ASCENSION ORATORIO
Join us for an uplifting experience as the ABO finishes its final concerts of the season, featuring the element, Air. Bright trumpets and timpani along with a full chorus and vocal soloists herald the ascent of Christ into the heavens in J.S. Bach’s Ascension Oratorio; and a lithesome flute leads the orchestra through Bach’s second Ouverture-suite in B minor.
Program
Johann Sebastian Bach - Ascension Oratorio, Lobet Gott in seinen Reichen BWV 11
Bach's triumphant musical journey to the heavens
Johann Sebastian Bach - Orchestral Suite in B minor BWV 1067
Virtuosic flute dancing above Bach's intricate strings
Georg Philipp Telemann - Concerto for 3 Trumpets and Timpani, TWV 54:D3
A rare festive gem by baroque's most celebrated composer
Christoph Graupner - Cantata Ihr Lieben, glaubet nicht einem jeglichen Geist GWV 1140/45
Intimate spiritual meditation by the "forgotten master"
April 17, 7:30 pm | Glenn Memorial United Methodist Church
6:45 pm pre-concert talk
(complimentary parking is available in the Fishburne parking deck next to the church)
April 18, 3:00 pm | Lassiter Concert Hall
2:15 pm pre-concert talk
April 19, 4:00 pm | Lutheran Church of the Ascension, Savannah, GA
Trumpets, timpani, and voices rise together in this dazzling celebration of joy, light, and spiritual transformation. Joined by Thomas Cooley, tenor, and the Glenn Memorial UMC Chancel Choir directed by Michael Dauterman.
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Pre-Concert Talks
Friday, April 17, 2026, 6:45 pm
Join us for a pre-concert talk by Angelika Otte, Co-Executive Director for Language and Operations of Goethe-Zentrum Atlanta
Sacred Halls, Courtly Palaces, and Public Stages:
How Spaces Shaped Baroque Sound
Angelika leads the Language, Exam, and Educational Outreach programs at the Goethe-Zentrum Atlanta. Founded as a branch of the Goethe-Institut from 1976 to 2007, the center has operated as an independent 501(c)(3) non-profit since 2007, serving Metro Atlanta and the surrounding region. It offers a wide range of German language courses, official exams, cultural programs, and lifestyle events, collaborating with partners from German-speaking countries to share their history, culture, and contemporary life. Angelika holds a degree in Eastern European Studies, History, and German from the University of Munich, is a hobby violinist, and has a particular interest in the factors that foster positive cultural experiences and synergies.
Saturday, April 18, 2026, 2:15 pm
Join us for a pre-concert talk by Carson Malone, Board President, Atlanta Baroque Orchestra
From Counter-Reformation to Counterpoint: The Cultural Journey of Baroque Music Across Europe
A devoted student of baroque music since his youth, Carson has spent decades exploring the repertoire, history, and cultural forces that shaped this extraordinary musical period — from university coursework and reading in early music history to his own pilgrimage to Leipzig, where he walked the streets Bach walked and visited the churches where many of these works first sounded. He serves as Board President of the Atlanta Baroque Orchestra and has been deeply involved in its promotion for more than fifteen years. By profession, Carson has built a career marketing technology-based educational and cultural programming for museums, science centers, and large-format theaters in North America and Europe. He holds degrees in Political Science and Theology.
ATLANTA BAROQUE ORCHESTRA
ATLANTA BAROQUE ORCHESTRA
The Atlanta Baroque Orchestra is composed of top-notch artists adept at ensemble playing, and often emerging as soloists within the group. Much of the repertoire requires such talent from all of its members due to small performance forces (typically not more than sixteen musicians). In lieu of a conductor, the group performs as one organism, each player contributing to the whole that is suggestively steered by lead violinist Julie Andrijeski.
The ABO consists of a small core of musicians who live in the Atlanta area, supplemented by guest performers and featured soloists from throughout the United States and the world. The Orchestra often supplements its strong base with guest artists specializing in historically-informed Baroque performance.
In addition to its intimate yet powerful performing forces, the Orchestra’s venues are cozy compared to typical concert halls. This close proximity helps to break down the barrier between musicians and their audiences, creating a sense of cooperative interaction.
Members perform on instruments made in the Baroque era, about 1600-1750, restored to their original setups, or on authentic replicas. The string instruments, fitted with gut rather than steel strings, are played with bows of an earlier design. This allows tones and articulations that differ from “modern” instruments. Horns and trumpets have no valves. Flutes are made of wood. The harpsichord, lute, and a portable pipe organ stand in for today’s piano and guitar. But, the tuning is different. Most importantly, our musicians have ample room for improvisation and a great deal more individual expression than what is tolerated in a conventional symphony orchestra.