The annual Martin Luther King Celebration Concert represents a proud piece of modern Atlanta history, with decades of performances by the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra alongside guest musicians, singers and composers who honor great Black American music together with traditional favorites from the classical canon.
This year, the concert is returning in partnership with Rev. Raphael Warnock and Ebenezer Baptist Church. The ASO players will collaborate with singers from the Ebenezer choir along with special guests including Grammy Award-winning jazz singer Gregory Porter. WABE will broadcast the concert at 8 p.m. on Jan. 20.
“City Lights” host Lois Reitzes spoke with ASO executive director Jennifer Barlament to discuss the upcoming concert.
“This actually all came together through a chance encounter and it’s blossomed very quickly into something that’s going to be a wonderful way to celebrate the King holiday,” said Barlament. She continued, “There’s a lot of orchestras across the country that have King celebration concerts, but none of them have this level of authenticity.”
You can find more information about the WABE Martin Luther King Celebration Jan. 20 broadcast here.
