Atlanta Symphony Orchestra announces fall musicale

Submitted by the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra

The Atlanta Symphony Orchestra’s Talent Development Program, which supports young African-American and Latino student-musicians, will hold its annual Fall Musicale on Sunday, November 8, 2009 at 6:00 p.m. at the Richard H. Rich Theatre at the Woodruff Arts Center. Free to the public, the Musicale will showcase current and alumni TDP musicians, and is the annual kick-off fundraiser for the Azira G. Hill Scholarship Fund.

Guests are invited to attend a post-performance reception at approximately 8:00 p.m. in Center Space at the Woodruff Arts Center, which will include refreshments and an opportunity to meet TDP student musicians. Admission is free, however RSVP is requested. To RSVP call (404) 733-4858 or e-mail barbara.saunders@woodruffcenter.org.

About the Talent Development Program

Established in 1993, the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra’s Talent Development Program was one of the first initiatives by a major American orchestra to support talented, young African-American and Latino students who desire to pursue classical music. Since its founding, over 80 students, ranging from 4th to 12th grade, have participated in the program. 100 percent of students who have completed the Talent Development Program have graduated from high school and have continued to college, many attending leading conservatories including: Oberlin Conservatory of Music, The Juilliard School, Cleveland Institute of Music, New England Conservatory of Music, and the Curtis Institute of Music.

Program benefits are amplified through lessons and chamber instruction from master teachers and prestigious summer music program experiences. TDP students are guided by ASO musicians (or equally qualified instructors) who serve as their private teachers and mentors, and the success of the Program is reflected through TDP students' accomplishments as finalists in the national Sphinx Competition, featured guests on the NPR’s “From the Top,” as well as solo performers with the ASO in National Black Arts Festival concerts, donor appreciation concerts, and the ASO’s “A King Celebration” concerts. TDP students comprise a significant segment of the Atlanta Symphony Youth Orchestra and regularly place in the top All-State ensembles (many in principal positions). In addition, through the Azira G. Hill Scholarship Fund, the Program provides financial assistance to these students to attend leading summer music study programs.

Annually the TDP includes 25 students ranging from 4th to 12th grade. Cellist and TDP graduate Ismail Akbar recently secured a one-year appointment in the Augusta Symphony Orchestra, the second TDP graduate to secure a position with a professional orchestra. In 2007, bassist and TDP graduate Eric Thompson was appointed to a permanent position with the Charlotte Symphony.

Azira G. Hill was elected a Life Director by the ASO Board of Directors on June 2, 2008. The life directorship honors Mrs. Hill’s legacy of leadership, dedication, and vision that inspired the formation of the Talent Development Program of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra. Mrs. Hill has been a member of the Board since 1990 and joins five other current Life Directors. The Azira G. Hill Scholarship Fund, which lies at the heart of the program, was established in November 1999 to honor Mrs. Hill and provides financial assistance that allows TDP students to attend prestigious national summer music study programs. Designed to “Change the face of American orchestras,” the Talent Development Program has now become a model for other orchestras across the country.

The Learning Community and its programs are funded by the National Endowment for the Arts; the City of Atlanta, Office of Cultural Affairs; and the Georgia Council for the Arts (GCA) through the appropriations of the Georgia General Assembly. GCA also receives support from its partner agency, the National Endowment for the Arts. Major funding is provided by the Fulton County Commission under the guidance of the Fulton County Arts Council.

ASO TALENT DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM FALL MUSICALE

Richard H. Rich Theatre, Memorial Arts Building, Woodruff Arts Center

Sunday, November 8, 2009, 6:00 p.m.

North Georgia

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