The Chris Thomas Band featuring Chris Thomas and Cortnie Frazier, with Olivia Donalson

Bringing big band music back into the mainstream for future generations to enjoy. The Chris Thomas Band is the most dynamic and versatile band in the entire southeast! Chris Thomas has been described as the best undiscovered talent in the area. He is not only known for his professional vocal talent but also as an exciting entertainer

The Chris Thomas Band: The Rat Pack

“When Chris Thomas takes the stage he doesn’t just sing, he aims to embody the swagger and style of Dean Martin, Sammy Davis and Frank Sinatra” says The Florida Times-Union. “Fly Me to the Moon,” “My Way,” “You’re Nobody Till Somebody Loves You” and more performed by Jacksonville’s best big band alongside the Jacksonville Symphony. You’ll be dancing in the aisles.

Chris Thomas Band

Bringing big band music back into the mainstream for future generations to enjoy.
The Chris Thomas Band is the most dynamic and versatile band in the entire southeast! Chris Thomas has been described as the best undiscovered talent in the area. He is not only known for his professional vocal talent but also as an exciting entertainer

Thomas Cooley

Praised by the New York Times for his “sweet, penetrating lyric tenor with aching sensitivity,” and by San Francisco Classical Voice as “an indomitable musical force,” Thomas Cooley is a singer of great versatility, expressiveness, and virtuosity. He has collaborated with conductors such as Teodor Currentzis, Nicholas McGegan, Robert Spano, Manfred Honneck, Donald Runnicles, Helmuth Rilling, Osmo Vänskä, Eji Oue, David Robertson, Markus Stenz, Bernard Labadie, Jane Glover, and Franz Welser-Möst.

Take 6

The most awarded a cappella group in history, heralded by Quincy Jones as the “Baddest vocal cats on the planet!” are the quintessential a cappella model for vocal genius. With 10 Grammy Awards, 10 Dove Awards, 2 NAACP Image Awards, a Soul Train Award, and more, Take 6 (Claude McKnight, Mark Kibble, Joel Kibble, Dave Thomas, Alvin Chea and Khristian … Read More

Meghan Picerno

Handpicked by theatre legend, Hal Prince, Meghan Picerno returned as Phantom of the Opera’s leading lady, Christine Daaé for its historic Broadway reopening, where she was named Top Broadway replacements of 2019 (Broadway Box), and was recently nominated as Broadway Replacement of the Decade, (Broadway World). A fan favorite, she is consistently praised for her exciting, crowd-pleasing performances in opera, … Read More

Avery Amereau

“A rarity in music” and “an extraordinary American alto on the rise.”  NY Times Since making her professional debut at the Metropolitan Opera in 2016 as the Madrigal Singer in Puccini’s Manon Lescaut, Avery Amereau has sung at numerous internationally acclaimed opera houses, including the Bayerische Staatsoper, Santa Fe Opera, Seattle Opera, Opéra de Lyon, Grand Théâtre de Geneve, English … Read More

Program Notes: Handel’s Messiah

Program Notes

Program Notes: Handel’s Messiah George Frideric Handel’s Messiah:  World Premiere April 13, 1742; Dublin, Ireland (150 minutes)  George Frideric Handel’s Messiah holds a universal appeal not only because we associate it with the holiday season but also because Handel’s lovely arias and bubbling choruses do indeed lift us up.  They are, collectively, a cause for celebration. The joining together of such … Read More

Program Notes: Beethoven’s Fifth

Program Notes

Program Notes: Beethoven’s Fifth Jacksonville Symphony 2022/23 Florida Blue Classical Series Sean Shepherd’s Silvery Rills:   (World Premiere: March 6, 2011; Reno, Nevada)  (4 Minutes) What exactly is a rill? Sean Shepherd describes rills as ripples in river water.  Silvery Rills is a musical postcard about Shepherd’s home state: Nevada.  Listen for individual instrumental details that are both delicate and vivid, … Read More