UNITED STATES
Piccolo Spoleto Music Festival in Charleston

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The Daughters of St. Paul at Pauline Books and Media, Charleston, opened their doors to a group of musicians during an annual music festival called “Piccolo Spoleto” and drew a crowd of about 700 people over the week.

The event, which featured 14 concerts, was presented by Listen for Life Productions, founded by Donna Stoering, a classical pianist, who performs jazz, Broadway musicals, and folk and Gospel traditions. This global nonprofit organization is dedicated to the preservation and advancement of music culture worldwide and to helping non-profit organizations. The Israeli Levoná ensemble, a Chinese Gusheng professional Winnie Wong, Spanish harpist Anna Maria Mendieta, and Broadway singer Stephen Guggenheim were all invited by Stoering to participate in the program.

Among the attendees were two families from the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where 11 people were killed in a mass shooting in 2018. Everyone said that they found the music healing and nourishing.

The festival allowed the attendees to become better acquainted with the Daughters of St. Paul and the Pauline mission. Our sisters hope that next year some of the members of their Provincial Choir may be able to attend the festival and even give a performance.