Atlanta Symphony Plays Coca-Cola Holiday Concerts

The Atlanta Symphony Orchestra will spread the joy of the coming holiday season during the 2008 Coca-Cola Holiday Concerts, a series of eight programs from December 4 –31, 2008.

The program includes: Handel’s Messiah on December 4 and 6, 2008; “A Gospel Christmas” on December 5–6, 2008; “A Kid’s Christmas” on December 7 and 14, 2008; “Christmas with the ASO” December 11–19, 2008; The Blind Boys of Alabama performing holiday standards from their Christmas album Go Tell it on the Mountain on December 19, 2008; “A Very Merry HolidayPops” on December 20, 2008; “A Soulful Christmas” on December 21, 2008; and “ASO New Year’s Eve” on December 31, 2008.

Handel’s Messiah

On December 4 and 6, 2008, at 8:00 p.m., Atlanta Symphony Director of Choruses Norman Mackenzie will lead the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and Chamber Chorus in Handel’s Messiah and “Gloria” from Bach’s Mass in B minor, two traditional pieces of the season.

Atlanta Symphony Director of Choruses Norman Mackenzie's abilities as musical collaborator, conductor, and concert organist have brought him national recognition. As Director of Choruses for the ASO, he was chosen to help carry forward the creative vision of legendary founding conductor Robert Shaw to a new generation of music lovers. He also serves as Director of Music and Fine Arts for Atlanta's Trinity Presbyterian Church., where he oversees a comprehensive program including seven singing and ringing choirs and two concert series. In addition, he pursues an active recital and guest conducting schedule each season.

Acclaimed for the beauty and expressiveness of its singing, the 200-member Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Chorus and Chamber Chorus has been directed by Norman Mackenzie since 1999, following the death of its founder, the legendary Robert Shaw, who founded the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Chorus and Chamber Chorus. Mr. Mackenzie had worked closely with Mr. Shaw for 14 years, and under his current direction, the chorus has won two Grammy Awards for Vaughan Williams’s A Sea Symphony and the Berlioz Requiem, and conducted the ASO Chamber Chorus in its own Telarc recording. Mr. Mackenzie recently prepared the Chorus for performance with the ASO at Carnegie Hall in April 2008, as well as its Berliner Philharmoniker debut in 2003 under Principal Guest Conductor Donald Runnicles. In May 2008, they returned with Mr. Runnicles to Berlin for their second engagement with the acclaimed German orchestra.

ASO Gospel Christmas

On December 5 at 8:00 p.m., and December 6, 2008, at 2:00 p.m., guest conductor Chelsea Tipton II will lead the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and Gospel Choir, directed by Leroy Henderson, in “ASO Gospel Christmas,” a program of holiday gospel favorites.

Chelsea Tipton is Resident Conductor of the Toledo Symphony Orchestra. He has appeared with major orchestras in the United States, including the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Boston Pops Orchestra, Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Houston Symphony Orchestra, New World Symphony Orchestra, New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, Brooklyn Philharmonic, Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra, Nashville Symphony Orchestra, Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, and San Antonio Symphony Orchestra, among others. He is a frequent guest conductor of the ASO, having most recently appeared here for last year’s Gospel Christmas concerts.

Leroy Henderson was born and raised in San Francisco, CA and began his musical journey at an early age. He served as Youth Musician for the First Pentecostal Church of Jesus Christ. He became the Music Director and Minister of Music for St Paul A.M.E. and First Union Baptist Church respectively, both of the Bay Area. Additionally, Leroy was privileged to participate with the Gospel Music Workshop of America where he composed and taught his first song, “I’ve Got a Right to Praise the Lord” to the national mass choir. As Music Director of the San Francisco Inspirational Choir, Leroy received several awards from the Gospel Academy Awards and was the gospel category winner of the American Song Festival with his composition of “God is All You Need.” Leroy has shared the national stage with many renowned artists, including Rev. James Cleveland, James Bignon, Edwin, Walter and Tramaine Hawkins, CeCe Winans, and many others. He has served as Minister of Music at Cornerstone Community Baptist Church in Atlanta. He is a member of the Elizabeth Baptist Church in Atlanta and currently serves as Associate Director.

Returning to Gospel Christmas after its acclaimed debut last season is the all-city ASO Gospel Choir, under the direction of the newly appointed Leroy Henderson, the Associate Music Director at Atlanta’s Elizabeth Baptist Church. The original Gospel Christmas choir was started 15 years ago by Sallie B. Parrish, “Atlanta’s First Lady of Gospel.” Following her retirement, the ASO created its own Gospel Choir, comprised of some members of Ms. Parrish’s choir and new members hand-picked from leading church choirs throughout metro Atlanta.

A Kid’s Christmas

On December 7 and 14, 2008, at 1:30 p.m. and 3:30 p.m., Staff Conductor Jere Flint leads the ASO in “A Kid’s Christmas,” featuring the Polar Express with Lee Harper & Dancers, the Atlanta Young Singers of Callanwolde, and the Atlanta Symphony Youth Orchestra.

Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Staff Conductor Jere Flint leads a triple life in music. He leads the Atlanta Symphony during the Orchestra’s popular Family Concerts series and Symphony Street concerts for youngsters; and he also regularly conducts on the Classic Chastain pops series at Chastain Park. As Music Director of the Atlanta Symphony Youth Orchestra (holder of the Zeist Foundation Chair) he directs weekly ASYO rehearsals and three major concerts a year, as well as other special concerts throughout the season. And when not on the podium, he is a member of the ASO’s cello section, where he has performed for more than three decades.

While earning his bachelor of music degree at Wittenberg University in Ohio, Mr. Flint was assistant director of the noted choir there. He also arranged and conducted two Christmas recordings by the choir for Columbia Records. He received his Master of Arts degree in music in 1967 from the University of Washington in Seattle, while also serving as manager of the university's opera company and music director for the school of drama. He continued his conducting studies under Otto-Werner Mueller. Mr. Flint has also conducted at the Brevard Music Center, the Sewanee Summer Music Center, Atlanta-Emory Orchestra and the Southeastern Music Center in Columbus, Georgia.

Choreographer Lee Harper attended the Juilliard School of Music and graduated from the North Carolina School of the Arts with a BFA Degree in Dance. She performed professionally with the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre, Pearl Lang Dance Company, All Nations Dance Company, and the Atlanta Contemporary Dance Company. Ms. Harper, a recipient of two choreography fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts and the 1987 Mayor's Fellowship in the Arts for Choreography, was on the staff of the Northside School of the Arts for four years. Having been in the original cast of Leonard Bernstein’s MASS, which opened the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C., Ms. Harper has choreographed productions of MASS for the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra (under the direction of Robert Shaw), Northside School of the Arts, and Duke University. Since 1978, Ms. Harper has choreographed and performed for the ASO's Symphony Street programs and, for the last 15 years, she has choreographed and performed for the Symphony's annual Halloween and Kid’s Holiday programs.

During the last quarter century, Atlanta Young Singers of Callanwolde has reflected the high artistic capabilities of the young singer through performances with Robert Shaw and the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and Chorus, at the Closing Ceremonies at the 1996 Centennial Olympic Games and numerous events sponsored by nationally recognized organizations such as the American Cancer Society and the American Choral Directors Association. The choir has traveled extensively, singing in all the capitals of North America and Europe. They have won acclaim at choral festivals such as the Llangollen International Eisteddfod in Wales and Amsterdam’s Colorfast at The Hague. In June of 1999 they placed first in Contemporary and second in the Folk Music divisions at the Golden Gate Children’s Choral Festival in San Francisco, CA.

Christmas with the ASO

On December 11–13, 2008, at 8:00 p.m., ASO Director of Choruses Norman Mackenzie returns to lead the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and Chorus, the Morehouse College Glee Club, and the Gwinnett Young Singers in “Christmas with the ASO,” an annual Atlanta tradition for five decades.

Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Director of Choruses Norman Mackenzie's abilities as musical collaborator, conductor, and concert organist have brought him national recognition. As Director of Choruses for the ASO, he was chosen to help carry forward the creative vision of legendary founding conductor Robert Shaw to a new generation of music lovers. He also serves as Director of Music and Fine Arts for Atlanta's Trinity Presbyterian Church., where he oversees a comprehensive program including seven singing and ringing choirs and two concert series. In addition, he pursues an active recital and guest conducting schedule each season.

Acclaimed for the beauty and expressiveness of its singing, the 200-member Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Chorus and Chamber Chorus has been directed by Norman Mackenzie since 1999, following the death of its founder, the legendary Robert Shaw, who founded the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Chorus and Chamber Chorus. Mr. Mackenzie had worked closely with Mr. Shaw for 14 years, and under his current direction, the chorus has won two Grammy® Awards for Vaughan Williams’s A Sea Symphony and the Berlioz Requiem, and conducted the ASO Chamber Chorus in its own Telarc recording. Mr. Mackenzie recently prepared the Chorus for performance with the ASO at Carnegie Hall in April 2008, as well as its Berliner Philharmoniker debut in 2003 under Principal Guest Conductor Donald Runnicles. In May 2008, they returned with Mr. Runnicles to Berlin for their second engagement with the acclaimed German orchestra.

The Morehouse College Glee Club embraces a ninety-year tradition of musical excellence and achievement. The Glee Club has continued in this tradition through the dedication and commitment of its members and the leadership that our directors have provided throughout the years. It is a tradition that has bestowed upon the Glee Club a vast history of attainment and shall provide it with a secure future of even greater accomplishments. It is the mission of the Morehouse College Glee Club to keep its standard of excellence. The members of the Glee Club have earned such honors as the Merrill Travel Study Award for overseas experience, a listing in Who's Who Among American Colleges and Universities, and membership in Phi Beta Kappa. The members do not receive academic credit, but sing as a labor of love. Their majors include all offered by the college, and the geographical residencies encompass the U.S., Africa, and the Caribbean. The Glee Club is the official singing organization of Morehouse College and is on duty to serve the president at all times throughout the year. Along with local concerts, there is an annual spring tour which averages ten to fifteen cities in two to three weeks.

The Gwinnett Young Singers have performed for ten holiday seasons with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra in Christmas with the ASO, and are featured in the PBS National Television Broadcast of Christmas with Robert Shaw. Other performances with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra include Bizet's Opera, Carmen, Kid's Holiday Concerts, Hallelujah Handel, Carl Orff's Carmina Burana, Benjamin Britten's War Requiem, Pucinni's La Boheme, Howard Shore's The Lord of the Rings, and John Adams' El Nino and On The Transmigration of Souls. The Young Singers will be featured on the upcoming CD release of La Boheme and On The Transmigration of Souls with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and Chorus. The choir has performed for thousands of music educators at the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA) conferences in Charleston, South Carolina and Nashville Tennessee. They have also had the distinct privilege of performing three joint concerts with the world renowned American Boychoir of Princeton, New Jersey. The new Georgia Young Men's Ensemble, under the direction of Phillip Shoultz, has gained accolades from Fernando Malvar-Ruiz, Music Director of the American Boychoir who states, “I am so very impressed with your new young men's ensemble. In such a short time they have become an excellent choir!”

Blind Boys of Alabama With the Gee’s Bend Singers

On December 19, 2008 at 8:00 p.m., Grammy Award winning Blind Boys of Alabama will perform holiday standards from their Christmas Album, Go Tell it on the Mountain. Opening for Blind Boys will be the Gee’s Bend Singers, a select group of quilters featured in a PBS documentary and whose quilts were an integral part of the civil rights movement.

Since 1939, the four time Grammy® Award winners, Blind Boys of Alabama, have sung a blend of traditional and contemporary Gospel music. The Blind Boys’ audience – once rigidly segregated and confined to traditional Gospel venues – now reflects the group’s global following, while their repertoire has expanded to embrace secular songs with a strongly spiritual message.

A Very Merry Holiday Pops

On December 20, 2008, at 2:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m., ASO Pops Conductor Michael Krajewski conducts “A Very Merry Holiday Pops.” In the tradition of a holiday variety show, this program will feature the Lassiter and Walton High School Choirs under the direction of Janna and Brian Williams, vocalist Kevin Deas, juggler Vladimir Tsarov, and a singing, dancing Baritone Santa.

Much in demand across the United States and Canada, pops conductor Michael Krajewski delights concertgoers with his imaginative and entertaining programs and his wry sense of humor. Michael serves as principal pops conductor of the Houston, New Mexico and Jacksonville symphonies and is conductor of the New Hampshire Music Festival pops concert series. He also enjoys a special relationship with the ASO, with which he makes regular appearances. As a guest conductor, Michael has performed with the Boston Pops and the Hollywood Bowl orchestras and has appeared with numerous orchestras across the United States including those of San Francisco, Detroit, Minnesota, St. Louis, Baltimore and Phoenix. He has performed with artists including James Galway, Marilyn Horne, Alicia de Larrocha, Roberta Flack, Judy Collins, Art Garfunkel and Big Bad Voodoo Daddy.

Kevin Deas has gained international acclaim as one of America’s leading basses. Lauded for his "burnished sound, clarity of diction and sincerity of expression" and "fervent intensity" by Chicago Tribune critic John von Rhein, Deas has been variously called "exemplary" (Denver Post), "especially fine" (Washington Post) and possessing "a resourceful range of expression" (The Cincinnati Enquirer). He is perhaps most acclaimed for his signature portrayal of the title role in Porgy and Bess, having sung it with the New York Philharmonic, Philadelphia Orchestra, National Symphony, the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, San Francisco, Atlanta, San Diego, Utah, Houston, Baltimore and Montreal Symphonies and the Ravinia and Saratoga Festivals.

Vladimir Tsarkov performs with combinations of mime and juggling feats. Vladimir’s Red Harlequin act features rings, balls, and batons. He is a veteran of Circus Circus, Cirque Ingenieux, and various Cirque de la Symphonie performances. Vladimir graduated from Russia’s State College of Circus and Theater Arts and won the gold medal at the Cirque de Demain International Festival in France.

A Soulful Christmas

On December 21, 2008, at 7:00 p.m. Singer/songwriter Will Downing will be joined by singer Lalah Hathaway and saxophonist Gerald Albright in “A Soulful Christmas,” an evening of holiday favorites.

Will Downing has been performing for two decades. After behind the scenes work ranging from `80s club production king Arthur Baker to vocal diva Jennifer Holiday, the Brooklyn-born singer/songwriter made his solo debut in 1988 with the self-titled album, Will Downing. It was highlighted by a dance cover of John Coltrane's "A Love Supreme" and Deniece Williams' "Free." Covers became a staple of his CDs and eclectically include Paul Davis' "I Go Crazy," Angela Bofill's "I Try," Thom Bell & Linda Creed's "Stop, Look, Listen (To You Heart)," Janet Jackson's "Anything," Ephraim Lewis' "Drowning In Your Eyes" and Luther Vandross' arrangement of Leon Russell and Bonnie Bramlett's "Superstar."

Born to Donny Hathaway, one of the most influential soul artists of the seventies, and Eulaulah Hathaway, an accomplished musician in her own right, Lalah Hathaway first put pen to paper, “with the music,” as a 10th grader. Later, as a student at Berklee College of Music, she recorded her self-titled debut in 1990, which spawned the hits “Baby Don’t Cry,” “Heaven Only Knows” and “I’m Coming Back.” She returned four years later with A Moment, followed by the much-lauded The Song Lives On, her duet album with Joe Sample in 1999, the same year she began growing her now-signature, cinnamon-hued ‘locs. By 2004, she’d deliver her fourth album, Outrun the Sky, garnering Hathaway her first number one single, the Rex Rideout-produced cover of Luther Vandross’ Forever, For Always, For Love, which was also featured on the critically-acclaimed Vandross tribute album of the same name.

A native Californian, Gerald Albright grew up in South Central Los Angeles. After high school, he attended the University of Redlands where he received a B.S. degree in Business Management, minoring in Music. Immediately after college, Albright began to master his talent by working extensively in the studio with such artists as Patrice Rushen, Anita Baker, Ray Parker, Jr., Lola Folana, Atlantic Starr, The Winans, Olivia Newton-John, The Temptations, and Maurice White. He also toured with Les McCann, Rodney Franklin, Jeff Lorber, Teena Marie, Marlene Shaw, Debra and Eloise Laws, Quincy Jones, Whitney Houston, Phil Collins, and many others. In addition to numerous appearances at clubs and jazz festivals, Albright had also been a part of the popular Jazz Explosion tours, which saw him teaming up with contemporary jazz stars like Will Downing, Jonathan Butler, Hugh Masekela, Chaka Khan, and Rachelle Ferrell, to name a few.

ASO New Year’s Eve

On December 31, 2008, at 8:00 p.m., soprano Teri Dale Hansen and tenor Eric Van Hoven join the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra for “ASO New Year’s Eve,” a program of timeless pops and classics with a complimentary glass of champagne to bring in the New Year. The evening will feature works from opera classics like La Boheme, La Traviata, and Turandot, and well as Broadway musicals like Spamalot, West Side Story, and Wicked.

From Opera to Broadway, Soprano Teri Dale Hansen has received International recognition for her crossover abilities as a singing actress. She has performed under the baton of Christoph Eschenbach, Marvin Hamlisch, Julius Rudel, Vjekoslav Sutej, Rob Fisher, John DeMain, Doug Fisher, Stewart Robertson, David Charles Abel, Michael Krajewski, Harvey Felder, Constantine Kitsopoulos, Richard Hayman, Don Pippin, Toshi Shimada, Franz Vote, Ward Holmquist, Isaiah Jackson, Royston Nash, David Commanday, Apo Hsu, Thomas Wilkins, Ernest Richardson, Miriam Burns, David Loud. Miss. Hansen has sung leading roles with the Houston Grand Opera, Theatre in Pfalsbau, Glimmerglass Opera, Theatre des Westens, Orlando Opera, Salle Esse, Florida Grand Opera and the Opera De Toulon. These roles include “SUSANNAH” in the opera of the same name under the direction of Carlisle Floyd.

Tenor Eric Van Hoven, a Mississippi native, debuted at three of New York City’s prestigious music venues within twelve consecutive months. His New York debut was with New York City Opera in their production of Mozart’s Die Zauberflote, followed by his concert debut at Lincoln Center’s Avery Fisher Hall with American Symphony Orchestra singing the roles of Hermes in Bruch’s Odysseus, 3rd Soldier in Hindemith’s Murderer Hope of Women, and the 2nd Player in Kurt Weill’s The Protagonist. He then celebrated his Broadway debut in Bernstein’s Candide directed by Hal Prince. -- www.atlantasymphony.org

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