Vinay Parameswaran will conduct the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra in a program titled “Celestial Illuminations” on October 23-25. (Photo by Roger Mastroianni, courtesy of the Cleveland Orchestra)
Each week, ArtsATL delivers a critic’s short list of the shows, exhibitions, concerts and events we recommend for the coming weeks within one discipline or venue type in the kaleidoscope of Atlanta arts and culture.
::
September 6
The Emory Chamber Music Society of Atlanta’s opening concert of the season will feature the Vega Quartet. Violist Yinzi Kong, pianist William Ransom and cellist Zuill Bailey will join the quartet for music of Boccherini, Beethoven and Brahms on September 6 at the Schwartz Center for Performing Arts.
September 7
The Atlanta Contemporary Music Collective explores modern and unconventional musical territory and has an adventurous musical journey planned for the coming season. The September 7 season opener at the Supermarket will include the world premieres of new works by The Collective and guest composers for solo, duo and trio combinations, each celebrating Christian Wolff’s piece For 1, 2, or 3 People.
September 14
Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Talent Development Program Recital showcases the incredible talent of musicians returning from their summer enrichment camps at the most prestigious summer music programs in the United States and abroad. It happens at 3 p.m. on September 14 at Spivey Hall.
September 16
The DeKalb Symphony Orchestra’s season begins with a program of works by Copland, Bernstein and Rachmaninoff at the First Baptist Church of Decatur on September 16.
September 19
The Atlanta Symphony Orchestra’s Delta Classical series gets started with a one-night-only appearance by piano megastar Lang Lang, taking on Beethoven’s Emperor concerto with guest conductor Gemma New. At the September 19 concert at Symphony Hall, she’ll also lead the orchestra in two works by Mozart, Eine kleine Nachtmusik and the Haffner Symphony.
September 20
Johns Creek Symphony Orchestra’s first season with new Music Director Henry Cheng begins on September 20. The orchestra will be joined by violinist Holly Mulcahy, who will perform acclaimed film composer George S. Clinton’s Violin Concerto, a work composed for her.
September 21
Gil Shaham was one of the earliest performers to grace the Spivey Hall stage during its first full season (1991-92), so it’s only fitting that he returns to open the venue’s 35th season with longtime collaborator Japanese-born pianist and composer Akira Eguchi. The duo will perform at 3 p.m. on September 21.
September 26
The Grammy Award-winning Harlem Quartet is joined by Cuban pianist and composer Aldo López-Gavilán for Schumann’s beloved Piano Quintet in E-flat Major, followed by a journey through Cuba’s myriad musical traditions with works by López-Gavilán. It’s at the Schwartz Center for Performing Arts on September 26.
September 28
The Ridibund Chamber Music Society, the classical/contemporary fusion group led by acclaimed composer and Atlanta Symphony Orchestra bassist Michael Kurth, returns for a Sunday afternoon concert at Eddie’s Attic in Decatur on September 28.
October 3-5
ASO Music Director Nathalie Stutzmann makes her season debut with performances of Copland’s iconic Fanfare for the Common Man, Elgar’s Cello Concerto (with cellist Alisa Weilerstein) and the Richard Strauss tone poem Ein Heldenleben. The concerts take place from October 3 through October 5.
October 10
Composer and pianist Ludovico Einaudi, whose solo piano track “I Giorni” became a hit single in the United Kingdom in 2011, will bring The Summer Portraits Tour to the Fox Theatre on October 10.
October 10-11
It’s a big year for the Atlanta Master Chorale. The ensemble began as the Gwinnett Festival Singers in 1985, so 2025 marks 40 years since the group’s founding. In 2000, Dr. Eric Nelson joined as artistic director, so they’ll also be celebrating his 25 years at the helm. The chorale’s first show in the 2025-26 season is titled Homecoming — and for good reason. Nelson was on leave both from his position as the group’s director and his position as professor of music and director of choral studies at Emory University for the 2024-25 season and school year. He’s back behind the podium for the upcoming season. Homecoming will be performed at Emory’s Schwartz Center for Performing Arts at 8 p.m. on October 10 and October 11.
October 17
The Atlanta Contemporary Music Collective’s Ocarina Festival on October 17 will offer a concert of new works for ocarina, ocarina ensembles and mixed chamber ensembles.
October 23-25
Guest conductor Vinay Parameswaran will lead the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra in a program titled Celestial Illuminations. The concert features Holst’s The Planets and Nina Shekhar’s Lumina, and Hindustani violinist Kala Ramnath joins the orchestra for her own The Voice of Nature, a concerto for Hindustani violin co-composed with Reena Esmail.
October 28
Ensemble Vim will begin its seventh season with Mystery & Transformation, featuring music by Caroline Shaw, Kaija Saariaho, Majid Araim and others, along with a dance performance by Wabi Sabi Terminus. The performance takes place at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church at 7:30 p.m. October 28.
November 4
The DeKalb Symphony Orchestra’s second concert of the season offers works by Rachmaninoff, Ravel and Tchaikovsky at the First Baptist Church of Decatur on November 4.
November 7
On November 7, the Alpharetta Symphony will perform Dvořák’s Symphony No. 8 at Innovation Academy Auditorium. The program also includes Liszt’s Piano Concerto No. 1 with Dr. Alexander Wasserman as soloist.
November 7 and 9
The Emory Chamber Music Society of Atlanta will present the Vega Quartet with cellist Edward Arron performing Schubert’s timeless Quintet for Strings on November 7 at Emory’s Oxford College and November 9 at Emerson Concert Hall.
November 8, 11, 14 and 16
The Atlanta Opera will perform Verdi’s La Traviata with director Francesca Zambello at the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre on November 8, November 11, November 14 and November 16.
November 9
The Atlanta Chamber Players’ 50th season opener will blend the contemporary and the classic. ASO Concertmaster David Coucheron is among the players for Tchaikovsky’s string sextet Souvenir de Florence, and the ensemble will also deliver a premiere by composer Che Buford, the winner of the Cross-Country Chamber Consortium’s 2024 Emerging Black, Latinx and Indigenous Composer Commission. The performance happens at Peachtree Christian Church on November 9.
The Miró Quartet and Isidore String Quartet join forces to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the youthfully exuberant Mendelssohn Octet at Spivey Hall on November 9. The piece, the first of its kind, was composed when Mendelssohn was just 16 years old.
November 15
In addition to a co-production of Fiddler on the Roof with the Alliance Theatre, the Atlanta Opera will take on the Philip Glass opera La Belle et la Bete on November 15 as part of the Discoveries series.
