Name: Georgia on our Minds
Start: 2026-03-21T19:00:00-04:00
End: 2026-03-21T20:45:00-04:00
Location: Ray Charles Performing Arts Center

Home Grown Music from Peach State Composers!
Atlanta Freedom Bands celebrates our home state with a concert of works about the history and beauty of Georgia by Peach State composers and those with a Georgia connection. The program takes us from the heights of Stone Mountain to the serene waters of the Okefenokee. Along the way we take in works that reflect everything from the heart’s passion to a hero’s journey to the drama of driving in Atlanta traffic.
A featured work is Viet Cuong’s “John and Jim”. A graduate of Lassiter High School, now with his Ph.D. from Princeton and a position at the Curtis Institute of Music, Cuong’s work tells the story of John Arthur and Jim Obergefell, the lead plaintiffs in the Supreme Court decision that brought marriage equality to the United States.
We are excited to invite you to experience the concert in the Ray Charles Performing Arts Center at Morehouse College. This state-of-the-art performance venue features a beautiful auditorium, a large stage, more plentiful and comfortable seating, and plentiful nearby parking.
AFB will also present the world premiere of “Solstice”, a new work by Brady Chandler, a music major at the University of West Georgia. You won’t want to miss the chance to meet this up-and-coming compositional talent from our Student Composer Residency Program.
Tickets are $20 general admission, $15 seniors, $10 students.
The concert will also stream live from AFB’s YouTube channel.
The program includes:
“Stone Mountain Fanfare” by Joseph Earp
“Okefenokee: Land of Trembling Earth” by R Alan Carter
“Big City Lights” by Marie A. Douglas
“Reflections” by Carlos Simon
“Savannah River Rhapsody” by Robert Sheldon
“John and Jim” by Viet Cuong
“Bamboo Warrior” by Christina Huss
“All the Earth and Air” by Tyler Grant
“Etowah” by Brian Balmages
“Everglow” by Katahj Copley
Premiere: “Solstice” by Brady Chandler (student composer)
“Heroes of the Marvel Universe” arranged by Michael Brown
“Tribute to Ray Charles” arranged by Johnnie Vinson
PARKING is available along West End Ave, in a grassy lot near the theater, and in the campus parking deck (entrance on Greensferry Ave SW).
An ACCESSIBLE ENTRANCE is available from the accessible parking spots in the lot behind the theater with a flat path to the front entrance.
The standard complement of symphonic percussion will be in use. The concert will not have any special lighting or audio effects. Please contact us with any accessibility questions.
AFB’s “Georgia on Our Minds” concert is supported in part by the Atlanta Mayor’s Office of Cultural Affairs. Funding for this program is also provided by the Fulton County Board of Commissioners under the guidance of the Fulton County Arts Council. The concert is supported in part by the Georgia Council for the Arts through the appropriations of the Georgia General Assembly. GCA also receives support from its partner agency - the National Endowment for the Arts.