Institutional Advancement * Division of Communications * 830 Westview Drive, S.W. Atlanta, Georgia 30314

THE ATLANTA SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA, NPR, THE KING CENTER,
MOREHOUSE AND SPELMAN COLLEGES PRESENT
"A KING CELEBRATION 2002"

10th Anniversary of Annual Musical Tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. to Broadcast Internationally
on Performance Today from NPR on Monday, January 21, 2002

ATLANTA — On Jan. 18, 2001 at 8 p.m. the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra (ASO), NPR®, The King Center, Morehouse College and Spelman College will present the 10th anniversary of "A King Celebration", the annual musical tribute to the life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. This year’s program features soprano Indra Thomas, NPR’s Korva Coleman, the ASO led by guest conductor André Raphel Smith, the Spelman College Glee Club directed by Dr. Kevin Johnson and the Morehouse College Glee Club directed by Dr. David Morrow. Since 1992 this annual event has become one of the most celebrated national tributes to Dr. King, heralding the African-American experience in classical music.

On Monday, Jan. 21, 2002, the concert will be broadcast over more than 250 public radio stations nationally on NPR’s daily classical music program, Performance Today®. NPR’s Fred Child will host. For nationwide station information and broadcast times, please visit NPR’s website at www.npr.org.

The 10th Anniversary of "A King Celebration" is made possible though a collaboration of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, NPR®, The King Center and Morehouse and Spelman Colleges. The corporate sponsor for "A King Celebration" is Worldspan. This concert is supported by grants from the Robert W. Woodruff Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts and the City of Atlanta, Bureau of Cultural Affairs.

A Host Committee was formed to increase awareness of the event and to raise funds for scholarships at Morehouse and Spelman. Famed entertainer Harry Belafonte is the Honorary Chair, ASO Board members Ms. Cari Dawson, Mrs. Dell Rearden and Dr. Stephen Dawkins are Co-Chairs. To date, 53 individuals and businesses (purchasing more than 400 Benefit Tickets) have agreed to serve on the Host Committee, including baseball great Hank Aaron and his & wife Billye, WSB-TV Anchorwoman Monica Kaufman, Dr. Johnnetta Cole, Lola & Charlie Battle, Georgia-Pacific, The Coca-Cola Company, and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

CONCERT PROGRAM
The program will begin with Beethoven’s Overture to Egmont, a moving drama about a Dutch dissident beheaded for his beliefs, then Samuel Barber’s Knoxville: Summer of 1915 featuring Metropolitan Opera regular and Decatur native, soprano Indra Thomas. Ms. Thomas was also featured as the young gospel singer in the Oscar-winning movie Driving Miss Daisy. She plans to make her Chicago Lyric Opera debut this season. The Barber work was a favorite of opera great Leontyne Price and was considered one of her "party pieces." This year marks the 75th anniversary of Ms. Price’s birthday.

Adolphus Hailstork’s Songs of Isaiah is an elegy to MLK and will be performed by the Morehouse Glee Club with the orchestra. Conductor André Raphel Smith will lead the ASO in Michael Abels’ Dance for Martin’s Dream. NPR Newscaster and host of both Performance Today (weekend) and SymphonyCast Korva Coleman will narrate Mario Abril’s Migrations.

The final piece in the program is Roland Carter’s Hold Fast to Dreams, featuring the ASO with the Spelman and Morehouse College Glee Clubs. This is the orchestral premiere for this piece, originally composed for piano and chorus. Hold Fast to Dreams is based on two poems by Langston Hughes, one of the pioneers of the Harlem Renaissance in the 1930’s. This year marks the 100th birthday of Mr. Hughes.

TICKETS
Tickets for the 10th anniversary of "A King Celebration" are $20 for general admission and $5 for seniors and students. Host tickets are $50. (individual). Hosts will receive up to 10 benefit tickets to the Friday, January 18 performance for contributing $500. or more. To purchase single tickets, call the Woodruff Arts Center Box Office at 404.733.5000 or visit www.atlantasymphony.org. Contact Holland Muscio at 404-733-4848 to purchase individual host tickets ($50.) and Pat Duboise at 404-733-4853 for additional host contributions and benefit tickets ($500. and above).

KING WEEK IN ATLANTA
For details about other King Week events being held in Atlanta from January 18th to 21st, please visit The King Center site at www.thekingcenter.org.

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