The Nancy Frampton
Rising Artists Series

Created in honor of the late Atlanta arts enthusiast Nancy Walker Frampton, The Nancy Frampton Rising Artists Series is a concert program highlighting the next generation of classical music stars. The series aims to bring exciting new talent from a variety of performance genres. All concerts take place at Morningside Presbyterian Church in Atlanta. Upcoming concert information is listed below, and tickets for our 2024 season are available now! Be sure to join our email list for updates.

Tickets for our next concert are available at the button directly below, while links to purchase future concert tickets can be found under each performer’s photo as you scroll down the page.

Ticket links below for all individual upcoming concerts.

2025 Season

Maria Clark, Soprano

Saturday, April 5, 7:00 p.m.

With a voice judges described as “dazzling” and “richly expressive,” soprano Maria Clark performed on the stage of Carnegie Hall as First Prize Winner of the Barry Alexander International Vocal Competition. “One seldom finds a voice capable of such beauty across a variety of idioms,” said Cosmo Buono, executive director. “A voice this much at home in opera, lieder, and spirituals is very rare. She is truly, both artistically and vocally, a triumph.” Ms. Clark’s prowess especially in the field of spirituals has had composers writing new material for her. 

Now living in Atlanta, Maria has served as Coordinator of Applied Lessons and Vocal Studies at Spelman College and is currently an Artist Affiliate for Emory Atlanta University and Emory Oxford College locations.  Ms. Clark has a Bachelor of Music degree from Manhattan School of Music and a Master of Music degree from Georgia State University. She teaches voice masterclasses in Universities and Music Conservatories throughout the United States and Abroad.

Dilon Bryan, French Horn

Saturday, June 7, 7:00 p.m.

Dilon Bryan is a British-born hornist from Birmingham, United Kingdom currently living in Atlanta, GA. He recently held the horn chair of Ensemble Flatirons, a chamber group comprised of University of Colorado Boulder's top-performing brass musicians. Dilon is currently pursuing a Doctor of Musical Arts degree at Colorado University (Boulder CO) studying under Colorado Symphony's principal horn, Michael Thornton and second horn, Carolyn Kunicki. He has appeared on stage with ensembles such as the Colorado Symphony, Augusta Symphony, Billings Symphony Orchestra & Chorale, Atlanta Pops Orchestra, Breckenridge Music Festival, Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, Central City Opera, Detroit Symphony Orchestra, as well as guest principal horn with the Atlanta Symphony. Mr. Dilon received his M.M and B.M degrees in Performance from the University of Georgia and Columbus State University, respectively. Named the winner of the 2019 Pro-Mozart Society of Atlanta Scholarship Competition, Dilon was given the opportunity to study at the Mozarteum in Salzburg, Austria. While in Salzburg, he had the privilege of performing in the beautiful Wiener Saal, as a result of also being named a First Prize winner in the Grand Prize Virtuoso Competition. Dilon's notable teachers have included Anna Dodd, Natalie Higgins, Catherine Kilroe-Smith, Jean Martin-Williams, Achim Reus, and Johannes Hinterholzer.

Dilon Bryan is an adjunct professor of French Horn both at the University of North Georgia and at the University of West Georgia.

Yang Gao (Jack Gao), piano

Saturday, September 20, 7:00 p.m.

Born in 2003, Yang (Jack) Gao began playing the piano at age four and studying composition at age nine. In 2016, he entered Middle School affiliated to the China Conservatory of Music to study piano with Tianhong Tan, and composition with Xin Xie. Additional studies have been with Huiqiao Bao, Xu Fei, and Elmar Gasanov. Currently he studies at Julliard with Jerome Lowenthal. Among his awards include at Juilliard: the Gina Bachauer Piano Competition and winner of the concerto competition. He was awarded second prize in the 9th Steinway National Competition and 83rd Steinway International Piano Competition. His recent performances include playing John Corigliano’s Piano Concerto with the Juilliard Orchestra conducted by Simone Young, and performing Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 3 with En Shao and the Orchestra Academy of China Conservatory of Music.

Past Seasons