The Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Performs with the Combined Choruses of the ASO and Ebenezer Baptist Church
Encore presentations of last year’s performance to air on GPB and WABE on the King Holiday
The Atlanta Symphony Orchestra (ASO), in partnership with Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta’s Historic Fourth Ward, is pleased to announce that the 2026 King Celebration concert on January 10 at 8pm will be livestreamed at GPB.org, aso.org, and ebenezeratl.org, and will be available on demand through the King National Holiday.
The Orchestra has been invited by the Honorable Reverend Raphael G. Warnock, Ph.D. and Patrice E. Turner, M.Div., Ed.D. of Ebenezer Baptist Church, to perform for an invited audience in the church’s sanctuary with the Ebenezer Band, and a combined choir of members from the Ebenezer Baptist Church Choir and the ASO Chorus. Timothy Miller and Tamika Patton will be featured vocalists.
Dr. Turner said, “Our 2025 King Celebration concert was a great success! Bringing together the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and Chorus and the Ebenezer Choir and Band was a beautiful example of what the beloved community that Dr. King so often espoused looks like in person through music. We look forward to our continued collaboration with ASO and our advancement of the dream of harmony—both through music and humanity.”
Jonathan Taylor Rush will conduct works by Uzee Brown, Jasmine Barnes, Adolphus Hailstork and William Grant Still, plus gospel songs and other repertoire reflective of the Ebenezer worship experience.
“Last year’s King Celebration was a collaborative triumph, and we are continually grateful for the partnership of Rev. Dr. Warnock and Dr. Turner,” said Jennifer Barlament, Executive Director of the ASO. “Celebrating Dr. King’s legacy through music is one important way we can gather together around the holiday. Sharing it with the nation through radio, television and streaming is something we are honored to do.”
Georgia Public Broadcasting and WABE FM 90.1 are media partners. Support for these programs is provided in part by Bank of America.
“Bank of America is committed to investing in the resources and support that help Atlanta thrive,” said Al McRae, President, Bank of America Atlanta. “Our continued partnership with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra reflects this dedication, and we are honored to celebrate Dr. King’s legacy through this celebration of art and culture in Atlanta and the region.”
Airing Encore Performances of the 2025 King Celebration
Georgia Public Broadcasting plans to air an expanded 90-minute televised version of last year’s King Celebration in partnership with American Public Television at 9pm on Monday, January 19. The special is a co-production between GPB and the ASO. GPB-FM will also feature the 2025 event on its 22-statewide radio stations on Monday, January 19, at 10pm (8pm on GPB Classical).
In addition, WABE-FM radio will air an encore performance of the 2025 concert on January 19 at 8 pm. The encore performance will also be distributed nationally on American Public Media on the King National Holiday.
The history
For more than two decades, the ASO celebrated the national Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. holiday with a concert at Morehouse College. Beginning in 1992, when the event hosted Coretta Scott King, soprano Jessye Norman, and many other luminaries, the concert became a national affair, drawing attention to Atlanta’s musical gifts and speaking to Dr. King’s legacy.
Through a broadcast radio partnership with NPR and APM, the concert was heard by millions of people. In 2012, Yo-Yo Ma helped celebrate the 20th anniversary of the King Celebration. Over the years, the program featured Black composers, conductors and artists of national renown.
CALENDAR LISTING
The King Celebration 2026
January 10, 2026, Livestreaming at GPB.org, ASO.org and EbenezerATL.org
Presented in partnership by the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, Georgia
Featuring members of the combined choruses of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and Ebenezer Baptist Church
Guest vocalists Dr. Patrice E. Turner, Timothy Miller, and Tamika Patton
Conductor Jonathan Taylor Rush
About the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra
Under the leadership of Music Director Nathalie Stutzmann, the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra (ASO) offers live performances, media initiatives, and learning programs that unite, educate, and enrich our community through the engaging and transformative power of orchestral music experiences. The ASO engages the diverse international community of our city, bringing people together in harmony—including our youngest citizens, with extensive opportunities for youth and families to fall in love with music. Two hallmark education programs celebrated anniversaries this year: the Atlanta Youth Symphony Orchestra turned 50, and the Talent Development Program reached 30 years.
The Orchestra’s range and depth are featured in more than 150 concerts each year, including the flagship Delta Classical Series, Movies in Concert, Family Concerts, Coca-Cola Holiday series and many community and education concerts. In addition, the ASO presents many vibrant, wide-ranging events and artists through its Delta Atlanta Symphony Hall Live presentations. The ASO also performs with the ASO Chorus, originally founded by Robert Shaw, and currently under the direction of Norman Mackenzie. The Chorus is featured on nine of the ASO’s 27 Grammy® Award-winning recordings.
About Ebenezer Baptist Church
Throughout its long history, Ebenezer Baptist Church, located in Atlanta, Georgia, has been a spiritual home to many citizens of the “Sweet Auburn” community. Ebenezer was founded in 1886, nine years after reconstruction ended. The church has had five pastors in its history: the Rev. John A. Parker; the Rev. Adam Daniel Williams; the Rev. Martin Luther King, Sr., known as “Daddy King”; the Rev. Dr. Joseph L. Roberts, Jr.; and the Rev. Dr. Raphael G. Warnock.
Known as “America’s Freedom Church,” Ebenezer Baptist Church is an urban-based, global ministry dedicated to individual growth and social transformation through living in the message and carrying out the mission of Jesus Christ.
Today, with a congregation of over 6,000, Ebenezer continues to serve the Atlanta community in the Martin Luther King Jr. National Historic Site under the dynamic leadership of Reverend Dr. Raphael G. Warnock–assuming the role of senior pastor in 2005. One of his foremost accomplishments to date has been the completion of the Martin Luther King, Sr. Community Resources Complex. This facility houses the Martin Luther King, Sr. Community Resources Collaborative, which provides support to the Atlanta community at large. Over the last several years, Pastor Warnock has also developed Ebenezer Everywhere: members and friends of Ebenezer who live across the United States and internationally.
About Jonathan Taylor Rush
Jonathan Taylor Rush, hailed as “a continually rising talent in the conducting world” by The Baltimore Sun, brings passion, unique interpretation, and a refreshing energy to the orchestral experience. Rooted in his musical upbringing within the church, Rush’s approach to conducting is imbued with elements of gospel and soul music.
Previous conducting highlights include debut performances with the likes of Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Philadelphia Orchestra, Minnesota Orchestra, Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Chicago Sinfonietta, Nairobi Philharmonic, and many more including his opera debut with the Washington National Opera at the Kennedy Center.
The 2024/25 season includes performances with Nashville Symphony, Minnesota Orchestra, Baltimore Symphony, Atlanta Symphony, Louisiana Philharmonic, North Carolina Symphony, Savannah Philharmonic, and Hartford Symphony. He is committed to the performances of living composers and has premiered works by James Lee III, Fernando Arroyo Lascurian and Carlos Simon. Rush is also a champion of the music of William Grant Sill, Florence Price and Samuel Coleridge Taylor.
About Georgia Public Broadcasting
As one of the largest PBS stations in the nation, Georgia Public Broadcasting (GPB Media) has been creating content worth sharing for over 50 years. With nine television stations, 18 radio stations and a multi-faceted digital and education division, GPB strives to educate, entertain and enrich the lives of our viewers and listeners with programming that includes statewide radio news, current affairs, high school sports, educational resources for teachers and students and enlightening programs about our state like Georgia Outdoors, A Seat at the Table, On Second Thought, Political Rewind and more. For more information, visit www.gpb.org.
About WABE
WABE is Atlanta’s original, independent, non-profit source for news and local stories and the choice for NPR and PBS. Our stations deliver fact-based journalism and inclusive, engaging, cultural content that informs, inspires, reflects, and empowers the millions who call the Greater Atlanta area home. WABE’s programs, podcasts, and events make Atlanta’s stories and storytellers accessible and relevant across various platforms for our diverse audience. WABE original programming, along with national NPR and PBS content, is available on WABE 90.1FM, WABE.org, WABE TV (PBS-30), and WABE-HD1/ WABE-HD2, as well as streaming on the WABE Mobile App, Hulu + Live, YouTube TV, Chromecast, PBS.org, Local Now, Roku, Android TV & mobile, Amazon Fire TV & tablets, iOS, tvOS, and Android TV live streams. Visit wabe.org for more information.
Atlanta Daily World
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