Robert Spano conducts Rachmaninoff, Bernstein, and Theofanidis. The incomparable Stephen Hough, one of the greatest pianists of our time, returns to Athens with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra for Rachmaninoff’s First Piano Concerto, a dazzler combining ferocious pianism with Hollywood lyricism. ASO Music Director Laureate Robert Spano also makes a welcome return and shines a spotlight on the ASO brass in Leonard Bernstein’s tumultuous Jeremiah Symphony. Based on the Biblical prophet, this modern masterpiece also features the Grammy Award-winning mezzo-soprano Kelley O’Connor.

The Willson Center for Humanities and Arts, Hugh Hodgson School of Music, and University of Georgia Performing Arts Center welcome the renowned conductor and pianist Robert Spano to UGA as the Willson Center’s annual Delta Visiting Chair for Global Understanding. Spano is music director of the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra and Music Director Laureate of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, which he led for 20 years. Beginning in the 2025-26 season, he is also music director of the Washington National Opera. Maestro Spano’s post-concert talk will focus on the Atlanta School of Composers, a group including Jennifer Higdon, Christopher Theofanidis, Osvaldo Golijov, Michael Gandolfi, and Adam Schoenberg, whose works Spano helped to commission and premiere throughout his tenure with the Atlanta Symphony. He will reflect on his cultivation of this important collection of 21st-century orchestral music, and share audio examples from performances. Free admission, tickets not required. The Atlanta Symphony Orchestra performance is a separate, ticketed event. Learn more here.

Delta Visiting Chair for Global Understanding The Willson Center for Humanities and Arts, Hugh Hodgson School of Music, and University of Georgia Performing Arts Center welcome the renowned conductor and pianist Robert Spano to UGA as the Willson Center’s annual Delta Visiting Chair for Global Understanding. Spano is music director of the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra and Music Director Laureate of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, which he led for 20 years. Beginning in the 2025-26 season, he is also music director of the Washington National Opera. Maestro Spano’s post-concert talk will focus on the Atlanta School of Composers, a group including Jennifer Higdon, Christopher Theofanidis, Osvaldo Golijov, Michael Gandolfi, and Adam Schoenberg, whose works Spano helped to commission and premiere throughout his tenure with the Atlanta Symphony. He will reflect on his cultivation of this important collection of 21st-century orchestral music, and share audio examples from performances. Free admission, tickets not required. The Atlanta Symphony Orchestra performance is a separate, ticketed event. Learn more here. Part of the season-long UGA Presents DIALOGUES series.