Returning audience favorites include pianist Paul Lewis, Los Angeles Guitar Quartet and Emerson String Quartet

Clayton State University’s Spivey Hall (www.spiveyhall.org), the Southeast’s premier recital hall renowned internationally for its superior acoustics and the excellence of its classical, jazz and world music artists, today announced March programming details for the 25th anniversary season’s Spivey Series and Young People’s Concerts.  All four Spivey Series artists performing in March make their return appearances as patron favorites from Spivey’s past seasons, including Stefon Harris, who debuts his newest collaborative group, Sonic Creed, to Spivey audiences.

“The return of artists long favored by Spivey Hall audiences lifts the spirit of our Season 25 celebrations,” noted Executive and Artistic Director Sam Dixon. “In enriching the lives of thousands of Atlanta-area music lovers over the years, these marvelous musicians continue to bring us great joy through their inspired performances, for which we are deeply grateful.”

Spivey’s Season 25 swings into March with the lively Latin rhythms of jazz artists Stefon Harris and Sonic Creed on March 5. Local favorite Southern Crescent Chorale returns to the Hall on March 6 with Britannia, a program featuring some of the greatest British composers of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Paul Lewis, hailed as one of the world’s foremost interpreters of the central European classical repertoire, performs as part of the Piano Series on March 13. The Guitar Series continues on March 19 with Los Angeles Guitar Quartet  presenting a diverse program that is “simultaneously eclectic, adventurous, and accessible” (Acoustic Guitar). Nine-time Grammy winner Emerson String Quartet introduces its new cellist Paul Walker to Spivey patrons as part of the Strings Series with a recital on March 20.

In addition to the series concerts, Spivey Hall patrons can enjoy three free concerts presented by the Clayton State University Department of Visual and Performing Arts Division of Music, featuring some of its most talented musicians.

Spivey Hall Education continues its presentations in March with four concerts in Spivey Hall’s Young People’s Concert Series, providing affordable and educational opportunities for music lovers of any age. In March, students will have the opportunity to experience a diverse range of musical genres and artists, including a fairy tale opera and traditional Celtic folktunes.

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 www.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 tickets are available only through the box office, which is open Monday through Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

 

Spivey Hall 25th Season Series

Stefon Harris and Sonic Creed

Saturday, March 5, 2016 at 7:30 p.m.

Armed with marimbas, vibes, and an electrifying stage presence, Stefon Harris offers “a high-gloss, dizzyingly virtuosic blend of postbop and funk- and R&B-informed groove” (Time Out New York).  “Harris’s passionate artistry, energetic presence, virtuosity, and ‘ear’ for new talent” (JazzDeLaPena.com) are what drive his current project with Sonic Creed, featuring emerging stars Elena Pinderghughes (flute), James Francies (piano), Joshua Crumbly (bass), Jonathan Pinson (drums) and Mark Moreno (guitar).

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

Stefon Harris and Sonic Creed’s Spivey Hall performance is made possible through the generosity of Spivey Hall Friends Concert Sponsors Dr. Elizabeth P. Kirk and Alfred Land.

Stefon Harris’s March 2016 residency is funded in part by a grant from South Arts in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts and the Georgia Council for the Arts.

 

Southern Crescent Chorale

Janice Folsom, conductor

Alan Morrison, organ

Sunday, March 6, 2016 at 3:00 p.m.

Holding an important place in the vibrant arts community of south metro Atlanta, the Southern Crescent Chorale, comprised of amateur and professional singers, delivers dynamic performances under the passionate leadership of veteran artistic director and conductor Janice Folsom.  A local favorite, the group returns to Spivey Hall with Britannia, a moving program featuring works by Vaughan Willliams, Benjamin Britten, William Byrd and John Rutter, as well as  British and Scottish folk songs. For this concert, the Chorale will collaborate with Alan Morrison, Spivey Hall’s organist-in- residence.

Tickets are priced at $20 (with discounts for subscribers, groups, students and Georgia educators), and are available for purchase now.

 

Paul Lewis, piano

Sunday, March 13, 2016 at 3:00 p.m.

One of the world’s most admired pianists, Paul Lewis creates a “precise illusion of music being less performed than revealed, or allowed to speak lucidly on its own terms” (The Boston Globe). Lewis guided Spivey Hall in acquiring its Steinway D-274 concert grand piano made in Hamburg, Germany, named “Clara” by the Hall for her beautiful transparency, clarity and warmth of sound.

Lewis’s program features sonatas by Schubert and Liszt, plus the Three Intermezzi, Op. 1117 and Four Ballades, Op.10 by Brahms.

Tickets are priced at $50 (with discounts for subscribers, groups, students and Georgia educators), and are available for purchase now.

Program and Audio Web Notes providing detailed background and synopsis information, will be available prior to the concert at www.spivey.org. Audio Web notes are online program notes enriched by short music samples that give patrons the chance to hear what the program notes are talking about.

Paul Lewis’s Spivey Hall performance is made possible through the generosity of Spivey Hall Friends Concert Sponsors William Muckley and Lynne Wood.

 

Los Angeles Guitar Quartet

Saturday, March 19, 2016 at 7:30 p.m.

Comprised of four uniquely accomplished musicians (John Dearman, Matthew Greif, William Kanengiser and Scott Tennant), Grammy winner Los Angeles Guitar Quartet brings a new energy to the concert stage with programs ranging from Bluegrass to Bach. Their inventive, critically acclaimed transcriptions of concert masterworks provide a fresh look at the music of the past, while their interpretations of works from the contemporary and world-music realms continually break new ground. ”If there is a supergroup in the classical guitar world, the LAGQ is it” (Acoustic Guitar).

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

The Season 25 LAGQ performance is also Spivey Hall’s annual Teacher Appreciation Concert, which recognizes with appreciation the critical work of Georgia educators in supporting the success of students. Educators with ID are eligible to receive one complimentary ticket to this concert, and a second for just $10. For more information, call the Spivey Hall Box Office at (678) 466-4200.

The Los Angeles Guitar Quartet’s Spivey Hall performance is made possible through the generosity of Spivey Hall Friends Concert Sponsors Debra and Gregory Durden and John W. Markham III.

 

Emerson String Quartet

Sunday, March 20, 2016 at 3:00 p.m.

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

Winner of nine Grammy Awards and an unprecedented plethora of distinctions and honors, “Emerson has staked its claim to being the one indispensable quartet in a world that is constantly creating more, excellent ensembles” (Newsday). Formed in 1976 and based in New York City, the Emerson was one of the first quartets formed with two violinists alternating in the first chair position.  In January 2015, the Quartet received the Richard J. Bogomolny National Service Award, Chamber Music America’s highest honor, in recognition of its significant and lasting contribution to the chamber music field.

The Quartet will perform Beethoven’s lively String Quartet in G major, Op. 18 No. 2;

Shostakovich’s dramatic String Quartet No. 10 in A-flat major, Op. 118; and Schubert’s final String Quartet in G major, D. 887, a work of ethereal beauty.

Tickets are priced at $60 (with discounts for subscribers, groups, students and Georgia educators), and are available for purchase now. A pre-concert talk with Clayton State music faculty member Dr. Kurt-Alexander Zeller begins at 2:00 p.m. and is included in the ticket price.

Program and Audio Web Notes providing detailed background and synopsis information, will be available prior to the concert at www.spivey.org. Audio Web notes are online program notes enriched by short music samples that give patrons the chance to hear what the program notes are talking about.

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

 

Clayton State University

Department of Visual and Performing Arts Division of Music

 

Clayton State University Chorale

Dr. Michael Fuchs, conductor

Tuesday, March 1, 2016 at 7:30 p.m.

 

Christina Sullivan, mezzo-soprano

Grant Jones, piano

Tuesday, March 15, 2016 at 7:30 p.m.

 

Clayton State University Orchestra

Dr. Richard Bell, conductor

Tuesday, March 22, 2016 at 7:30 p.m.

The Clayton State University Department of Visual and Performing Arts Division of Music shines in three free concerts showcasing its most talented musicians, including mezzo-soprano Christina Sullivan, a recent graduate of CSU who, as a senior there, placed second in the Upper Division Adult Women category of the Georgia Chapter of the National Association of Teachers of Singing 2014 Student Auditions.

Admission to all three Division of Music performances in March is free, with no tickets required.

 

Spivey Hall Young People’s Concerts

Spivey Hall’s Young People’s Concerts (YPC) are 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 at the door.

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

 

Voilà! Viola!

Georgia State University Violas and Friends

Tuesday, March 8, 2016 at 11:15 a.m.

Meet the violas of Georgia State University’s School of Music, a leading artistic center in the heart of downtown Atlanta. It’s faculty and students regularly perform on the world’s most famous stages, engage in research across the globe, and compose the music heard at countless concerts in Georgia, the United States, and internationally

 

Birmingham Children’s Theatre, Jack and the Beanstalk

Friday, March 11, 2016 at 9:45 and 11:15 a.m.

Since its founding in 1947, the Birmingham Children’s Theatre has operated with a mission to educate, entertain and enrich the lives of children through the magic of professional theatre. This season’s production of Jack and the Beanstalk is filled with adventure, fun and audience interaction as Jack confronts the giant to bring fortune home to his poor mother.

 

The Celtic Company, Celtic Fires: Echoes of Ireland

Tuesday, March 15, 2016 at 9:45 and 11:15 a.m.

The Celtic Company celebrates St. Patrick’s Day and the wonderful, timeless traditions of Ireland’s cultural heritage. Combining Celtic harp and uilleann pipes with Irish step-dance, penny whistle and bodhran (Irish frame drum), the group performs a program that culminates with a crowd-pleasing “celiedh” (music and dance party), featuring audience participants who are taught simple dance steps.

 

Riverside Chamber Players

Friday, March 18, 2016 at 11:15 a.m.

The Riverside Chamber Players program will focus on rhythmic structure featuring music by RCP’s composer-in-residence Michael Kurth, Phillip Glass, some classic rock and roll tunes and more.

RCP was formed in 2003 to bring high quality chamber music performances to the local community, as well as to enhance music education in the local school system, thereby helping to ensure a future audience for the arts in the Roswell area.

 

Reinhardt University Concert Choir

Wednesday, March 23, 2016 at 11:15 a.m.

The University Concert Choir, under the direction of Dr. Martha Shaw, performs a repertoire ranging from the Renaissance to the best of today’s contemporary anthem literature.