Winter Concert Series

Main Street Toccoa will be sponsoring a series of three concerts this winter in the historic Schaefer Center.

The first concert of the series will be on February 2 and will feature Cellist Evan Drachman, Founder and Artistic Director of The Piatigorsky Foundation, who has combined musical talent with artistic vision to create a rich and varied career.  Mr. Drachman spends much of his time performing recitals, concerts and chamber music in the United States and abroad.  As Artistic Director of The Piatigorsky Foundation, he has become one of this country’s most respected authorities on the presentation of live classical music to diverse audiences.  The Foundation’s mission is to make live classical music a part of the fabric of everyday life for underserved communities throughout the United States.  The organization is named for Mr. Drachman’s grandfather, cellist Gregor Piatigorsky.

Mr. Drachman will be accompanied by Victor Asuncion. Hailed by The Washington Post for his “poised and imaginative playing,” pianist Victor Santiago Asuncion is recognized as an artist of innate musical sensitivity, fiery temperament and superb technique.  As a recitalist and concerto soloist, he has appeared in major concert halls in Brazil, Canada, Japan, Mexico, Turkey and the Philippines.  He played his orchestral debut at the age of 18 with the Manila at Chamber Orchestra and his New York recital debut in Carnegie’s Weill Recital Hall in 1999.  

The concert will be on February 2, 2016 at 7:00 p.m. in the Schaefer Center. Admission is $5.00 and doors will open at 6:30 p.m. Advance tickets can be purchased at the Toccoa Chamber of Commerce and at City Hall. The concert is sponsored by the Piatigorsky Foundation.

The second concert in the series will welcome home one of Toccoa’s own, Milkshake Mayfield.  Milkshake is a Trumpeter ‘Extraordinaire’, a title befittingly labeled on him by Atlanta’s legendary radio host, the late “Tippy” Calloway.  His presentation style mirrors the legacy of esteemed professionalism, patterned by jazz giants Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Cab Calloway, Dizzy Gillespie…among others. Many friends and neighbors know that Milkshake is his legal name that has brought him much acclaim, from the time he was tagged with it at the age of 8, by peers in his neighborhood because of his insatiable love for milkshakes.  His talent has taken him all over the world, sharing local, national & international stages with the best of the best.

The concert will be on February 11, 2016 at 7:00 p.m. in the Schaefer Center. Admission is $5.00 and doors will open at 6:30 p.m. Advance tickets can be purchased at the Toccoa Chamber of Commerce and at City Hall.

The third concert on March 3, will feature Francine Reed. Reed is an American blues singer, solo artist, and regular singing partner of Lyle Lovett since the 1980s and member of Lovett's Large Band. Reed has also recorded duets with Willie Nelson and Delbert McClinton and others. She was inducted into the Georgia Music Hall of Fame in October 2014. She is well known as the one who sings Ida Cox’s song, “Wild Women Don’t Sing the Blues.” Her new CD was released in November, 2015.

The concert will be on March 3, 2016 at 7:00 p.m. in the Schaefer Center. Admission is $5.00 and doors will open at 6:30 p.m. Advance tickets can be purchased at the Toccoa Chamber of Commerce and at City Hall. The concert is sponsored in part by the Georgia Council for the Arts through the appropriations from the Georgia General Assembly.  GCA is a Partner Agency of the National Endowment for the Arts.