Now presenting their 32nd season, the Atlanta Chamber Players were founded in 1976. In 2005-2006, during their milestone 30th Anniversary Season, the group was named “Best of 2005 in Classical Music” by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and awarded the Phoenix Award by Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin for the group’s “active commitment to the performing arts and contributions to enhance the city’s artistic reputation.” Capping the 30th Anniversary celebration was a European Concert Tour in June 2006 to Paris, Rome and Lausanne where the group presented premiere performances of Pulitzer Prize winning composer John Harbison’s Songs America Loves to Sing, commissioned by the ACP and recorded in fall 2006 at the Dozier Centre for the Performing Arts. The group’s fifth CD Songs America Loves to Sing was released in April 2007 on MSR Classics and features Mozart, Dello Joio and Bunch, in addition to the Harbison premiere.
The ensemble has earned a well-deserved national reputation as a pioneer among chamber groups and is widely respected among arts organizations in the Southeast. Over the past three decades, the ACP has performed critically acclaimed concerts in more than 200 cities throughout the United States and Europe, and to millions worldwide through live international radio broadcasts, with rave reviews: “sure grasp of technique and form…excellent musical freedom”—Washington Post); “the bravos gave testimony to the brilliance of the performers”—Charleston Post-Courier); “impeccably interpreted”—Los Angeles Times.
Landmark events during their three decades of artistic achievement include two international European tours - in 2000 and 2006 - with acclaimed concerts in Paris, Rome, Lausanne, Orléans, and Burgundy. The ensemble has been featured three times on the prestigious Signature Series at Atlanta’s Rialto Center for the Performing Arts and has appeared as soloists in Beethoven’s Triple Concerto with the DeKalb Symphony Orchestra. During the Silver Anniversary Season marking 25 years of artistic excellence, the ensemble released two new CD recordings. Footeprints celebrates American composer Arthur Foote: “they play with great generosity, technically well-balanced and crisp, but with color and warmth”—Creative Loafing; “it’s highly recommended – Grade A!”—Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The second major release; Sacred Theory of the Earth, showcases music by American composer Anne LeBaron: “The ACP handle this terribly difficult music with technical savvy, and with the musical personality and aplomb to pull it off.”—Creative Loafing.
ACP recordings have consistently earned accolades, with performances of compelling contemporary works on Conversations (“intense and exciting, yet subtle and well-shaped”—American Record Guide), to famous-and-rare salon works on Soirée Sweets (“elegant . . . full, deep lyricism . . . real chamber music”—Gainesville Times).
The ensemble appears in numerous artistic, educational, and outreach concerts each season, as well as touring residencies and television and radio broadcasts. As Affiliate Artists at Georgia State University’s School of Music since 1990, ACP presents concerts, lectures and master classes. The group was in residence at Kennesaw State University from 1996-2003 and was the Candler Ensemble-in-Residence at Emory University from 1982-1987. In 1979, ACP was among the first ensembles nationally to participate in Chamber Music America’s prestigious Paul Residency Program.
ACP’s broad repertoire includes traditional masterpieces (Beethoven, Brahms, Schumann, Dvorak) as well as contemporary classics (Crumb, Messiaen, Stravinsky). In addition, ACP has a long-standing commitment to performing the music of living American composers. The ensemble has premiered more than 50 works to Atlanta audiences, including world premieres commissioned from composers such as David Amram, Anne LeBaron, and two works from Pulitzer Prize-winner John Harbison. His November 19, 1828 (a “fantasy on the death of Schubert”), was premiered by the Atlanta Chamber Players in Atlanta and was released on the Conversations CD in 1996. Harbison’s Songs America Loves to Sing was premiered at Emory University’s Schwartz Center for the Performing Arts in October 2004 to wide acclaim and is featured on the ACP's 2007 CD.
The ACP was twice featured on NPR’s Performance Today during live international broadcasts from Spivey Hall during the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta. Their celebrated performance of Beethoven’s Clarinet Trio is included on NPR’s history-making CD, Spirit of ‘96. In 1998, they recorded a series of eight hour-long live radio programs, which have been broadcast throughout Georgia’s 14-station Peach State Public Radio Network. ACP’s concerts are also frequently broadcast on Atlanta Music Scene on WABE 90.1 FM, as well as NPR’s Performance Today.