Internationally acclaimed pianist George Darden, an Orangeburg native who worked for more than two decades with the Metropolitan Opera, will perform his final concert in the Carolinas at 4 p.m. Sunday, March 29, at Stevenson Auditorium in downtown Orangeburg.

Tickets for the concert, a benefit for the Orangeburg County Fine Arts Center and the Orangeburg County Historical Society, are $15 for adults; $12 for Orangeburg County Fine Arts Center members, seniors and students; $65 and $95 for boxes; $50 (two tickets) for sponsors; $100 (four tickets) for patrons; and $150 (six tickets) for benefactors. Sponsors, patrons and benefactors will receive preferred seating and acknowledgement in the program.

Darden will officially retire Jan. 1, 2010. He has stopped scheduling engagements and is currently completing contracts around the world.

"This is the opportunity for people to enjoy this kind of music," said Beth Thomas, executive director of the Fine Arts Center. "This kind of performance, this quality -- it doesn't happen here. It won't happen again. It's an opportunity for them to take advantage of it. This concert is very exceptional."

Works by the great Polish composer Frédéric Chopin will be highlighted during the first half of the March 29 program, followed by an intermission, with French and Spanish works, a Richard Strauss waltz and selections from Russian composer Sergei Rachmaninoff closing the two-hour performance.

"This provides an opportunity for two organizations that are very important in the city," said Darden, who has previously performed benefit concerts for The Methodist Oaks, Orangeburg's Episcopal Church of the Redeemer and the concert grand piano refurbishment at Stevenson Auditorium.

In addition to offering classes and workshops in a variety of arts disciplines, the Orangeburg County Fine Arts Center provides subgrants to local artists and arts-producing organizations, sponsors lectures and book signings, showcases local artists' works, presents concerts and recitals, partners with a number of community activities and more.

The Orangeburg County Historical Society, situated on Middleton Street across from the Orangeburg Post Office, is home to extensive cemetery, birth, marriage and death records, personal papers and scrapbooks, census records, displays and more.

Darden was 3 years old when he began playing the piano. His talent was first realized by his aunt, Emmie Truluck, who played in a celebrated local string trio.

Darden received his early education at Edisto schools in Cordova and attended Indiana University, where he was a student of Hungarian-born pianist Bela Boszormènyi-Nagy, and Florida State University, where he studied with American composer and pianist Carlisle Floyd, a South Carolina native. He is a graduate of Montreat College and has taught at the University of Houston School of Music, the University of Missouri-Columbia and Tel Aviv's Israel Vocal Arts Institute.

Darden made his solo piano debut with the Savannah Symphony in 1963 and retired in 2006 after 21 years with the Metropolitan Opera in New York City, where he served as assistant conductor, pianist and coach. Prior to his work with the Met, Darden was associated with the Houston Grand Opera, Texas Opera Theatre, Opera Theatre of St. Louis, Michigan Opera Theatre, New Orleans Opera, Greater Miami Opera, Chautauqua Opera, Opera Company of Boston, Augusta Opera, Baltimore Opera, Nevada Opera Company and in Spain at Valencia's Puccini Festival. He has been featured on a number of recordings as well as on radio and television programs around the world. In 2000, Darden was awarded the Order of the Palmetto, South Carolina's highest civilian award for lifetime achievement and service.

Funding assistance for the March 29 concert is provided by the Orangeburg County Accommodations Tax Fund and by the South Carolina Arts Commission, which receives support from the National Endowment for the Arts.

For tickets, call Thomas at the Orangeburg County Fine Arts Center at 803-536-4074.

If you go ...

What: George Darden in concert

When: 4 p.m. Sunday, March 29

Where: Stevenson Auditorium, downtown Orangeburg

Program: Frédéric Chopin, Richard Strauss, Sergei Rachmaninoff, with French and Spanish works

Tickets: $15 for adults; $12 for Orangeburg County Fine Arts Center members, seniors and students; $65 and $95 for boxes; $50 (two tickets) for sponsors; $100 (four tickets) for patrons; $150 (six tickets) for benefactors.

For tickets, call Beth Thomas at the Orangeburg County Fine Arts Center at 803-536-4074.

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