The Guest List

Leslie Gordon, director of the Rialto Center for the Arts, shares her top 10 Rialto events she is most looking forward to enjoying with the GSU community. The Rialto is celebrating 95 years in downtown Atlanta and 15 years as GSU’s home for the arts.

1. Feed Your Senses (3rd Wednesday of every month, noon – 1 p.m.) 
This free lunchtime performing arts series features a casual atmosphere and a fun and insightful insider’s look into the craft of artists, cultures and speakers of all walks of life.

2. Ronald K. Brown/EVIDENCE: A Dance Company (Nov. 19)
The New York Times hailed Ronald K. Brown as “one of the most profound choreographers of his modern dance generation,” and for good reason. With “On Earth Together,” Brown weaves his inimitable storytelling movements through the music of Stevie Wonder.

3. GSU School of Music Gala Holiday Concert (Dec. 3-4)
More than 200 student and faculty musicians in the GSU School of Music’s will take part in the 14th annual Gala Holiday Concert.

4. The Music of Johnny Mercer and Friends (Feb. 11)
This tribute, led by renowned trumpeter Joe Gransden and Maria Howell of “The Color Purple” will have you singing along to the many songs you may have never realized that Georgia native Johnny Mercer wrote.

5. Trey McIntyre Project (March 10) Their work is creative, cutting-edge, high-energy and most importantly, fun. Even people who don’t think they enjoy ballet leave the theater dazzled.

6. Spanish Harlem Orchestra (March 17)
Led by world-renowned composer and producer Oscar Hernández, this thirteen-member all-star ensemble brings the classic New York City Salsa sound, and they bring it big time.

7. “Born in India, Raised in Spain: Flamenco’s Journey” (March 24)
Anoushka Shankar, sitar player and daughter of the legendary Ravi Shankar, delivers a spellbinding fusion of Indian and flamenco sounds. Her performance promises equal parts enlightenment and entertainment.

8. “Back to the Bayou: New Voices in Zydeco and Cajun” (March 31)
GRAMMY-nominated Cedric Watson embodies the richness of Creole culture. He and his band Bijou Creole, along with guests Feufollet, will have the theater feeling like a Louisiana back porch party!

9. “Two Cultures, One Voice: Israel Meets Mali” featuring The Idan Raichel and Vieux Farka Touré Quartet (April 21) This sort of show is the cornerstone of the Rialto experience. On this night, we bring together Israeli pianist/composer Idan Raichel and Malian blues guitarist Vieux Farka Touré, two virtuosic artists representing two vastly different cultures and musical approaches.

10. Poncho Sanchez and Terence Blanchard (April 28)
We close our series with another thrilling collaboration: Poncho Sanchez and Terence Blanchard in “Cubano Be! Cubano Bop!,” a tribute to jazz legend Dizzy Gillespie and the Original Conga King Chano Pozo.