Submitted photoCellist Kendall Ramseur (center) explains his instrument to local elementary students during Thursday’s matinee performance and TEF educational outreach program

A capacity crowd filled the Thomasville Center for the Arts’ 500-seat auditorium for an intimate Valentine’s Day concert of familiar love songs, popular feel good music and original compositions, as Thomasville Entertainment Foundation presented Sons of Serendip Thursday evening. 

Finalists and audience favorites on season nine of NBC’s hit talent competition America’s Got Talent,” the four-man ensemble showcased the lead vocals of Micah Christian and the musical stylings of Kendall Ramseur, cello and vocals; Cordaro Rodriguez, keyboard; and Mason Morton, harp. 

Comprised of four friends who met during graduate school at Boston University, Sons of Serendip rocketed to fame in 2014 and have spent the last five years traveling the country to sold-out venues. Their TEF performance kicked off a 44-city national tour.

Christian’s clear, soaring tenor vocals were stunning and emotive throughout the concert, while Rodriguez was magical on the keyboard, melding classic piano notes with synthesized effects that were at times orchestral, at others calliope-like. From his first concert-opening notes of “Clair de Lune” on the majestic concert grand harp through the glorious encore of Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah,” Morton displayed incredible dexterity and stirring artistry, and Ramseur’s deep, rich tones on the cello provided the weft to Morton’s warp, weaving an intricate and beautiful tonal tapestry throughout the evening.

New arrangements of familiar ballads like “Fly Me to the Moon” and “My Cherie, Amour” drew contented sighs and aahs from the audience, but it was the original composition entitled “D Major” — the group’s so-called “subway music” — that elicited enthusiastic cheers and an impromptu, mid-concert standing ovation, one of three bestowed on the talented foursome in the course of the evening.

But it wasn’t just Thomasville Entertainment Foundation’s season subscribers and concertgoers that were moved by and raved about the performance. Nearly 300 students from Harper Elementary and Scott Elementary schools and their teachers and principals also had the opportunity to see Sons of Serendip perform in Thomasville, thanks to a special student matinee held earlier that day.

The free hour-long concert and talkback gave the performers a chance to share their backgrounds and training with the elementary students, and Ramseur and Morton explained their unique instruments and how they worked. 

The excited children were fascinated hearing how the four friends left their varied careers in law, education and musical performance to audition for the televised competition. Following the performance, students had the chance to ask questions of the musicians about their musical experiences.

Recognizing the positive impact of the arts and understanding that live musical performance is an important component of a well-rounded education, Thomasville Entertainment Foundation offers periodic opportunities to expose local students to the nationally and internationally acclaimed artists who appear as part of the yearly concert series. Outreach programming is funded by the TEF Education Fund, so there is no cost to the school or the student participants.

Thomasville Entertainment Foundation’s 81st performance season continues March 12 with the Scharoun Ensemble Berlin, a classical octet – clarinet, bassoon, horn, two violins, viola, cello and double bass – made up of principal players from the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra. The 2018-19 season concludes March 28 with jazz vocalist Catherine Russell.