by Michael Kurth The end of the 2021/22 ASO season gives us the opportunity to thank six long-time musicians for their combined 281 years of bringing joy to Atlanta, and indeed the world, through their music. We celebrate the careers of Laura Ardan, Sharon Berenson, Ronda Respess, Dona Vellek, Paul Warner and Bill Wilder as they leave our stage, but not our family, for their retirements. Read more about 2020/2021 retirees Ronda Respess and Paul Warner here. As Principal Clarinet, LAURA ARDAN has long been one of the most visible members of the ASO. Her solos can be heard on dozens ..read more

by Michael Kurth The beginning of the 2022/23 Atlanta Symphony Orchestra season arrives with plenty of fresh faces: six young musicians are joining our ranks this fall — quite a large number. Some of them might already seem familiar, having joined us before as substitute players. In fact, some have come up through the Atlanta Symphony Youth Orchestra or Talent Development Program and studied with ASO musicians. Now, former students have become peers, and proud teachers sit on stage with talented professionals they once mentored. Let’s meet this year’s new musicians. Eun Young Jung, Second ..read more

By Phil Kloer When Robert Spano was preparing to leave New York City to become Music Director of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra in 2001, he was reading Tom Wolfe’s sometimes snippy novel set in this fair city, “A Man in Full.” “He described Atlanta as a place where the orchestra has to play ‘Bolero’ every night to satisfy the audience,” Spano recalls with a chuckle. In other words, good luck getting these rubes to sit still for new, unfamiliar music — which happened to be one of Spano’s passions. Robert Spano “People said, ‘You can’t do new music in Atlanta. It’s not gonna work.’ I c ..read more

Photo: Jo Eldredge Morrissey By Michael Kurth I recently spent time talking with Alvin Singleton, who served as the ASO’s Composer-in-Residence under Robert Shaw from 1985–88. The ASO has performed many of Singleton’s works since then, and recorded several, including After Fallen Crumbs, written in memory of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. https://medium.com/media/a6c72e4a4a1998c3fb40f713229ccc51/href Singleton is something of an elder statesman among living composers, always willing to share a story, often told with a wry laugh. His music seems complex, but in unexpected ways: it charms ..read more

by Douglas Shadle Florence Price “She draws from all these musical languages — the Romanticism of Tchaikovsky and Brahms, the spirituals and the Juba dance. She’s inspired by the different styles but then how she expands upon them, makes them her own, and then weaves them together into a cohesive piece is extraordinary.” That’s what Michelle Cann, the Eleanor Sokoloff Chair in Piano Studies at Philadelphia’s Curtis Institute of Music, says she enjoys the most about Florence Price’s Piano Concerto. With such an enthusiastic endorsement, it’s easy to understand why Price’s music is experien ..read more

How an unusual concert brought the signature dramatic flair of “Music’s Wonder Woman” to Atlanta Symphony Hall by James Paulk Image of Sarah Caldwell from a 1976 issue of Atlanta Arts Magazine. Atlanta Symphony Orchestra records, Popular Music and Culture Collection. Special Collections and Archives, Georgia State University. In November of 1976, Sarah Caldwell became the first woman to conduct the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, leading an imaginative program which garnered rave reviews. The invitation had come from ASO Music Director Robert Shaw, an admirer of Caldwell with whom h ..read more

One woman’s ingenious plan to establish Atlanta’s first professional orchestra By James Paulk https://medium.com/media/22541fef1a73d8f1e647b37ef525ba7e/href In March 2022, Josephine F. Sanders was inducted into the Georgia Women’s Hall of Fame. Learn more about her on the Georgia Women of Achievement’s website. On February 4th, 1945, the Atlanta Music Club sponsored a concert with Henry Sopkin conducting the Atlanta Youth Symphony Orchestra before a sold-out audience at the cavernous Atlanta Municipal Auditorium. In the 76 years that followed, that ensemble — soon to be renamed the Atlant ..read more

TDP Fellow Spotlight: Gabriel Silva We caught up with current Fellow, trombonist and rising 10th grader Gabriel Silva. What was it like going through the TDP audition process? It’s a very simple and tranquil process. Although I had to audition online due to the pandemic, the TDP staff presents the students with tons of reassurance to keep them confident. In between both rounds of the audition, the trial lessons with the TDP teachers introduce you to several new things in a short amount of time, which improve your final audition in the best ways possible. What made you choose th ..read more