Eric Nelson Conducting
Eric Nelson and the Atlanta Master Chorale Conquer the Pandemic by Creating New Ways to Touch the Human Spirit
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By Holley Calmes
he year 2020 will forever be known as a difficult time, considering the Covid-19 pandemic and its effect on the performing arts. With quarantined theatres and performances cancelled, both artists and audiences have suffered. The Atlanta Master Chorale and Artistic Director Eric Nelson, however, have taken the hardships in stride, finding creative ways to bring their music to the people. For example, their website’s Virtual Concert Hall series provides “an insider’s look at all things Atlanta Master Chorale.” “We cannot meet together to sing,” says Nelson, “but we can still present videos of our favorite past performances.” In addition to these concerts, individual musicians have spotlight performances taped exclusively for website visitors, and more material is in the works. Beginning as the Gwinnett Festival Singers in 1985, it was Nelson’s hiring in 2000 that launched the group’s trajectory towards nationally recognized excellence. “There is so much to be proud of!” Nelson says. “For example, the ensemble was chosen to sing at the American Choral Director’s Association in Minneapolis in 2017. I like to tell my non-choral friends that singing at the ACDA convention is roughly equivalent to a college basketball team making the Final Four.” “Variety of repertoire is very impor-
tant to us,” Nelson explains. “One unusual thing about our programming is that we often group pieces based on a theme or subject rather than a historical period or genre. As a result, our concerts are well unified in terms of idea but widely divergent in terms of musical style. It keeps things interesting!” “Collaborations with other organizations in Atlanta have been and continue to be important to us,” Nelson says. “We have sung joint concerts with the Spivey Hall Children’s Choir and the Morehouse Glee Club. We’ve performed with actor Tom Key, international opera singer Jamie Barton, and we have a concert planned with a fantastic local bluegrass band!” “We are proud to be a part of the vibrant arts community in Atlanta,” Nelson continues. “Our singers live and work right here in the metro area.” Not surprisingly, a return to live performance is in Nelson and the Chorale’s near future. “We can’t wait until we can be together again at Emory’s Schwartz Center for Performing Arts, singing the music we love for our patrons, friends, and neighbors.” View Atlanta Master Chorale’s video, Silent Night - http://bit.ly/ SilentNightAtlMasterChorale Lyrics by Joseph Mohr and Original Music by Franz Gruber, arranged by Eric Nelson.
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