The University of South Carolina Concert Choir, under the direction of Dr. Larry Wyatt,
performed at Mayesville Presbyterian Church on April 2, 2017.
REJOICINGS is a reboot of a series that began in 2015 and ran until the fall of 2019 when the Covid pandemic necessitated a pause. It was developed as a gift to the wider community. We seek to offer quality concerts of varying musical genres, as well as worship and educational events.
Bible conferences and the traditional Festival of Nine Lessons & Carols are intended to meet the series’ worship and educational goals. Hymn festivals, held on alternate years in rotation with the Bible conferences, shine a light onto those hymns that have strengthened the worship of the Christian Church over the centuries while offering the opportunity for attendees to revel in the joy that comes from singing these hymns in full voice with friends in faith.
In our first two seasons, we were pleased to present the sparkling flute and harp duo of Amy Toner and Mia Venezia, the award-winning Ukrainian pianist Anna Bogolubova, violist Kayla Williams with jazz pianist Chris McCarthy, and Konrad Paszkudzki, a widely known jazz pianist who works to preserve the music of The Great American Songbook.
We were honored to welcome Dr. Derek Thomas, Reformed theologian and author, to lead a Bible conference at the close of the 2023-24 season. The 2024-25 season concluded with a hymn festival that spotlighted our church's vibrant stained glass windows. Both seasons included the traditional Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols service. To support the congregational carol-singing in 2025, we were delighted to add a chamber orchestra to pipe organ and choir.
While there is no charge to attend any of the Rejoicings events, donations are always gratefully accepted. Because the series is funded solely by donations, its continuation is reliant upon such gifts.
We are pleased to present the 2025/26 slate of offerings.
DUO KAROLINA AND IWO: VIOLIN & ACCORDION
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 26, 2025
Chat with Audience - 3:30 PM | Concert - 4:00 PM
*A nursery will be available for this concert.*
This multiple award-winning duo has transformed two seemingly disparate instruments into one of the most surprisingly exquisite marriages of sound. From eloquent, heart-stirring performances of Chopin and sparkling renditions of Mozart to high energy tangos and sweeping movie themes, Karolina & Iwo achieve a one-voice sound that is mesmerizing and awe-inspiring. Forget The Beer Barrel Polka and Lawrence Welk’s accordion. The accordion you will hear on October 26 sounds more like a string orchestra. Sometimes, you might even think you are hearing a woodwind ensemble! The duo is considered to be one of the most vibrant and innovative chamber ensembles of the younger generation.
As a duo, Karolina and Iwo are winners of multiple Grand Prix and First Prizes at international music competitions and regularly perform to sold-out audiences at major venues around the world. To date, they have delighted audiences with recitals in 32 countries on five continents.
Karolina Mikołajczyk studied under Zakhar Bron in Cologne, as well as Andrzej Gębski, Maria Machowska, Agata Szymczewska and Janusz Wawrowski in Warsaw.
Iwo Jednocki holds performance degrees from Germany (Detmold), Poland (Warsaw & Bydgoszcz) and, most recently, the United States (New York University) as the first accordionist recipient of the Fulbright scholarship. Both musicians hold doctorate degrees in Musical Arts.
Karolina plays a Duke London violin from 1776. Iwo plays a Pigini Sirius Millennium accordion. The purchase of both instruments was financed by the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage.
From Poland, this husband and wife pair tour the United States two or three times per year.
The duo will hold an informal chat with the audience prior to the concert. Come and bring your questions! The chat is at 3:30 and the concert at 4:00.
Enjoy samples of Duo Karolina and Iwo's music here and here.
Visit their personal website here.
FESTIVAL OF NINE LESSONS & CAROLS
SUNDAY, DECEMBER 14, 2025
5:30 PM
This traditional service was born in 1918 in Truro, England, and soon found its way into the Christmas traditions of all Christian denominations worldwide. It tells the story of Christ’s birth through scripture readings, congregational carols, and choral music. To learn more about the service's origins, click here.
This year at Mayesville Presbyterian Church, the music will be led by organ, choir, and a chamber orchestra.
A previous year's service bulletin is available to peruse
here.
NORTH CAROLINA BRASS BAND QUINTET
SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 2026
4:00 PM
*A nursery will be available for this concert.*
The NCBB Quintet is comprised of members of the North Carolina Brass Band, a professional band of symphony orchestra musicians, leading soloists, chamber music professionals, jazz artists, brass and percussion professors at universities throughout the region, and highly sought-after freelance professionals. Concerts offer a variety of musical styles including classical, jazz, pop, hymns, and spirituals.
The ensemble boasts a rare and wonderful one-voice sound packed with an energy and sparkle that makes for a highly enjoyable concert experience. Reviews have described the sound as "smooth as silk"; the performances as "fun and celebratory" and experiences that will "impress your ear, mind, and heart"; and the players' display of skill as a demonstration of "extraordinary musicianship."
Click here to hear a sample of the quintet's "smooth as silk" sound and exceptional blend. Click here to experience a sample of the full band.
BIBLE CONFERENCE WITH DR. NEIL STEWART
SATURDAY, APRIL 18, 2026
8:30 AM - 4:00 PM
*Pre-registration required*
Each season of Rejoicings ends with either a hymn festival or a Bible conference. This year is a Bible conference year. We are delighted to announce that Dr. Neil Stewart, senior minister at First Presbyterian Church in Columbia, SC, will be the preacher for the conference.
Dr. Stewart grew up in Northern Ireland during the Troubles and came to faith as a teenager through the witness of high school friends. He studied medicine at the Queen’s University of Belfast, where he met and married Catherine Jane Johnson. Through these years, he likes to say, “While I met the ideas of the Reformed faith though the writings of R.C. Sproul, A.W. Pink, and the English Puritans, I met the God of the Reformed Faith in Belfast, worshiping at a little church at the top of the Stranmillis Road, sitting at the feet of Dr. Derek Thomas.”
In his final year of medical school, Dr. Stewart was awarded the Ulster Hospital Gold Medal for his studies in medicine, general and orthopedic surgery, pediatrics, obstetrics, and gynecology. He was elected a member of the Royal College of Pediatrics and Child Health in 1997. As a pediatrician, he served in the historic Royal Belfast Hospital for Sick Children.
Sensing a call to ministry, Dr. Stewart and his family moved to Jackson, Mississippi, where he graduated from the Master of Divinity program at Reformed Theological Seminary, Jackson. He has served as the senior minister of Second Presbyterian Church of Yazoo City, MS; Kirk O’ the Isles Presbyterian Church, Savannah, GA; and Christ Covenant Church ARP, Greensboro, NC. He accepted a call to First Presbyterian Church, Columbia, SC, in 2024, following the retirement of Dr. Derek Thomas.
Dr. Stewart has been a keynote speaker at various conferences throughout the United States and Canada.
Because lunch will be provided, pre-registration will be required. More information about this, as well as an online registration form, will be provided as April draws near.
If you would like to make a donation toward the continuation and support of the Rejoicings series, you may do so through this website on the Giving page. Please choose "Church Mission/Rejoicings" on the dropdown menu that appears on the donation form under "fund."
If you prefer to give via standard check, please note "Rejoicings" on the memo line and mail your check to the church at
P.O. Box 141, Mayesville, SC 29104.
At-the-door gifts at series events are welcome as well.
Please accept our warmest appreciation for your gift.
The development and continuation of the series is dependent
upon donor support.