KAREN SLACK, SOPRANO
CONDUCTORS
JOHN YOUNG SHIK CONCKLIN
PAMELA DILLARD
HERBERT JACKSON
DR. KAY PACE
LOGAN SOUTHER
AMP SUMMER SERIES
ORCHESTRAS & CHOIRS
JUNE 6, 2025 | 7PM
GLENN MEMORIAL UNITED METHODIST CHURCH
Atlanta
Music Project Board of Directors
Philip M. Juravel, CPA, Chair
Jennifer Dorian, Vice-Chair
Byron Gibbs, Treasurer
Racheal Woods, Secretary
Sarah Griesenauer-Barros, Ben Cherian, Anne Cross, Deva Hirsch, Valerie L. Holmes, James F. Lock III, Aaron C. Mitchell, Ceasar C. Mitchell Jr.,
Aisha Moody, Shawn Pacely, Andy D. Pittman, Dantes Rameau, John Sparrow
Atlanta Music Project Staff
Aisha Moody, Co-Founder & Chief Program Officer
Amber Taylor, Associate Director of AMP Academy
Breanna Johnson, Director of Choral Programs
Cruz Duhart, Operations Associate
Dantes Rameau, Co-Founder & Chief Executive Officer
Dennis Freeman, Van Driver
D’Laney Bowry, Development & Grants Manager
Durand Bailey, Senior Director of Operations
Isaiah Cuffey, Preparatory School Program Manager
Jack W. Wagner, Director of Grants
José L. Morales, Marketing & Graphic Design Associate
Lauren Jones, Program Operations Associate
Lauren Spence, Executive Assistant to the Chief Executive Officer
Liesl McWhorter, Youth Orchestras Program Manager
Lydia Falcon, After-School Programs Associate
Michael Crawford, Facilities Manager
Miriam Huppert, Director of College & Career Services
Nassareen Rahman, Van Driver
Ron Pace, Finance Manager
| AMP
AMP SUMMER SERIES INSTITUTIONAL DONORS
Funding provided in part by the Fulton County Board of Commissioners under the guidance of the Department of Community Development.
Major funding for this organization is provided by the Fulton County Board of Commissioners.
This program is supported in part by the City of Atlanta Mayor’s Office of Cultural Affairs.
KAREN SLACK
AMP SUMMER SERIES ARTIST-IN-RESIDENCE
Praised for her “sizeable voice that captured all of the vacillating emotions” (The New York Times), GRAMMY® Award-winning soprano Karen Slack is celebrated as both an extraordinary performer and a change-maker in classical music.
Highlighting Slack’s 2024-2025 season is the nationwide tour of her new commissioning project, African Queens, a recital of new art songs by Jasmine Barnes, Damien Geter, Jessie Montgomery, Shawn Okpebholo, Dave Ragland, Carlos Simon and Joel Thompson. In July 2024, she released her debut commercial recording, Beyond the Years, alongside pianist Michelle Cann and ONEcomposer on Azica Records, and the project won the 2025 GRAMMY® Award for Best Classical Solo Vocal Album.
Slack has performed at the Metropolitan Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Washington National Opera, Scottish Opera and many others. In concert, her credits include the Melbourne and Sydney symphonies, Bergen Philharmonic, St. Petersburg Philharmonic, Orchestra of St. Luke’s at Carnegie Hall and Philadelphia Orchestra. She made her New York Philharmonic debut in May 2024.
A recipient of the 2022 Sphinx Medal of Excellence and 2025 MPower Artist Grant, Slack is an Artistic Advisor for Portland Opera, serves on the board of the American Composers Orchestra and Astral Artists and holds a faculty position at the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity. In the 2024-2025 season, she serves as Artist-in-Residence at both Lyric Opera of Chicago and Babson College.
A native Philadelphian, Slack is a graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music and the San Francisco Opera’s Merola Opera Program. Learn more at www. karenslack.com.
JOHN CONCKLIN | CONDUCTOR
AMP SUMMER SERIES FESTIVAL ORCHESTRA
John Young Shik Concklin has served as conductor of the Atlanta Music Project Senior Youth Orchestra since 2017. He is the Music Director of the Spartanburg Philharmonic and Hendersonville Symphony Orchestra. He is also the conductor of the Piedmont Chamber Orchestra. For the 2023/24 season, he is also a Music Director Finalist with the Walla Walla Symphony in Washington State.
John has been a finalist for the 2019-2020 American Prize in Conducting. He has competed internationally at the Almaty, the Nino Rota, and the Città di Brescia Conducting Competitions. He is also regularly invited to cover-conduct for the the Nashville, Atlanta, and Kansas City Symphony Orchestras.
Previous positions include Associate Conductor of the Georgia Symphony, Assistant Conductor of the Cleveland Pops Orchestra, and faculty appointments at Vanderbilt, Clemson, Furman and Converse Universities He has been a fellowship conductor at the Aspen Music Festival, a teaching assistant at the Brevard Music Center, and a finalist at the New World Symphony and Debut Orchestras.
John Young Shik Concklin is Music Director of the Spartanburg Philharmonic and Hendersonville Symphony Orchestra. He also serves as Conductor with the Atlanta Music Project and Piedmont Chamber Orchestra. For the 2023/24 season, he is also a Music Director Finalist with the Walla Walla Symphony in Washington State.
John has been a finalist for the 2019-2020 American Prize in Conducting. He has competed internationally at the Almaty, the Nino Rota, and the Città di Brescia Conducting Competitions. He is also regularly invited to cover-conduct for the the Nashville, Atlanta, and Kansas City Symphony Orchestras.
Previous positions include Associate Conductor of the Georgia Symphony, Assistant Conductor of the Cleveland Pops Orchestra, and faculty appointments at Vanderbilt, Clemson, Furman and Converse Universities He has been a fellowship conductor at the Aspen Music Festival, a teaching assistant at the Brevard Music Center, and a finalist at the New World Symphony and Debut Orchestras.
PAMELA DILLARD | CONDUCTOR
AMP SUMMER SERIES PRIMARY CHOIR
Mezzo-Soprano, Pamela Dillard, a native Atlantan, performs frequently on concert stages, recitals, oratorio, and operas in Atlanta, Augusta, and Florida. Pamela was a featured artist on the concert “Sisters in Song” performing with Atlanta’s leading female song stylists, celebrating America’s Jazz Divas. She is a Professor of Voice at Spelman College, a board member of Capitol City Opera Company of Atlanta, and a member of the National Association of Negro Musicians, Inc. where she serves as a national board member. Pamela debuted with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra in Prokofiev’s Alexander Nevsky, returning the following year to sing the title role in Bizet’s Carmen.
She has appeared on the stages of several American opera companies and orchestras including, Atlanta Opera, Opera Carolina, Opera Columbus, Tulsa Opera and Boston, Saint Louis, Colorado, New Haven, and Cobb Symphony Orchestras and The Brooklyn Philharmonic among others. Pamela performed internationally with L’Opéra-Comique of Paris, France as Lily Holmes in Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess in Paris, Normandy, Luxembourg, and Spain. She has sung under the baton of many of the world’s greatest conductors, some of which are Robert Spano, Donald Runnicles, Keith Lockhart, Yoel Levi, John Williams, Wayne Marshall, and David Morrow.
Earning her B.F.A. from Newcomb College of Tulane University, Pamela was a recipient of the M.L. King Graduate Fellowship at Boston University where she received a Master of Music. Her recordings include, Watch and Pray, Spirituals and Art Songs by African American Women Composers and Grant Still’s Highway One both for Videmus. She is the featured artist on the Grammy-nominated soundtrack to Stephen Spielberg’s Amistad.
HERBERT JACKSON | CONDUCTOR
AMP SUMMER SERIES PHILHARMONIA ORCHESTRA
Herbert Jackson is a proud Black male music educator from Snellville, GA. Jackson attended Central State University, a Historically Black University in Wilberforce, OH graduating as an honor student in 2016 and earning his Master’s in Music Education degree from Boston University with an emphasis in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.
Mr. Jackson has been an educator for seven years and has taught band and choir at the elementary, middle, and high school levels. Herbert currently serves as the director of bands at the School of the Arts at Central Gwinnett High School in Lawrenceville, GA. Under the leadership of Mr. Jackson, the band program was able to earn superior and excellent ratings for state-adjudicated performances. Seniors in the band program have also earned and been awarded over $1 million dollars in scholarships for post-secondary opportunities.
Mr. Jackson also serves and gives back to his community through the Atlanta Music Project, (AMP) serving as a teaching artist for local students enrolled in the preparatory band program.
Jackson also serves as Board secretary for Georgia Educators for Equity and Justice Inc, an organization founded on the liberation and belonging of black teachers in the state of Georgia.
Mr. Jackson’s professional affiliate organizations include Mu Phi Epsilon International Professional Music Fraternity Inc., Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity Inc., Professional Association for Georgia Educators, National Association for Music Educators, Georgia Music Educators Association, and Georgia Educators for Equity and Justice Inc.
His hobbies include cooking, traveling, producing, arranging, and composing music.
DR. KAY PACE | CONDUCTOR
AMP SUMMER SERIES FESTIVAL CHOIR
As concert pianist, Dr. Pace made her professional debut in solo recital as 1st Place Winner of the Artist Presentation Society’s Young Artist Competition in St. Louis, MO., as well as 1st Place Southeast Winner and National Finalist of the National Black Music Colloquiam and Competition (Washington, DC); 1st Place Winner, the Illinois State Music Teachers Young Artist Competition; 1st Place Winner, Solo Artist Fellowship, Alabama Arts Council; Semi-Finalist, the University of Maryland International Piano Competition; and Special Award Recipient, the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition. Dr. Pace was also featured in a nationally televised 30-minute PBS documentary “A Portrait of Kay Pace” on HARAMBEE via Auburn University.
As music educator, Dr. Pace served as college instructor or administrator in Southern Illinois University (Carbondale), Alabama State University (“ASU” Montgomery), Morgan Statenure, Dr. Pace served as music professor and School of Music Dean where she was recognized for securing full NASM accreditations for all graduate and undergraduate degree programs and for her sponsorship of the only state-wide celebration to honor the life and work of world renown composer and native Alabamian, William Dawson, during his lifetime.
A Mobile, AL native, Dr. Pace has earned the BA from Xavier University (Louisiana); MM, Southern Illinois University (Carbondale); DMA, the Peabody Conservatory of Music (Baltimore); and PhD in ethnomusicology from Pacific Western University (CA). She has been elected to Phi Kappa Phi and Pi Kappa Lambda Honor Societies and holds memberships in the Music Educators National Conference, Georgia Music Educators Association, American Choral Director’s Association as well as Delta Sigma Theta Sorority.
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LOGAN SOUTHER | CONDUCTOR
AMP SUMMER SERIES PHILHARMONIA ORCHESTRA
Logan Souther is quickly developing a reputation as an orchestra conductor and pianist of significant talent with a serious approach to music in Atlanta, Georgia. A gifted conductor of the operatic repertoire, Logan has served on the music staff of the Sarasota Opera, Atlanta Opera, OperaNEO (San Diego), The Harrower Summer Opera Workshop, The Augusta Opera Initiative, and for several years was the music director and principal conductor for the Georgia State University Opera Theatre. While leading the GSU Opera Theatre Logan consistently raised artistic standards among singers and instrumentalists alike while performing reperoite that ranged from Mozart to Stephen Paulus.
Logan has served as a recurring guest conductor with the Atlanta Pops Orchestra and the Atlanta Symphony Youth Orchestra and for two seasons was the assistant conductor for the Bellingham Festival of Music, the premiere orchestral festival of the Pacific Northwest. Logan is the associate conductor of The Hamptons Festival of Music, where he also serves as artistic director of the THFM Salon Series community outreach programs An engaging arts entrepreneur, at the age of 19 Logan founded the Gainesville Sinfonietta where he was fully responsible for all levels of production and successfully mobilized funding for the Sinfonietta each year. The Gainesville Sinfonietta was a fully professional orchestra which performed free concerts each year for the North Georgia community.
Logan began intensive studies in orchestral at the age of 15 with Michael Palmer with whom he went on to study with at Georgia State University completing a Master’s in Orchestral Conducting (2017) and a Bachelor’s in Piano Performance (2016.) Additional teacher’s include Dwight Oltman and David Effron.
CONCERT PROGRAM
AMP SUMMER SERIES PRIMARY CHOIR
Pamela Dillard | Conductor Elena Kholodova| Collaborative Pianist
Gaudeamus Hodie........................................................................Earlene Rentz
Beloved.......................................................................................Mark A. Miller
AMP SUMMER SERIES PHILHARMONIA ORCHESTRA I WINDS
Herbert Jackson | Conductor
Shadow Fire.....................................................................Randall D. Standridge
AMP SUMMER SERIES PHILHARMONIA ORCHESTRA I STRINGS
Logan Souther | Conductor
Finale from Serenade for Strings........................................ Pyotr Tchaikovsky arr. Carrie Lane Gruselle
AMP SUMMER SERIES PHILHARMONIA ORCHESTRA II
Logan Souther | Conductor
New World Symphony, Finale.....................................................Antonín Dvořák arr. Richard Meyer
CONCERT PROGRAM
John Concklin | Conductor
Dich Teure Halle...
from Tannhauser
Humming Chorus.....................................................................Giacomo
from Madama Butterfly
Un
“Dich, teure Halle, grüsß ich wieder “ from Tannhäuser
O hall of song, I give thee greeting.
All hail to thee, thou hallowed place!
‘Twas here that dream, so sweet and fleeting, Upon my heart his song did trace.
But since by him forsaken,
A desert thou dost seem!
Thy echoes only waken
Remembrance of a dream!
But now the flame of hope is lighted, Thy vault shall ring with glorious war, For he, whose strains my soul delighted, No longer roams afar!
Yes, now the flame of hope is lighted, Thy vault shall ring with glorious war,
For he, whose strains my soul delighted, From me no longer roams afar!
All hail to thee!
All hail to thee!
Thou hall of glory, dear to my heart!
Dear to my heart!
Thou hall of glory, dear to my heart!
“Un bel dì, vedremo” from Madama Butterfly
One fine day we’ll notice A thread of smoke arising on the sea. In the far horizon, And then the ship appearing Then the trim white vessel Glides into the harbour, Thunders forth her cannon. You see? Now he is coming! I do not go to meet him. Not I!
I stay upon the brow of the hillock, And wait there, And wait for a long time, But never weary of the long waiting.
From out the crowded city
There is coming a man, A little speck in the distance, Climbing the hillock.
Can you guess who it is?
And when he’s reached the summit, Can you guess what he’ll say? He will call, “Butterfly,” from the distance.
I, without answering, Hold myself quietly concealed; A bit to tease him And a bit so as not to die at our first meeting.
And then, a little troubled, He will call, he will call, “Dear baby, wife of mine, Dear little orange blossom!”
The names he used to call me when he came here. This will all come to pass as I tell you.
Banish your idle fears, for he will return, I know it.
PERFORMERS
AMP SUMMER SERIES PRIMARY CHOIR
PART I
Ava Parks
Danaé Dieudonne
Kiari Moore
London Moten
Naomi Croom
Ngoza Tembo
Rachel Barnett
Somer Lindsay
Zen Hayes
Zoie Fielder
PART II
Areli Palacios
Dean Elise McKnight
Ildikó Binecz
Lauren Gaubert
Lucas Jones
McKinley Twiggs
Nadia Nu’Man
Nalivia Preston
Zahara Bradford
PART III
Camille Childers
Celeste Banks
Jirad Williams
Justice Banks
Micah Rodriguez
Sarah Wilcox
Zachary Early
AMP SUMMER SERIES FESTIVAL CHOIR
SOPRANO
Cheyenne Harris
Da’janel Chatmon
Isabella Castro
Journee White
Lauren Hunter
Makyla Platt
Neilah Bell
Nyla Jones*
Reagan Reynolds
ALTO
Ariana Swindell*
Eden Kearse
Inaya Diop
Jayla Jacobs
LonDyn Weeks
Maya Winfrey
Mia McLennon
Reagyn Requena
Solis Delasalas
TENOR
Aiyé Banks
Antwan Hailey Jr.
Courtland Coleman*
Cuba Stellenberg*
De’Mon Carter*
Justin Clopton*
Sean Norton*
Tyaire Charles
Victor Halliburton
BASS
Arvin Dawon Johnson*
Caleb Vaughn*^
Dalin Davis*^
Imari Welcher*^
Joshua Banks
Justin Williamson
Matteo Herane
Royal Joseph
* Music Mentor
^ AMP Alum
PERFORMERS
VIOLIN I
Anaika Dominic
Malia White
Ethan Waithe
Adriana Smith
Jasmine Barnett
VIOLIN II
Ta’Kari Tatum
Zekiel Humbert
Hannah Barnett
Ethan Ezzard
DOUBLE BASS
Lourdess Culpatrick
Marlee Williams
Bella Rose White FLUTE
Harmony Rojas
Keira Clarke
Daijah Hall
VIOLA
Raelan Robinson
Akilah McMillon
Genevieve Lewis
Zoe Dorff
Zoe Gibson
BASSOON
Jonah Banks
Summersisle Klosterman
Victoria Duncan
FRENCH HORN
Preston Harris
Jameson Olowoyo
Kailey Gaudet TRUMPET
Dineo Halisi Adams TROMBONE
Nia Johnson
Israel Smith
Ethan Gibbs
Gabrielle Bagot
TUBA
Mason Banks
Izaiah McMillon
PERCUSSION
Neyri Guerrero - Maya
Maasai Jarrett
Corey Whitehead Jr.
AMP SUMMER SERIES FESTIVAL ORCHESTRA
PERFORMERS
VIOLIN I
Kerren Berz, Concertmaster+
Foster Wilson
Alex Lipsky+
Cailah Matamoros
Chris Mosley+
Graison Saba
CELLO
Ismail Akbar, Principal+
David Walton
Giancarlo Ortiz+
Mauricio Alvarado
Raiah Wright
Kendel Felton
Preston Walton
OBOE
Natalie Beckenbaugh, Principal+
Nehemiah Preston
FRENCH HORN
Dilon Bryan, Principal+
Anthony Flores
Natali Huff*
Katy Ray+
BASS TROMBONE
Lovrick Gary, Principal+
VIOLIN II
Grace Kim, Principal+
Jackson Betts
Julie Saxton+
Donovan Fuller*^
Aeden O’Shields*
Torrance Mosley*
DOUBLE BASS
Dani Brofe, Principal+
Brooklyn Chaney
Joshua Sheperd*^
Nia Blount
CLARINET
Andrew Warwick, Principal+
Amir Foster
Riley Braithwaite
TRUMPET
Douglas Escobar, Principal+
Ethan Crawford
Solomon Carr*^
TUBA
Robert Boone, Principal+^
HARP
Sage Harrison, Principal*
VIOLA
Meghan Yost, Principal+
Joshua Croom
Josiah Coe+
Violetta Vanzini
Eli Brogdon*
Kree Willingham
FLUTE
Nia Bourne, Principal+
Leighlah West
Lailani Smith
* Music Mentor + Faculty/Pro Musician
^AMP Alum
BASSOON
Lazara Santana, Principal+
Shanae Cousley
TROMBONE
Ed Nicholson, Principal+
Caleb Alexander
Brandon Muskelly
PERCUSSION & TIMPANI
Kori Harmon, Co-Principal
Dominic Ryder, Co-Principal+
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the atlanta music project mission and history
Founded in 2010, the Atlanta Music Project (AMP) provides world-class music training and performance opportunities supporting youth growth and development. Operating in under-resourced communities, AMP’s mission is to empower youth to realize their possibilities through music.
AMP serves over 1,000 young musicians annually through band, orchestra, and choir programs, private lessons, and the annual month-long AMP Summer Series. The AMP Senior Youth Orchestras and Choirs perform and compete both nationally and internationally. Additionally, AMP houses a college and career program, supporting AMP high school students and alumni. Since 2021, AMP has awarded $545,000 in college scholarships to its alumni.
AMP music ensembles perform more than 60 concerts annually, performing in venues all across Atlanta, from community centers to the Mercedes-Benz Stadium. AMP music ensembles have performed alongside international stars such as cellist Sterling Elliott, rapper Lecrae, operatic baritone Edward Parks, R&B singer Monica, The Piano Guys, the Harlem Quartet, electric violinist Lindsey Stirling, pianist Terrence Wilson, and the Imani Winds. AMP musicians can be seen performing with rapper T.I. on NPR’s Tiny Desk concert series.
AMP’s young musicians have successfully auditioned for Georgia All-State ensembles, and performed with the Atlanta Opera, the Atlanta Ballet, and the Fox Theatre. AMP ensembles have concertized as far away as Los Angeles, Aspen, Mexico, Canada, and New Zealand. The AMP Senior Youth Choir was crowned winner of the Youth Choirs category at the Open Competition of the 2024 World Choirs Games.
AMP is the recipient of several prestigious awards: 2015 Local Community Service Award (Spelman College), 2016 Neighborhood Builder (Bank of America), 2016 & 2017 Top 50 Youth Arts Program (USA President’s Committee on the Arts & Humanities), 2018 MLK Jr. Community Service Award (Emory University), 2019 Luminary Award for Arts Education (ArtsATL), and 2021 Infusion Award (Lewis Prize for Music).
AMP’s current major funders include the Chestnut Family Foundation, Intuit Mailchimp, the Abraham J. & Phyllis Katz Foundation, the Harland Charitable Foundation, the Arthur M. Blank Foundation, The Rich’s Foundation, the Sartain Lanier Foundation, the Luluma Foundation, Mayor’s Office of Cultural Affairs, Fulton County Arts Council, Georgia Council for the Arts, Georgia Department of Education, Bloomberg Philanthropies, Delta Community Credit Union, the Next Generation Fund, and the Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta.
In 2024, AMP became the recipient of five Steinway pianos and was awarded the prestigious honor of being a Steinway Select School, making AMP one of eight schools in the country with this distinction.
AMP’s partners and collaborators include the City of Atlanta Department of Parks and Recreation, Atlanta Public Schools, Clayton State University, and the Chestnut Family Foundation.
AMP’s existence is a direct result of the 2009 TED Prize, which was awarded to Dr. Jose Antonio Abreu, founder of Venezuela’s El Sistema. AMP’s co-founders were members of the Sistema Fellows Program at the New England Conservatory in Boston. AMP is a member of “El Sistema USA,” the National Alliance of El Sistema Inspired Programs.
For more information visit http://www.atlantamusicproject.org
YOUNG MUSICIAN PATHWAYS
& CAREER SCHOLARSHIPS, EMPLOYMENT, ADVISING
ADVANCED PROGRAMS
AMP SENIOR YOUTH ORCHESTRA & CHOIR
INTERNATIONAL TOURS & COMPETITIONS
COLLEGE & CAREER SERVICES
INTERMEDIATE PROGRAMS
AMP JUNIOR YOUTH ORCHESTRAS
AMP JUNIOR YOUTH CHOIRS
PREPARATORY PROGRAMS
AMP AFTER-SCHOOL PROGRAMS
AMP PREPARATORY SCHOOL
EMPOWERING YOUTH TO REALIZE THEIR POSSIBILITIES THROUGH MUSIC
