ABAC Presents new season of classical music, jazz and drama

TIFTON — Symphonic and jazz music as well as dramatic performances will be part of the “ABAC Presents! Performing Arts Series” at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College. The 2016-17 season starts Sept. 11.

ABAC Arts Connection Director Wayne Jones said the seven-event series will kick off with a Sunday visit from the University of Georgia Symphony Orchestra at 3 p.m. on Sept. 11 at the Tift County High School Performing Arts Center. The symphony will feature pianist Martha Thomas performing Manuel de Falla’s “Nights in the Gardens of Spain.”

That will be followed by guitarist Shaun Hopper playing at 7 p.m. Oct. 13 in Howard Auditorium on the ABAC campus. Hopper, an Adel native known as one of the finest acoustic-fingerstyle guitar players in America, merges complex melodies, harmonies and bass lines along with a one-of-a-kind mix of percussive elements that include covers from Chet Atkins, Queen and The Beatles.

Derek Evans will bring his one-man show on Teddy Roosevelt, “The Man in the Arena,” to Howard Auditorium at 3 p.m. on Nov. 6. Evans transforms into America’s 26th president, capturing on stage Roosevelt’s courage, honesty, character, energy and profound vision for the country.

The second half of the season starts at 7 p.m. on Feb. 2 with the Olney Theatre Center’s National Players bringing to the Howard Auditorium stage John Steinbeck’s “The Grapes of Wrath” as part of the company’s 68th national tour. The Olney Theatre Center, located in Montgomery County, Md., offers a diverse array of year-round professional productions.

Pianist Read Gainsford will perform at 7 p.m. Feb. 23, also in Howard Auditorium. Known as “Pianist of the People” he pursues connections wherever he finds them, reaching audiences in ways beyond the traditional performance. Gainsford’s international career has taken him to major theaters and concert halls on four continents as a recital soloist, concerto soloist and chamber musician.

The Albany Symphony Orchestra will perform at 3 p.m. on March 26 at the TCHS Performing Arts Center. The orchestra will perform Debussy’s La Mer (The Sea), Gabriel Faure’s “Cantique de Jean Racine” and Maurice Durufle’s “Requiem” with choirs from ABAC, the Southwest Civic Chorus of Americus, Georgia Southwestern State University, Middle Georgia State University, the Albany Chorale and Albany State University.

Trumpet player Terell Stafford will be the guest performer for the annual ABAC Jazz Festival at Howard Auditorium at 7 p.m. on April 20. Based in New York, he is recognized as an incredibly gifted and versatile player, combining a deep love of melody with his own brand of spirited and adventurous lyricism. He will be the featured soloist with the ABAC Jazz Ensemble under the direction of Thomas Heflin.

The ABAC Jazz Ensemble’s award-winning performances have taken the group to some of the world’s greatest stages, including the Montreaux Jazz Festival in Switzerland and the North Sea Jazz Festival in Amsterdam.

Jones said the advance tickets for the series are $75 for adults and $25 for students under 18. Tickets can be purchased online at www.purplepass.com/abac or by phone at (229) 391-4895. Individual event tickets are $20 for adults and $10 for students under 18.

The “ABAC Presents! Performing Arts Series” is supported in part by the Georgia Council for the Arts, which receives funding from the General Assembly and support from the National Endowment for the Arts.