Franklin Pond Chamber Music to present award winning young musicians and renowned professionals

NPR “From the Top” host Christopher O’Riley to emcee event

Presented by Franklin Pond Chamber Music, the First Annual Memorial Day Weekend Awards Concert invites music lovers statewide to enjoy an afternoon of chamber music performed by award-winning young Georgia musicians alongside internationally renowned professionals. Featuring NPR From the Top host Christopher O’Riley, the concert takes place Sunday May 28, 2023, 4 p.m. in Spivey Hall at Clayton State University.  The concert is the finale event of the Franklin Pond Chamber Music Competition, the first and only competition of its kind in the Southeast.

The Franklin Pond Chamber Music Competition invites student musicians in grades 6 through 12 from all over Georgia to compete for cash prizes and performance opportunities. Winners are determined by a renowned panel of judges including O’Riley, an acclaimed pianist as well as an NPR host; Sergiu Schwartz, Professor of Violin at Schwob School of Music at Columbus State University; and Bruce Uchimura, Professor of Cello at Western Michigan University.

Alongside the young Competition winners, Sunday’s Awards Concert will also feature the three competition judges as well as the Franklin Pond Quartet, comprised of members of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra.

Founded in 2001, Franklin Pond Chamber Music is a year-round chamber music program for talented string students.

“FPCM’s goal is to cultivate and encourage the artistic voices of Georgia’s rising young talents,” said Ronda Respess, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra violinist and founder of Franklin Pond. “The FPCM Competition gives students a focal point for their hard work and acclaim to go alongside their accomplishments. And as a promoter of classical music, what better way to include our broader community in this entire endeavor than to host an Awards Concert showcasing these fine young players along with preeminent professionals in one of the nation’s finest facilities in acoustics and design!”

Tickets to the Franklin Pond Awards Concert are on sale now for $10, and can be purchased at the door or online at spiveyhall.org or by calling the Spivey Hall ticket office at 678-466-4200.

For more information, visit franklinpond.org or email [email protected].

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.

About Franklin Pond

Franklin Pond Chamber Music is a unique year-round chamber music program for talented string students. Our goals are to develop the artistic and interpretive talents of our students, as well as to strengthen their communication skills as developing musicians. Created as an opportunity for serious students to interact personally with highly qualified professionals, Franklin Pond offers coaching with faculty members from the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, master classes with guest artists from all over the nation, special classes such as movement, eurhythmics, and Alexander Technique, and many performance opportunities. For more information, visit franklinpond.org.