January Programming Also Includes Chicago Tribune’s Best Jazz Vocalist Tammy McCann, Period Instrumentalists London Haydn Quartet, and Celebrated American Concert Organist Stephen Tharp

Spivey Hall welcomes the New Year (and the second half of its 26th season) with a diverse program that continues its tradition of bringing the best in classical and world music to Atlanta patrons. January’s busy schedule includes the greatest swing band of all time, Chicago’s Best Jazz Vocalist and the Official Organist for the New York visit of Pope Benedict XVI.

“The timeless toe-tapping tunes of the world-famous Glenn Miller Orchestra are always a joyous way to start the New Year,” said Sam Dixon, executive and artistic director of Spivey Hall. “Tammy McCann is a compelling jazz vocalist, and the spirit of Beethoven, Haydn and Mozart’s music will be beautifully revealed by the critically-acclaimed London Haydn Quartet.”

Now an annual tradition, The Glenn Miller Orchestra (January 7) returns to Spivey Hall with the big band sound sure to bring the swing. London Haydn Quartet (January 8), appearing with period clarinetist Eric Hoeprich, takes Spivey patrons back to 18th century Austria to recreate Haydn’s string works with an authentic period sound. Charismatic jazz vocalist Tammy McCann (January 21), whose vocal stylings were called “luscious” by the Chicago Tribune, will sing and swing the jazz standards with a remarkable range of color, texture, tone and nuance. Prolific concert organist Stephen Tharp (January 28) presents a spectacular program including his own transcription of Stravinsky’s magnificent masterpiece Le Sacre du Printemps (The Rite of Spring).

Spivey Hall Education’s Young Peoples Concerts presents three performances in January designed to supplement STEAM curriculum for students. The Atlanta Opera Studio Tour, the education program of The Atlanta Opera, presents Cinderella (January 20), an hour-long version of Rossini’s popular opera adapted specifically for students K -12. Artists group Atlanta Dance Collective’s Tales Told Through Twists, Turns, and Technology (January 25) is a creative and interactive program that uses music, movement, improvisation and video to convey phrases, create characters, and underscore genre. In Latin America in the Caribbean, Atlanta’s favorite steel drum band, Atlanta Steel Pan (January 31) traces the musical influences that created the Caribbean sound.

For tickets or more information, call the Spivey Hall Box Office at (678) 466-4200, or visit spiveyhall.org. In addition to the standard ticket pricing indicated for each performance, there is a 50 percent discount available to students and Georgia educators with ID. Discounted single tickets are available only through the box office, which is open Monday through Friday, 9:00 a.m.to 5:00 p.m.; series subscriptions are now available online for purchase.

The Glenn Miller Orchestra

Nick Hilscher, music director

Saturday, January 7, 2024 at 3:00 p.m.

For its popular annual appearance at Spivey Hall, The Glenn Miller Orchestra delivers an exciting big-band performance sure to put concert-goers “In the Mood.” The hit-maker’s legacy lives on with incomparable renditions of such beloved Miller tunes as the band’s signature “Moonlight Serenade,” along with other gems from the glory days of swing like “The American Patrol,”   “Stardust” and “Chattanooga Choo Choo.” Music director and vocal soloist (and Atlanta native) Nick Hilscher and the Orchestra will take the audience for a stroll down memory lane to when America’s “Greatest Generation” was in its youth.

Tickets are priced at $40 (with discounts for subscribers, groups, students and Georgia educators), and are available for purchase now.

The Glenn Miller Orchestra’s performance is made possible through the generosity of an anonymous Spivey Hall Friends Concert Sponsor in honor of Clayton State University’s founding president and former Spivey Foundation chairman Dr. Harry S. Downs, who oversaw the creation of Spivey Hall.

London Haydn Quartet

Eric Hoeprich, basset clarinet

Sunday, January 8, 2024 at 3:00 p.m.

Pre-concert talk at 2:00 p.m.

One of the world’s leading period instrument quartets, The London Haydn Quartet was born out of a passion for Haydn’s string quartets. Comprised of violinists Catherine Manson and Michael Gurevich, violist James Crockatt and cellist Jonathan Manson, all of whom have flourishing careers outside the group, the quartet performs Haydn’s works as the composer would have heard them, using baroque bows and gut strings. For its Spivey Hall concert, the quartet will perform with Eric Hoeprich, a frequent collaborator and himself well-known for his exceptional artistry with the rare basset clarinet. “The whole group has spectacular attack and articulation. Their ensemble playing is matchless…Most importantly they all seem to be having a great deal of fun.” (Limelight Magazine)

London Haydn Quartet’s Spivey Hall program will include Haydn’s String Quartet in B flat major, Op. No.1; Beethoven’s String Quartet in D major, Op. 18 No.3; and Mozart’s lively and luminous Clarinet Quintet in A major, K.581.

Concert Program Notes providing detailed information about the music and the composers are available now at spivey.org. These online program notes enriched by short music samples give patrons the chance to hear what the notes are talking about.

Tickets are priced at $50 (with discounts for subscribers, groups, students and Georgia educators), and are available for purchase now. A pre-concert talk given by Clayton State University Music Professor Dr. Kurt-Alexander Zeller begins at 2:00 p.m. and is included in the ticket price.

London Haydn Quartet’s performance is made possible through the generosity of Spivey Hall Friends Concert Sponsors Bob and Linda Schnapper.

Tammy McCann, jazz vocalist

Saturday, Saturday, January 21, 2024 at 7:30 p.m.

The Chicago Tribune‘s arts critic Howard Reich says Tammy McCann has, “a voice that soars in all registers, at all tempos, on all occasions… a voice that inspires wonder!” Awarded “Best Jazz Vocal Performance” in multiple years by the newspaper, Tammy merges classical vocal technique and gospel aesthetic with jazz to create a sound that is completely her own.

For her Spivey Hall debut performance, McCann will be joined by Tom Vaitsas (piano), Mimi Jones (bass) and Clif Wallace (drums).

Tickets are priced at $40 (with discounts for subscribers, groups, students and Georgia educators), and are available for purchase now.

Stephen Tharp, organ

Saturday, January 28, 2024 at 3:00 p.m.

Pre-concert talk at 2:00 p.m.

One of the great concert organists of our age with more than 1,400 concerts given worldwide, Stephen Tharp “plays as if the music were in his life-blood: musical, spacious, accurate, persuasive, convincing.” (Organists’ Review) In April 2008, Tharp was named the Official Organist for the New York visit of Pope Benedict XVI, playing for three major events attended by more than 60,000 people that were broadcast live worldwide. In both 2005 and 2011, Pipedreams broadcast entire programs dedicated exclusively to his career, making him one of the few organists in the world so honored.

The first half of Tharp’s Spivey Hall program will include pieces by Handel, Franck, Baker and Ravel; in the second half, Tharp unleashes the pagan power of Igor Stravinsky’s revolutionary ballet score, Le Sacre du Printemps (The Rite of Spring), which incited a riot at its Paris premiere and remains a pivotal moment in the evolution of Western music. Tharp will perform his own transcription of this masterwork.

Tickets are priced at $40 (with discounts for subscribers, groups, students and Georgia educators), and are available for purchase now. A pre-concert talk given by Tharp and Spivey Hall Organist-in-Residence Alan Morrison begins at 2:00 p.m. and is included in the ticket price.

Stephen Tharp’s performance is made possible through the generosity of Spivey Hall Friends Concert Sponsors Don and Jeannine Morrison.

Spivey Hall Education

Young People’s Concerts (YPC)

Spivey Hall’s Young People’s Concerts (YPC) is an integral part of its education program; the concerts are 45-50 minutes in length and designed for audience interaction. Educators and parents are asked to note carefully the performance times and recommended grade levels for each program. There will be study guides correlated to the curriculum (GPS and CCGPS) with a concentration on STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics).  

While the concerts are intended for children and youth in pre-K to grade 12, Spivey Hall welcomes community members of all ages to the performances. Concerts cost just $2 in advance at the box office, $3 in advance online and $5 on the day of the concert, and are available for purchase now.  

Complete information on YPCs and Spivey Hall’s education program is available at spiveyhall.org.

The Atlanta Opera Studio Tour

Cinderella

Friday, January 20, 2024 at 9:45 and 11:15 a.m.

Who needs a fairy godmother? When Rossini wrote his version of the Cinderella story, he showed that goodness and kindness, rather than magical trappings, can be the most effective way to arrive at a fairy-tale ending. This one hour in-school opera performance includes sparkling music, a pair of comically catty sisters, devious disguises and one of the most compelling heroines of all time.

Founded in an effort to teach students throughout the state of Georgia about opera, The Atlanta Opera Studio Tour brings live performances and workshops into schools. The tour teaches introductory knowledge about opera through both performances themselves and accompanying Georgia Performance Standards materials

Atlanta Dance Collective

Tales Told Through Twists, Turns, and Technology

Wednesday, January 25, 2024 at 11:15 a.m.

Founded in 2015, Atlanta Dance Collective is a group of artists with a similar vision to create engaging contemporary work in the Atlanta dance scene. Tales Told Through Twists, Turns, and Technology is a creative and interactive program that uses music, movement, improvisation, and video to convey phrases, create characters and underscore genre.

Atlanta Steel Pan

Latin America in the Caribbean

Tuesday, January 31, 2024 at 11:15 a.m.

Atlanta Steel Pan is a popular local favorite specializing in steel drum music, accompanied by djembe, bongo and conga drums. As part of Spivey’s Young People’s Concerts, they will take students on a musical tour of Latin American music in the Caribbean Islands. Learn how the musical, rhythmic and instrumental influences of Spain and Africa influenced Latin America, the Caribbean Islands, and the USA.   A whirlwind musical tour around the world and through history!

About Spivey Hall

Now celebrating its 26th season, Spivey Hall is the South’s most acoustically superior recital hall, presenting the best in classical, jazz and world music. Located on the picturesque campus of Clayton State University in Morrow, Georgia, just fifteen miles southeast of Atlanta, the hall has been praised by artists, patrons and journalists alike.

This season, Spivey Hall celebrates the 25th anniversary of its magnificent 4,413-pipe Albert Schweitzer Memorial Organ, custom-built in Italy by Fratelli Ruffatti, with special events and concerts.

An intimate venue with just 392 seats, Spivey Hall promotes for the concert-goer a personal connection with the artist both during and after the performance.  Spivey’s extraordinary acoustics and reputation for distinguished programming attract outstanding international musicians who regularly perform at the nation’s major concert venues such as Kennedy Center and Carnegie Hall. For more information, visit spiveyhall.org.

Clayton State University’s Spivey Hall gratefully acknowledges the support of The Walter and Emilie Spivey Foundation and the Spivey Hall Friends.

Alan Morrison holds the McGehee Family Organist Residency at Spivey Hall.

Spivey Hall’s Season 26 is supported in part by the Georgia Council for the Arts through the appropriations of the Georgia General Assembly. GCA also receives support from its partner agency – the National Endowment for the Arts.

About Clayton State University

A unit of the University System of Georgia, Clayton State University is an outstanding comprehensive metropolitan university located 15 miles southeast of downtown Atlanta. For more information, visit clayton.edu.