Good Morning Lowcountry

Countdown

In the late-August Lowcountry, GMLc counts down to Labor Day. We feel if we can only make it to Labor Day and beyond, we'll survive the summer.

Labor Day is a magical turning point. It means that tourists leave the beach (well, it used to mean that, anyway). It means that although it won't actually get much cooler until well, January, it will seem cooler just because we're past Labor Day.

And although it's still summer, Labor Day is a time to slowly slide from summer rituals — boats, shrimp, crabs, ice cream, peaches, bare feet, white shoes, straw hats and running through the sprinkler — to fall ones — oysters, fish fries, barbecue, pumpkin bread, making jelly, deer hunting (for some) and visiting the Caribbean during hurricane season.

Here are a few other fall rituals:

Charleston Symphony Orchestra. The symphony's Masterworks series opens Sept. 29 at 7 p.m. at Gaillard Auditorium with "Carmina Burana" by Carl Orff, sung by CSO Chorus, CSO Gospel Choir, the College of Charleston Concert Choir and the Charleston Children's Choir. On Oct. 21, the orchestra performs Claude Debussy's "Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun," Bartok's "Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta" and Beethoven's "Concert for Piano, Violin and Cello." Soloists will be Enrique Graf, Lee Chin Siow and Natalie Khoma. Season tickets are $100-$400. Individual concert tickets will be available Sept. 15. Call 723-7528, ext. 110, or go to www.charlestonsymphony.com.

International Piano Series. The College of Charleston's 18th piano concert season starts Oct. 16 with Americans Leon Fleisher and Katherine Jacobson-Fleisher. Season tickets for the five concerts are $80. Individual tickets are $20. The concerts are free to C of C students and anybody under 18. All concerts are Tuesdays at 8 p.m. in the Sottile Theatre, 44 George St.

The rest of the series: Jan Rautio, Russia, Nov. 13 ... Volodymyr Vynnytsky, Ukraine, Jan. 15 ... Paolo André Gualdi, Italy, Feb. 12 ... and Jorge Luis Prats, Cuba, April 15.

Film and lecture series. The Charleston County Public Library presents "The World War I Years: America Becomes a World Power." The film and lecture series starts Sept. 10 at 2:30 p.m. with "Woodrow Wilson, Part I: A Passionate Man." The Citadel's John B. Bonds will speak.

The rest of the series: Sept. 24, "The Great War." The Citadel's W. Gary Nichols ... Oct. 8, "Men of Bronze: The Black American Heroes of World War I," John B. Bonds ... Oct. 22 "Up South" and "One Woman, One Vote," The Citadel's Kendrick Clements ... Nov. 5, "Woodrow Wilson, Part II: The Redemption of the World Scholar," John B. Bonds ... Nov. 19, "Return to Isolationism," John B. Bonds. All programs start at 2:30 p.m. at the Charleston County Main Library, 68 Calhoun St. They're free.

This fall, the Charleston County Library also will present "Opera at the Library," screenings of the library's operas on film. The films are on Thursdays at 1:30 p.m. and are, of course, free.

The schedule: Sept. 20, "Cavalleria Rusticana," a live performance from the Teatro Comunale dei Rinnovati Siena, staged in honor of the 100th anniversary of the opera's world premiere, and "Pagliacci," a live performance from the Metropolitan Opera with Luciano Pavarotti as Canio, Teresa Stratas as Nedda, and Juan Pons as Tonio, with James Levine conducting ... Oct. 4, "Tosca," with soprano Raina Kabaivanska, Placido Domingo and Sherrill Milnes ... Oct. 18, "Turandot," behind the scenes of the most spectacular opera production ever staged — outdoors in Beijing's Forbidden City ... Nov. 1, "The Flying Dutchman," sung by Lisbeth Balslev, Simon Estes and Matti Salminen.

GMLc

Call 937-5564. Write gmlc@postandcourier.com. Find the blog at gmlc.typepad.com.