Some of the most intriguing artists performing this fall aren’t touring stars from far-off places, and the pieces we’re most looking forward to weren’t written by wig-wearing composers hundreds of years ago. Rather, some of the most exciting musicians this season are from right here in Georgia, and many of the pieces are by living composers.
This fall, Georgia native mezzo-soprano Jamie Barton will perform her first major concert in her home state since winning the opera world's top prize, BBC Cardiff Singer of the World. (She also won the Song Prize.) Her concert of pieces by Purcell, Brahms and Sibelius at Spivey Hall on Nov. 17 is a "don't-miss" event. www.spiveyhall.org
Legendary contemporary composer Philip Glass will be in residence at Emory Sept. 25-27 to open the Candler concert season. The Schwartz Center will be exploring Glass' work throughout the visit with events including screenings, concerts, and lectures. On Sept. 27, Glass himself performs in recital with charismatic young violinist Tim Fain, whose playing was featured in the movie "Black Swan." arts.emory.edu
Georgia Tech's cutting-edge contemporary music ensemble-in-residence, Sonic Generator, led by Tech professor Jason Freeman and consisting primarily of Atlanta Symphony musicians, will team up with the renowned L'Orchestre National de Lorraine and conductor Jacques Mercier in a concert of innovative French and American contemporary music at Ferst Center on Nov. 3. The program features Steve Reich's "City Life," a work incorporating digital samplers, and Martin Matalon's "La siete vidas de un gato," a musical counterpoint to Spanish filmmaker Luis Buñuel's silent surrealist masterpiece, "Un Chien Andalou," which will be screened with the live musical accompaniment. www.sonicgenerator.gatech.edu
Robert Spano leads the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra in the world premiere "…of shadow and light… (incantations for orchestra)" by Richard Prior, director of orchestral studies at Emory University, on Oct. 3-5. On the same program are Adam Schoenberg's American Symphony and pianist Garrick Ohlsson performance of Rachmaninov's Second Piano Concerto. www.atlantasymphony.org
The Atlanta Opera brings Puccini's "Tosca" to the stage of the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Center, Oct. 5-13, featuring soprano Kara Shay Thomson in the ultimate diva role of Floria Tosca, the glamorous but jealous singer who falls into the clutches of the villainous Scarpia, here sung by bass-baritone Mark Delavan. It will be the first production directed by Tomer Zvulun since he stepped into the positon of general and artistic firector of the Atlanta Opera in June. www.atlantaopera.org
