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.

New York-based pianist Yang (Jack) Gao is developing a rising career as a recitalist,  composer, chamber musician and orchestra soloist. In November 2023, he won the prestigious Naumburg International Piano Competition, receiving worldwide attention. He is also the prize-winner of the Bösendorfer International Competition (second Prize, 2025), The Munz Piano Competition, (2024, first prize), Gina Bachauer Piano Competition at The Juilliard School (winner, 2023), the Juilliard Concerto Competition (winner, 2023) and the Steinway Junior Piano Competition (Second Prize, 2019). He has performed recitals in China, the United States, and other countries. In June 2025, he was invited by Martha Argerich to perform in her festival in Hamburg, and became the only pianist that year receiving the Steinway Prize awarded by Argerich herself, with her comments “I am deeply impressed by his profound sensitivity, his great stylistic flexibility, and his dazzling virtuosity, all of which he combines with a special openness both artistically and personally.” In February 2024, he gave a recital in Carnegie Hall and included a world-premiere of his newest work. Born in December 2003, he made his orchestral debut at age 17 performing Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 3 with the Symphonic Orchestra of China Conservatory under conductor En Shao. Jack is also interested in chamber music and new music, frequently collaborating with other musicians and premiering new works. He received the award for best collaborative pianist at the 2024 Koussevitzky String Competition. He is currently a student of Jerome Lowenthal and Emanuel Ax at The Juilliard School, where he receives multiple scholarships.

Past Seasons