September 22, 2025
Piedmont Grand Opera House
Macon, Georgia – USA
Macon-Mercer Symphony Orchestra; Joseph Young, conductor; Kathryn Fakeley, cello.
Gioachino ROSSINI: Overture to La Gazza Ladra
Edward ELGAR: Cello Concerto in E minor
Igor STRAVINSKY:Firebird Suite
William Ford | 25 SEP 2025
Anyone who has battled weekday traffic into Atlanta knows how discouraging the drive can be — endless brake lights and the nagging question of whether you’ll even make it to the downbeat. For classical music lovers south of the metro, that grind can sap much of the joy from concertgoing.
That is why Macon offers such an attractive alternative. For communities stretching from Henry and Fayette Counties down through Warner Robins, Macon provides easier access, less traffic, and the chance to be part of a growing cultural presence close to home. At the center of this opportunity is the Macon-Mercer Symphony Orchestra (MMSO), an ensemble that has quickly become an emerging cultural force for the region.
Founded in 2021, the MMSO was built as a new model for the symphony in the 21st century. Its string section comes from Mercer’s McDuffie Center for Strings, joined by Atlanta Symphony Orchestra (ASO) principals and Mercer alumni who also serve as mentors. In Balancing the Scales of Classical Music (AtlantaMusicCritic.com), I noted that “sustainability depends on structure, not just size.” MMSO proves the point: a hybrid model rooted in university partnership and foundation support, showing how a smaller city with strong civic culture can sustain an orchestra with remarkable intensity.
The concert on September 22 confirmed that MMSO is not just a financial and civic success, but also a polished ensemble. Under the direction of conductor Joseph Young—music director of the Berkeley Symphony, artistic director of ensembles at Peabody Conservatory, and a former ASO assistant conductor—the program traced a vivid journey through three centuries of orchestral imagination.
It opened with Rossini’s Overture to La Gazza Ladra, its famous snare drum rolls and effervescent crescendos delivered with sparkle and precision. Young kept the pace taut, and the brass, woodwinds, and percussion—drawn from the ASO—added a sheen and technical assurance rarely heard in a community-rooted orchestra.
The centerpiece of the evening was Elgar’s Cello Concerto in E minor, written in the shadow of World War I. Its spare textures and elegiac lyricism speak more of loss than grandeur. The music unfolds in fragments—a reflective opening, a restless scherzo, a deeply lyrical Adagio, and a finale that circles back to its wounded first gesture. Soloist Kathryn Fakeley, a Canadian junior at the McDuffie Center and co-winner of Mercer’s 2025 Concerto Competition, played with passion and impressive technique.
Yet for all its poignancy, the concerto remains too inward and static for my taste—more lament than drama, more wallow than race. This performance, accomplished though it was, did not alter that impression; despite Young’s best efforts, the concerto’s inwardness outweighed any attempt at propulsion. Listeners seeking fireworks in the vein of the Dvořák Cello Concerto will not find them here.
The evening closed with Stravinsky’s Firebird Suite, the ballet score that catapulted him to fame and has become a favorite season opener or closer thanks to its brilliant orchestral colors and blazing finale. MMSO rose fully to the challenge: the brass, winds, and percussion sounded powerful and refined, while Young shaped the arc of the music with confidence. The result was exhilarating, a performance equal to the score’s stature.
One final note: the setting itself. The Piedmont Grand Opera House on Mulberry Street, Macon’s historic theater since the 1880s, added to the evening’s impact. Once the largest stage in the South and now managed by Mercer University, it combines warm acoustics with a palpable sense of history. Its visual splendor matched the musical vitality on display, reminding us that in Macon, tradition and renewal now walk hand in hand. ■
EXTERNAL LINKS:
- Macon-Mercer Symphony Orchestra: mcduffie.mercer.edu/symphony
- Joseph Young: www.josephyoung.com
Read more by William Ford.
.png){kind=logo}