Ring in the Holidays with the Georgia State University
Gala Holiday Concert
Saturday & Sunday, December 5 & 6 at the Rialto Center for the Arts
The Georgia State University School of Music and the Rialto Center for the Arts present the 12th annual Gala Holiday Concert on Saturday, December 5, 2009 at 8:00 p.m. and Sunday, December 6, 2009 at 3 pm at the Rialto Center for the Arts.
This year’s performances will feature traditional holiday favorites as well as music with an international twist — celebrating the Rialto and School of Music’s international initiatives and involvement in the community.
Over 200 student and faculty musicians will perform as part of this university-wide celebration of the season, including members of the University Symphony Orchestra, Choruses and Jazz Band.
Conductors Michael Palmer, Gordon Vernick and Jeffery Wall will lead the ensembles and soloists in a musical potpourri of works by Duke Ellington, Tchaikovsky, Rimsky-Korsakov, Janowski, Handel and Holst, as well as a world premiere by Georgia State faculty member Nickitas Demos. The piece, Fantasy on Kalanta for Saint Basil, is written for orchestra and chorus and will feature Dr. Constantine Kokenes, a noted Byzantine Chanter and “lampadarios” (second cantor) at the Greek Orthodox Cathedral of the Annunciation in Atlanta, as well as Demos on solo clarinet.
In addition, the performances will feature special guest appearances by members of Atlanta’s diverse cultural community. Members of the Cao Ying Dance School will perform the Chinese dance, Avalokitesvara (Thousand-hand Guanyin); and students from the Charles Drew R. Charter School will perform Kakilambe, a dance of healing and harvest from Guinea, West Africa, performed to instruments of the djembe orchestra. The School of Music has had a partnership with the Drew Charter School, located in the East Lake neighborhood of Atlanta, since 2006, thanks to a generous, multi-year grant from the Cousins Foundation, Inc. The partnership includes the “Sound Learning” program, which facilitates residencies with musicians from the community; music lessons taught by GSU graduate music students; and the “Connect” program, which teaches composition and improvisation skills.
The program will conclude with Sim Shalom, a Hebrew song of peace, Handel’s Hallelujah Chorus and an audience sing-along. Rounding out the festivities, the Georgia State University School of Art and Design will present an art exhibit in the Rialto Lobby, where a student brass quintet will play for audience members as they arrive.
Tickets range from $22-$48 -(Georgia State students may receive 1/2 price tickets with ID) and are available in person at the Rialto Center Box Office, by calling 404-413-9TIX or online at www.rialtocenter.org. Free parking is provided for this event at the Equitable Building deck on Fairlie Street.