Since its inception in the spring of 1985, Atlanta Sacred Chorale has grown from an enthusiastic volunteer choir to a nationally-ranked ensemble of auditioned singers that is known equally for its technical excellence and its unparalleled choral artistry. It has been an amazing transformation, born of vision, effort, and, most importantly, a shared commitment to performing sacred choral music.

Several important milestones mark turning points in ASC’s history.

▪  In the late 1980s to the early part of the new century, ASC’s reputation grew significantly as a result of its 15 consecutive performances in the Choral Artists Series of the Piccolo Spoleto Festival in Charleston, South Carolina.

▪  In 2000, to reflect both its evolving mission and broader audience, the group changed its name from Gwinnett Festival Singers to Atlanta Sacred Chorale.

▪  In January of the same year, ASC also gained a new director, Dr. Eric Nelson, whose exceptional leadership and skill has steadily propelled ASC’s choral artistry to its current recognition as a professionally-trained choir.

Throughout its development, ASC has maintained a consistent focus on celebrating and performing music drawn from the entire spectrum of sacred choral music, Renaissance to contemporary. Initially dedicated solely to the performance of a cappella choral literature, ASC has since expanded its repertoire to include accompanied major and minor works as well as the traditional a cappella repertoire.

From its enthusiastic and occasional first performances in small areas churches, ASC’s concert schedule now includes 10 to 12 local and regional concerts each season. Atlanta area audiences are treated annually to four different concerts, each of which exemplifies an important aspect of ASC’s mission of “lifting the spirit through choral artistry.”

ASC concerts regularly grace the stages of two of the finest area performance venues, Clayton State’s Spivey Hall and Emory University’s Schwartz Center for Performing Arts. During its 25-year history, ASC has also performed by invitation for many special concerts. In addition to its Piccolo Spoleto performances, ASC has shared the stage with Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and performed by invitation at regional conventions of the American Choral Directors Association and the Music Educators National Conference.

Concert goers drawn by ASC’s reputation for world-class performances often return again and again because the concert experience itself is so engaging. Listeners are often treated to both the humor and the insight of ASC’s director, Eric Nelson, as he brings both history and text to life. And so that audiences can “take a little ASC home with them,” ASC continues to record CDs each season, music from which is regularly broadcast on National Public Radio, WABE, and programs in the U.S. and Canada.

With its first quarter-century of performances nearly complete, ASC prepares for its next 25 years with renewed passion for the music that first brought the organization to life. By continually seeking the Divine in each rehearsal and performance, ASC lives and breathes meaning into each measure and each word of the songs it sings, making anywhere ASC is into a place “where music touches spirit.”