on the porches and in the parks of I'On Village in Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina. Concerts are usually held outdoors weather permitting, once a month, generally on Sunday afternoon. Concerts are free and open to the general public unless otherwise indicated.
For full information and schedules go to our I'Onissimo! Main Page
Contacting I'Onissimo! To get email announcements on upcoming concerts send your address to hamilton@awod.com. I’Onissimo! Telephone (843) 849-8481. The group is coordinated by Julia Hamilton and Peggy Orange.
Donations for the support of I'Onissimo may be made to the I'On Trust, a nonprofit 501c3 community foundation and are tax deductible. Funds are used for the purchase of sheet music; rental of special instruments such as tubas and percussion, and donations to the musical organizations of guest musicians. Donors may purchase sheet music in the name of a loved one in lieu of a birthday or other gift. A list of needed music will be posted on this web site.
I'Onissimo! Puts Music within Walking Distance in I'On
An Overview of I'Onissimo! by William J. Hamilton
I'On residents are using features of their new traditional neighborhood development to share musical talent with their neighbors with a new chamber music group called I'Onissimo! Concerts with string, brass and woodwind instruments are held monthly in the Fall and Spring.
Image right - I'Onissimo in concert on the porch of the Clem family
Houses with porches, sidewalks and common space work together to facilitate a delightful series of concerts featuring amateur musicians from the community. The first Concert was held at the home of the Clem Family. Unlike most Mt. Pleasant houses, the Clem home has no large yard. It features a grand porch which abuts the shaded community park which surrounds Eastlake in I'On.
At the premier concert in September, an audience of forty sat under the oak trees in the park to hear the music of Handel, Purcell and J.S. Bach. The musicians used the Clem's large open porch as their stage, cooled by the ceiling fans. Parents listened while their children played nearby in the park and boated on the lake.
Most cultural events are concentrated in specialized facilities requiring parents to hire baby sitters to watch their children while they make a long drive over crowded highways that ends in a search for parking or a slow crawl through a crowded parking garage. Planners of I'Onissimo wanted music in their neighborhood, played by their friends that they could walk to over the community's extensive grid of sidewalks. The group is supported by the I'On Trust, a nonprofit community foundation.
On September 23 virtually no one was present 3 minutes before the concert began. Because there was no drive or parking problem, the audience left their homes only a minute or two before the performance and spent the time afterwards socializing with neighbors instead of sacrificing their afternoon to the car and the road. Once the music began to be heard across the lake and narrow streets of the neighborhood, others left their homes to come and listen, drawn by the music.
Dr. Tom Kendell, of the I'Onissimo Brass announces concerts by sounding Bugle calls from the Boathouse at Eastlake about 15 minutes before the concerts. The sound of the old army calls for assembly and attention to orders can be clearly heard across the water of Eastlake and lets visitors and residents in I'On know the music is about to begin.
You do not have to be an I'On resident to attend the concerts or play as a member of I'Onissimo. The group already features several fine musicians who live elsewhere and bring their talents to the porches of I'On on Sunday afternoons. I'On is not a gated community and its parks and events are open to all who come with a civil respect for community. I'Onissimo! welcomes amature musicians of all skill levels.
Julia Hamilton and Peggy Caskie Orange coordinate the group. A webpage www.awod.com/hamilton/ provides information on monthly upcoming concerts and allows interested persons to get email notices on future events. Musicians are needed to complete string, woodwind and brass ensembles now.
The outdoor concerts are free but persons wanting to support I'Onissimo can make donations, purchase sheet music or join the I'Onissimo Society for a $25 donation to the I'On Trust. I'Onissimo Society Membership secures admission to limited seating concerts in private homes in I'On held during the winter where piano and small ensemble music is followed by warm cider by the fire.
Among the future features planned for I'On is a lakeside amphitheater that will seat 500 with additional nearby hillside seating for another thousand. The amphitheater has been sized to accommodate a symphony orchestra, allowing I'On residents to walk to dance, musical and theatrical events in the community.
For information on past programs and background information see the I'Onissimo Archive Page
By purchasing music for the I'Onissimo Music Library you help provide a larger variety of material for performance at future concerts. Your name, or the name of the person you designate, will be inscribed on the music, announced at future concerts and listed on this website. If you are interested in purchasing music not listed here, please contact Julia Hamilton. Checks should be made out to the I'On Trust with "I'Onissimo Fund" in the "for" blank and mailed to Julia Hamilton, 32 Sowell Street, Mt. Pleasant, SC 29464. The music listed below is available for purshase. Prices include the actual cost of the music and some additional funds to cover I'Onissimo operating expenses.
Woodwind Quintet
CLASSICAL RAG (THE (STANDARD QUINTET)
$10.00
GOLD AND SILVER WALTZES
$20.00
RIALTO RIPPLES
$20,00
SORCERER'S APPRENTICE
$15,00
SPRING INTO SWING
Renaissance Woodwind Quintet
THREE MADRIGALS
$25,00
Brass Quintet
Liberty Bell March, John Phillip Sousa
Night on Bald Mountain, Moussorgsky
Hall of the Mountain King, Grieg
Concerto Grosso, Corelli, Bach, Borodin, Bartok, and Handel
$30.00
The I'Onissimo Archive Page - Background Information on I'Onissimo, past program notes and other information.
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