"If you don't want to talk with the musician, you can talk with your neighbors," Ron Gilbert told Highlight Georgia in September. "We want people coming together."
Gilbert founded Music Milton and serves as its president. He is also a former member of the city's planning commission. His quote explains how the nonprofit series works. Milton has no symphony hall, so Music Milton holds chamber concerts in church sanctuaries and at City Hall. The rooms are small enough that the audience can talk with the musicians before the show, at intermission and afterward. Season two opens Saturday, Oct. 10. Its lineup includes a clarinetist who spent 39 years with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra.
A small room is what makes the format work
Music Milton launched in May 2025. Its stated mission is to build communities around world-class performance and music education. The first concert was at Milton City Hall on Sept. 19, 2025, with violinist Robert McDuffie and pianist William Ransom. Most of the season after that took place in two churches. Birmingham United Methodist Church sits on Birmingham Highway, and St. Aidan's Episcopal Church is on Cogburn Road.
According to Highlight Georgia, those partners give the series welcoming spaces with excellent acoustics and good accessibility. The programs suit rooms like these. They feature chamber ensembles, small jazz groups and specialty performers rather than full orchestras.
This season, the time with the musicians runs longer. Music Milton is adding post-concert gatherings, where audience members can keep talking with the performers over refreshments at local restaurants. The organization hasn't said which restaurants will host. The plan still matches what Gilbert describes. The music draws people in, and the conversation keeps them coming back.
What Oct. 10 puts in that room
The season opener, "Mozart in Milton," starts at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 10, at Birmingham United Methodist Church, 15770 Birmingham Hwy. Three Mozart works are on the program:
- The G Minor Piano Quartet
- The Duo for Violin & Viola
- The Clarinet Quintet
The performers have deep ties to Atlanta's classical music scene. The Vega Quartet is Emory University's Quartet-in-Residence. William Ransom, Music Milton's artistic director, is Emory's Mary Emerson Professor of Music. He also founded and directs the Emory Chamber Music Society of Atlanta.
Clarinetist Laura Ardan retired as principal clarinet of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra after 39 years. During that time she held the endowed Robert Shaw Chair and received the Mabel Dorn Reeder Honorary Chair. This concert brings her back to Georgia after three and a half years away. An earlier season preview listed a different clarinetist. The current event page names Ardan.
"Opening season two with Mozart feels exactly right. Season one showed us how deeply Milton embraces world-class music," William Ransom, Music Milton artistic director, told Appen Media.
The Arts People ticketing page lists Oct. 10 tickets at $40 for adults and $10 for students. Every ticket includes free parking.
Nov. 1 is free, but it fills up
Three weeks later the series moves to St. Aidan's Episcopal Church, 13560 Cogburn Road, for "Just Jazzin' Around" on Sunday, Nov. 1, at 4 p.m. Pianist Gary Motley and the Gary Motley Trio will play jazz standards and improvise. Music Milton describes it as a lively, interactive event for the whole family. Motley also teaches at Emory, and the program is built to teach audiences of all ages how jazz works.
The concert is free, but you need to RSVP in advance because seating is limited. Last season's free family show suggests the warning is real. "Santa's Favorite Chamber Music" was held at St. Aidan's on Dec. 6, 2025, with pianists William Ransom and Julie Coucheron. It drew more than 200 reservations, and the evening included holiday activities and a visit from Santa Claus.
The full season, and what's still to be announced
Venues are confirmed for the first two concerts. For the later dates, Music Milton says only that all concerts take place in "Milton-area venues." General tickets cost $40 to $50 per concert, except for the free family show. Student tickets are $10.
| Date | Program | Performers | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sat., Oct. 10, 2026, 7:30 p.m. | Mozart in Milton | Vega Quartet, Laura Ardan, William Ransom | Birmingham UMC |
| Sun., Nov. 1, 2026, 4 p.m. | Just Jazzin' Around, free | Gary Motley Trio | St. Aidan's Episcopal |
| Fri., Dec. 11, 2026 | An Appalachian Christmas | Mark O'Connor, Maggie O'Connor | Check musicmilton.org |
| Sat., Jan. 30, 2027 | Jazz Meets Classics | Matt Herskowitz, Stella Chen, James Kim | Check musicmilton.org |
| Sat., April 10, 2027 | Zuill Bailey and Friends | Zuill Bailey, William Ransom, Yinzi Kong, Helen Kim | Check musicmilton.org |
The December program mixes classical, folk and bluegrass. It's performed by multi-Grammy winner Mark O'Connor, a violinist, fiddler and composer, with Grammy-winning violinist and vocalist Maggie O'Connor. Season one focused on classical music, and Gilbert says the wider range is deliberate. "We wanted to appeal to the folks who live in the area," he told Highlight Georgia. "By offering classical, jazz, and bluegrass, we're creating a broad spectrum of music that people can enjoy."
Season one showed the format works
Here is how the first season went:
- Sept. 19, 2025, Milton City Hall. Robert McDuffie and William Ransom gave the first concert.
- Nov. 1, 2025, Birmingham UMC. "The Eight Seasons" paired Vivaldi with Piazzolla, performed by the Vega Quartet and pianist Elizabeth Pridgen.
- Dec. 6, 2025, St. Aidan's. "Santa's Favorite Chamber Music" was the free family program.
- Feb. 7, 2026, Birmingham UMC. "Beethoven's Greatest '5ths'" featured David Coucheron, Charae Krueger, William Ransom and Julie Coucheron.
Highlight Georgia reports that attendance grew from 101 at the first performance to 219 by the third, more than doubling within one season. Music Milton's own recap counts more than 220 people at the February Beethoven concert. "People discovered what we were doing, and they continued coming back," Gilbert said.
The volunteer team grew as well, from six people to sixteen. That gave the organization enough help to form committees and do more outreach. CaroleAnn Padgett serves as secretary/treasurer alongside Gilbert and Ransom. For a series that seats around 200 people, sixteen volunteers is a large share of the effort that makes each evening happen.
The same musicians visit local schools
Music Milton's second goal is music education, and it uses the same approach of putting accomplished musicians in front of small groups. The artists on its stages also visit schools in the area. Here is what that looked like in the first year:
- Sept. 4, 2025: Grammy-winning cellist Zuill Bailey visited Crabapple Crossing and Summit Hill elementary schools.
- Jan. 22, 2026: The Vega Quartet visited Cogburn Woods and Manning Oaks elementary schools.
- Recently: Students at Alpharetta Elementary School heard a presentation from Jesse McCandless, principal clarinet of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra.
Later this year, Mark O'Connor will speak with music students from Milton High School, Cambridge High School and their feeder middle schools. Fulton County Schools is now a formal partner. "We want to take the same quality of musician and introduce them to our schools," Gilbert said.
Zuill Bailey closes the season on April 10, 2027. Highlight Georgia credits his first Music Milton appearance with establishing the series' education mission. Gilbert's longer-term goals are more concerts each year, education programs for more age groups and a bigger role in community life across North Fulton. Tickets, RSVPs for Nov. 1 and volunteer sign-ups are all at musicmilton.org.
The Chatham Co. has been part of Milton's story since 1948, and we enjoy seeing new traditions take root here, like a Mozart evening on Birmingham Highway. If you'd like to talk about where your own next chapter fits into this community, Schedule a Personal Consultation with our family.
