January 27, 2014 By Stephanie Adrian On Friday night conductor Matthew Guard and his Skylark Vocal Ensemble offered a concert titled From Winter to Spring at Covenant Presbyterian Church in Buckhead. Equipped with a theme exceedingly apropos for Atlanta’s chilly weather conditions, the Skylark singers entered a darkened sanctuary and opened with Moritz Hauptmann’s “Zigeunerlied.” Miniature reading lamps were attached to their individual scores and were the only source of illumination, causing the singers to look almost ghoulish as they sang of werewolves and witches on a winter’s night in the forest wild. Overall it was an ambitious program for…

Just a small portion of the wall backstage at Spivey Hall that displays autographed press photos of the stunning artists who have performed here. In this shot you can see Bryn Terfel, Christine Brewer, Joyce DiDonato, Dmitri Hvorostovsky, and Murray Perahia. Tomorrow my 9-year-old daughter will have the privilege of playing a small Schumann song in a recital on the Spivey stage. Later this spring patrons will be able to hear recitals by Christiane Karg and Tara Erraught.

“Lessons in a Year of Crises” by Anthony Tommasini mourns the loss of New York City Opera and highlights Gotham Chamber Opera, a company with a $1.5 annual budget and no endowment. http://nyti.ms/19eB7br

January 3, 2014 By ArtsATL staff Though the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra performed a reduced number of concerts last year, the quality more than made up for the quantity. And the city’s burgeoning alternative classical scene received a major boost when both Sonic Generator and Bent Frequency looked to expand their horizon to foreign destinations. Tomer Zvulun was named the new artistic director of the Atlanta Opera as the company tries to re-shape and re-build its brand. Popular music highlights included Paul Simon’s lecture series and concert performance at Emory University, the success of the small stages at the Atlanta Jazz Festival and the…