Johns Creek, Georgia– The Johns Creek Symphony Orchestra will open its 2017-2018 subscription season with its annual “Christmas Gala Holiday Pops,” featuring the Christmas Gala Chorus and guest vocalist Timothy Miller on Saturday, December 16, 2017 at 7:30 p.m. at the Johns Creek United Methodist Church, 11180 Medlock Bridge Road in Johns Creek, Georgia.
This family friendly concert, conducted by Johns Creek Symphony Orchestra Music Director J. Wayne Baughman, will include an audience sing-along and holiday favorites that will be enjoyed by both the young and young-at-heart. In the Boston Pops style, this performance will include a variety of seasonal, sacred, and secular music, including John Rutter’s “Star Carol,” Leroy Anderson’s “Christmas Festival,” Irving Berlin’s “White Christmas” and “Sleigh Ride,” among many others, filling the audience with the wonder and awe of the holiday season.
TICKETS for this public performance are $32 for adults; $27 for seniors; and $16 for students. For tickets, call (678) 748-5802 or visit www.johnscreeksymphony.org. This concert is extremely popular every year, and patrons are strongly encouraged to purchase their tickets well in advance.
Timothy Miller is an active performer with both national and international credits. Operatic roles include Monastatos and First Armored Man in Mozart’s Die Zauberflӧte, Street in Davis’ X: The Life and Times of Malcolm X, Un Messaggero in Verdi’s Aida, and Parpignol in Puccini’s La Boheme. In June of 2008, Mr. Miller sang the role of Crab Man in critically-acclaimed performances of Porgy and Bess at the Opéra-Comique in Paris and on tour in Luxembourg, Granada, and Normandy. He has also appeared in concert performances of Handel’s Messiah, Bach’s Magnificat, and a concert version of excerpts from Richard Strauss’ Der Rosenkavalier, performed with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra. In March 2013 Mr. Miller sang the role of Comrade Alexander Ossipon in the world premiere of Curtis Bryant’s The Secret Agent with libretto by Alan Reichman.
Perhaps most widely recognized for his stirring renditions of “God Bless America” during the seventh inning stretch of Atlanta Braves home games, Timothy Miller has extended his exposure well beyond the concert stage. Soloist for the 2011 Georgia Gubernatorial Inauguration Ceremony, featured artist promos for Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim, and featured artist in the December 2012 edition of The Atlantan Magazine “Patrons and Players” rounds out a growing list of memorable career highlights. In April 2016, Mr. Miller made his debut with the Georgia Symphony as tenor soloist in Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony.
The Christmas Gala Chorus is a volunteer ensemble that unites each year for the purpose of performing on the Johns Creek Symphony Orchestra’s Christmas Gala concert. Comprised of experienced vocalists from every walk of life and from many neighborhoods in the Atlanta metro area, this talented group of singers rehearses during the months of November and December in preparation for this popular holiday performance.
JCSO Music Director and Conductor J. Wayne Baughman studied choral and orchestral conducting, earning undergraduate and graduate degrees in music education from the University of Alabama, as well as advanced studies in conducting at the University of Michigan.
Upon his arrival in Atlanta in 1974, Maestro Baughman immediately became involved with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and Choruses, and for 25 years he was a frequent vocal soloist, chorus member, and rehearsal conductor under the guidance of the late Robert Shaw. Well known for his oratorio performances as bass soloist, he collaborated with Maestro Shaw on numerous performance projects, including the Mozart Requiem Mass, J.S. Bach’s St. John Passion, and Handel’s Messiah. In 1990, as bass soloist, Maestro Baughman shared the honor of a Grammy Award for the Telarc recording of Belshazzar’s Feast (Walton) and Chichester Psalms (Bernstein) with Robert Shaw and the ASO.
Maestro Baughman has held conducting positions at the State University of New York at Cortland and Brevard Music Center. He also served as music director at Peachtree Christian Church in Atlanta for nine years, where his performances of major choral-orchestral works received critical acclaim. Maestro Baughman is recently retired from liturgical music.
Now in its eleventh season, the Johns Creek Symphony Orchestra is metro Atlanta’s only fully-professional, part-time symphonic orchestra, made up of professional musicians from all over the greater metro Atlanta area. The Johns Creek Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Founder and Music Director J. Wayne Baughman, provides musical enrichment for the community of Johns Creek through a three-concert series of performances, as well as additional educational programs and special events each year.
Thanks to our season supporters:
