“Prom night” orchestrated for entire family 

“A Night at the Proms” could be any Saturday night this time of year, but for the Johns Creek Symphony Orchestra, this night is something special. The theme for this professional orchestra’s performance has nothing to do with prom night as we think of it, but pays tribute to the world famous British BBC Promenade Concerts, an annual event in London.

For a city that’s only three years old, it seems like quite a feat to have a professional orchestra just as old as it is. But Music Director and Conductor, J. Wayne Baughman, who has been on the Atlanta music scene for over 40 years, envisioned more for this community than new “city limit” signs. He saw beyond the horizons - and even county lines - long before the name Johns Creek was even imagined.

“In December of 1997 I was conducting the Christmas portion of Handel's Messiah at a church in the Johns Creek area and I was struck with the idea that this growing community could support a part-time professional orchestra at some point in the future,” Baughman said. “In 2003 I started some serious investigating and studied Web sites of more than 50 part-time orchestras all over the US.”

Baughman was convinced that this area, no matter what it was called at the time, could be a cornerstone of culture. 

“On December 6, 2006, St. Benedict Catholic Church put together an ad hoc orchestra and presented an ‘experimental’ concert in the style of the Boston Pops. Nearly 900 people attended. That was the proof we needed that this community would come out to hear great symphonic music performed at a high artistic level,” Baughman said.

He and his wife, Lynn, and other early supporters took their cue from that concert and the JCSO was incorporated in April of 2007.”

“Among the many goals of the JCSO, one I value most highly is making music accessible to all family members from oldest to youngest,” Executive Director Sue Haggerty said. 

Their newest board member, Dave Cook, of Lawrenceville, was quick to agree.

“My family’s life was changed when our son went through the band program at Collins Hill High School. We saw the kinds of kids he hung out with and the effect it had on us was profound. It changed how we communicated and interacted as a family. I began to appreciate the effect music has on people, their mood and outlook on life,” Cook said. “It’s with a debt of gratitude that I accepted this position to help get the word out to other families the benefits of enjoying great music together.”

As an added attraction for young people at this “prom” night, an ensemble of gifted students, ages 10-17, from North Atlanta Talent Education will perform at intermission. 

I don’t know what kinds of music they play at the high school proms these days, but this “proms night” will include selections from Gilbert and Sullivan, Elgar, Coates and Walton along with music from the Beatles, James Bond movies and Phantom of the Opera. As Haggerty noted, there’s something for everyone.

A Night at the Proms, May 1, 8 p.m., Northview High School, 10625 Parsons Road, Johns Creek, GA, Cost: $28/adults, $22/Seniors, $15 children. For more information visit www.johnscreeksymphony.org or call 678-748-5802

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