Walter and Emilie Spivey Memorial Concert Marks Organ’s 25th Anniversary

Spivey Hall Children’s Choir Spring Concerts Include Music for Tour Choir’s California Performances

Spivey Hall ends its 26th season in May with a climactic celebration of its magnificent 4,413-pipe Albert Schweitzer Memorial Organ, installed in 1992 and this year marking its 25th anniversary. The anniversary concert is also this year’s Walter and Emilie Spivey Memorial Concert, honoring the Clayton County real estate developers whose dream was to give back to their community through the construction of a world-class concert venue.

“A first-class pipe organ was central to Emilie Spivey’s dream of building Spivey Hall,” said Sam Dixon, executive and artistic director of Spivey Hall. “The Albert Schweitzer Memorial Organ, built by Fratelli Ruffatti, is the Hall’s crowning glory. In two festive organ concerts this month, we will gratefully pay tribute to the extraordinary vision and generosity of Walter and Emilie Spivey with glorious music.”

Spivey’s first 25 years of outstanding organ recitals culminate on consecutive Saturday afternoons in May, with a solo recital by an organist “in a class by himself” (The Atlanta Journal-Constitution), Hector Olivera (May 6), and the grand finale Anniversary Celebration Concert (May 13), doubling as the 2016-2017 Season Walter and Emilie Spivey Memorial Concert, showcasing three master organists and distinguished teachers: Ken Cowen, Spivey Organist-in-Residence Alan Morrison, and Cherry Rhodes. The performance promises to be an exhilarating display of this “king of instruments” through a wealth of music including a finale featuring all three organists in the world premiere of a piece commissioned by Spivey Hall for the organ’s silver anniversary.

In addition to the series concerts, the world-renowned Spivey Hall Children’s Choir (May 19-21) presents three concerts that include music the advanced members of the Tour Choir will perform during its annual summer tour. Also, Spivey Hall patrons can enjoy two free concerts presented by the Clayton State University Department of Visual and Performing Arts Division of Music, featuring the Clayton Community Big Band (May 1) and the Clayton County Honor Orchestra (May 3).

With free parking and close proximity to Atlanta, Spivey Hall’s 392-seat auditorium is the perfect option for an intimate music experience. For full program details for all performances, 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, there is a 50 percent discount available for many performances to students and Georgia educators with ID. Discounted tickets are available only through the box office, which is open Monday through Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Hector Olivera, organ

Saturday, May 6, 2023 at 3:00 p.m.

Since entering the Buenos Aires Conservatory as a child prodigy at age six, Hector Olivera has become one of the most sought after and revered international concert organists; audiences everywhere are thrilled by his “dazzling display of sonic and technical marvels” (The Washington Post). He has performed in prestigious venues including the Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris, Carnegie Hall in New York, and the Royal Albert Hall in London, and performed as guest soloist with orchestras worldwide including the Pittsburgh Symphony, the Dallas Symphony, the Amsterdam Baroque Ensemble, and the Pasadena Symphony. Composer Robert Vandall described Olivera’s performance with the Tuscarawas Philharmonic as “an opportunity to hear and see greatness;” The Washington Post calls him an “engaging performer that clearly has found his particular niche and fills it splendidly.”

Olivera will perform J.S. Bach’s Passacaglia and Fugue in C minor; Joseph Jongen’s Cantabile, Op. 37 No. 1; Maurice Durufle’s Prélude et fugue sur le nom “Alain”; Astor Piazzolla’s Oblivion; and other works, including Olivera’s own variations on submitted themes.

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

Olivera’s performance is made possible through the generosity of Spivey Hall Friends Concert Sponsors Scott Shearer and Conrad Zimmer.

Season 26 Walter and Emilie Spivey Memorial Concert

Albert Schweitzer Memorial Organ 25th Anniversary Celebration

Ken Cowan, organ

Alan Morrison, organ

Cherry Rhodes, organ

Saturday, May 13, 2023 at 3:00 p.m.

Pre-concert talk with Michael Barone, Alan Morrison and Weicheng Zhao at 2:00 p.m.

Spivey Hall proudly celebrates the 25th anniversary of the dedication of the Albert Schweitzer Memorial Organ and closes the 26th Spivey Series Season in its annual Walter and Emilie Spivey Memorial Concert. At 2:00 p.m., American Public Media’s Pipedreams radio host Michael Barone leads a pre-concert talk onstage with Spivey Hall organist-in-residence Alan Morrison and composer/organist Weicheng Zhao, whose commissioned work receives its world premiere. Morrison opens the program with a work performed by Gillian Weir in one of her two May 1992 dedication recitals, J.S. Bach’s Toccata in F major, BWV 540, plus Franck’s Prière, Op. 20, and Jeremy Filsell’s transcription of Pierre Cochereau’s Scherzo symphonique. Next up is Ken Cowan with Rachel Laurin’s Étude-Caprice, Op. 66 (“Beelzebub’s Laugh”); Percy Whitlock’s Fantasie-Choral No. 1 in D-flat; and Berlioz’s famous Rákóczi March from La Damnation de Faust, in George Baker’s transcription, after Lizst/Horowitz. Cowan, a faculty member of Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music, and Morrison, who heads the organ department at Philadelphia’s Curtis Institute of Music, bring the first half to a rousing close with the Toccata from Jongen’s Symphonie Concertante, in Cowan’s arrangement for two organists.

Following intermission, Cherry Rhodes, the first American organist to win an international organ competition and longtime professor at the University of Southern California’s Thornton School of Music, performs Jean Gillou’s organ transcription of Mussorgsky’s masterwork, Pictures at an Exhibition. The celebration climaxes with the world premiere of a brilliant transcription for three organists created by Rhodes’ USC Thornton School of Music graduate student Weicheng Zhao, of three movements (The Eccentrics, The Prince and Princess, and The Escape) from Prokofiev’s Symphonic Suite, Op. 33bis of his opera, The Love for Three Oranges, performed “three on a bench” by Cowan, Morrison, and Rhodes.

Tickets are priced at $60 (with discounts for subscribers, groups, students and Georgia educators), and are available for purchase now.

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

The original transcription by Weicheng Zhao of a suite from Sergei Prokofiev’s The Love for Three Oranges was commissioned by Spivey Hall in celebration of the organ’s anniversary and in honor of the leadership and generosity of Spivey Hall Friend Richard F. Tigner.

Spivey Hall Young Artists

Spivey Hall Children’s Choir

Spivey Hall Tour Choir

Friday, May 19, 2023 at 7:00 p.m.

Spivey Hall Children’s Choir

Spivey Hall Tour Choir

Saturday, May 20, 2023 at 3:00 p.m.

Sunday, May 21, 2023 at 3:00 p.m.

The Spivey Hall Children’s Choir celebrates spring and prepares for its summer tour with three concerts proudly showcasing the talents of its 170 young members. Dr. Martha Shaw conducts the 120-member Children’s Choir, including the 50 advanced singers of the Tour Choir, accompanied by Judy Mason, while Craig Hurley leads his Young Artists with accompanist Marcena Kinney.

The spring concerts also offer highlights of the Tour Choir’s summer concerts in San Diego, California, and will include songs of faith and inspiration. “In a time when unity is needed more than ever, this program of love and hope is our way of inspiring the world we long to see,” said Dr. Martha Shaw, founding director of Spivey Hall Children’s Choir program. In their three weekend performances, the Children’s Choir program features David Brunner’s “Psalm 150;” “Things that Never Die,” with words by Charles Dickens and music by Lee Dengler; an arrangement of “Heaven Bound Train” by Stephen Hatfield; and a moving rendition of “America the Beautiful” arranged by Randall Reese.

For Friday’s concert, the spotlight shines on the Young Artists, who will take the Spivey Stage for the second time this season with a program of songs from America’s past, starting with Andrea Ramsey’s “We are Blessed,” followed by two traditional pieces: American fiddle tune “Cripple Creek,” arranged by Emily Crocker, and the Shaker tune “Simple Gifts,” in a setting by Marie Stultz with lyrics by Joseph Brackett, Jr.  The Young Artists will conclude with a cheery version of Irving Berlin’s “Blue Skies.” The Children’s Choir / Tour Choir will then perform selections from their main Saturday / Sunday program.

Tickets are priced at $25 and are available for purchase now. (Georgia educator and student discounts do not apply for Children’s Choir concerts.)

Clayton State University / Department of Visual and Performing Arts / Division of Music

Clayton Community Big Band

Stacey Houghton, director

Monday, May 1 at 7:30 p.m.

Formed in the fall of 2000, the Clayton Community Big Band is a full size instrumental jazz ensemble comprised of Clayton State University music students and talented volunteers in the surrounding community. Participation is open to performers on saxophone, trumpet, trombone, piano, guitar, bass, and drums. The CCBB attempts to preserve the 80-year tradition of large jazz ensembles, and its repertoire includes music of all jazz styles, including swing, Latin, American standards, blues, fusion, and contemporary idioms.

Clayton County Honor Orchestra

Dr. Richard Bell, conductor

Nancy Conley, conductor

Clayton State Prep School Student Recitals

Wednesday, May 3, 2023, 7:30 p.m.

A community engagement arm of the Clayton State University Division of Music, the Music Preparatory School, under the direction of Dr. Carol Payne, provides professional music instruction to area children and adults in preparation for professional advancement or for lifelong musical enjoyment. For ages 12 – 16, the Honor Orchestra is free for students in Clayton County Public Schools. Students from outside Clayton County and home schools may participate through Music Preparatory School registration. Participation in both groups is by audition only.

Admission to these Division of Music performances in May is free, with no tickets required.

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.