Pop Up Performance Series
Dive into a world of incredible musical talent at the Pop-up Performance Series, a partnership program between Roswell Arts Fund and Friends of Mimosa Hall and Gardens.
On the 3rd Sunday of the month at 3:30 pm, music partner Roswell Music Club unveils a monthly series highlighting classical musical artists, showcasing the timeless beauty of classical compositions
And on the 2nd Thursday of the month at 7:00 pm, music partner Steve’s Live Music will curate a lineup of eclectic, mesmerizing, and innovative artists starting with series of Jazz Around the World.
Beginning June 2024, the Pop-Up Concert series will be held at The Roswell River Landing (245 Azalea Drive, Roswell GA 30075).
We anticipate the series will return to Mimosa Hall in January 2025 after some much needed and exciting construction projects.
Thursday, November 21, 2024 at 7:00 pm
OLLI SOIKKELI & CAESAR GARABINI
Music partner: Steve’s Live Music
“Gypsy Jazz became an international musical dialect long ago. Olli Soikkeli, one of the most adept and resourceful contemporary guitarists in that still potent idiom, hails from Finland.”– The New Yorker
“Olli Soikkeli, a riveting Finnish guitarist who combines astonishing dexterity and speed with pure soul in a way that places him among the worthiest current day successors to the legacy of the great Django.” – The Wall Street Journal
Sunday, December 15, 2024 at 3:30 pm
Mikyung Sung, Double Bassist
Music partner: Roswell Music Club
Mikyung is one of the most beloved double bass soloists of today, inspiring to student bassists and audiences alike for her naturally expressive interpretations, bel canto phrasing, colorful range of timbres, luminous, yearning tone quality, and fearless virtuosity.
Since arriving in the US, Mikyung has performed with the Emory Chamber Music Society, gave a guest duet appearance with Nina DeCesare at UNCSA’s Double Bass Day, and appeared as soloist with the Atlanta Festival Youth Orchestra, as well as giving masterclasses at UNCSA and Kennesaw State University.
In the past Mikyung has performed as soloist with the Staatsorchester Rheinische Philharmonie, Philharmonie Baden-Baden, Seongnam Philharmonic, Colburn Orchestra (conducted by both Ludovic Morlot and Yehuda Gilad), Caesura Youth Orchestra (Los Angeles), Erato Ensemble (Korea), Philharmonia Corea, KNUA Orchestra, and Guri Philharmonic.
Mikyung was a principal bassist of the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra in the 2018-19 season and taught at the Shanghai Orchestra Academy. She received her Artist Diploma from The Colburn School and BA from Korea National University of Arts.
Thursday, January 9, 2025 at 7:00 pm
Richard Smith
Music partner: Steve’s Live Music
Guitarist Richard Smith brings a repertoire of fingerpicking classics, originals, fiddle tunes, blues, Joplin rags, jazz standards, classical repertoire and everything from pop to Sousa marches!
- 1999 AFG Golden Thumbpick Award
- 2001 National Fingerstyle Guitar Champion
- 2008 Thumbpicker of the Year
- 2009 National Thumbpickers Hall of Fame Induction
Played with Chet Atkins, Les Paul, Nato Lima, Boots Randolph, Tommy Emmanuel, John Jorgenson, Marcel Dadi, Tommy Tedesco, Joe Pass, Biréli Lagrène, Mark O’Connor, Sam Bush, Stuart Duncan, Martin Taylor, Jorge Morel, Earl Klugh, Suzy Bogguss, Victor Wooten, John Cowan and countless more.
Thursday, January 19, 2025 at 3:30 pm
Andrew Kapsar-King, Baritone
Music partner: Roswell Music Club
Andrew Kapsar-King, baritone, is an active performer based in the Atlanta area. He recently graduated from Florida State University where he earned his Bachelor of Music under internationally acclaimed tenor Dr. Jeffrey Springer. Since graduating, he has continued his studies with Grammy award winning mezzo-soprano Michelle DeYoung and is currently pursuing his Master of Music at Georgia State University under Kathryn Hartgrove.
While at FSU, Andrew portrayed the leading roles of the Father in Hansel & Gretel, David in A Hand of Bridge, and Reginald Bunthorne in Patience. He also performed in the chorus of classic operas such as Die Zauberflöte, Der Vampyr, and Béatrice et Bénédict, as well as newer works such as Carlisle Floyd’s Of Mice and Men. The summer between his undergraduate and graduate studies brought him to Urbania, Italy with the Festival of International Opera singing the role of Count Almaviva in Le nozze di Figaro. Roles he has performed on the GSU stage include Silvio in I Pagliacci, Maestro Spinelloccio in Gianni Schicchi, Escamillo in Carmen, Elder McLean in Susannah, Count Formaggio in La Pizza con Funghi, and Eisenstein in Die Fledermaus.
Andrew has also seen success on the competition stage, as he has been awarded 1st place in the FFMC collegiate voice competition, 1st place in the SERNATS competition, and 1st place in the Charleston International Music competition.
Andrew performed in the chorus of Tosca with the traveling company Teatro Lirico d’Europa, and he is a regular performer with the Atlanta Opera where he has recently been heard in their timeless productions of Die Zauberflöte and La Bohème, the latter of which he featured in the role of the Sergeant.
Thursday, February 13, 2025 at 7:00 pm
LAVAHI
Music partner: Steve’s Live Music
LAVAHI‘s acrobatic scatting, compelling chords, and art of improvisation set her contemporary sound apart from the norm of the mainstream. She has been featured at venues such as Blues Alley, Bethesda Blues and Jazz, City Winery, Dizzy’s, and St. James Live!, and has even stepped into the world of acting via musicals and stage plays. In addition to chart-topping collabs with an eclectic range of artists, LAVAHI has also released her own solo singles and has new music coming soon.
Sunday, February 16, 2025 at 3:30 pm
Denielle Wilson, Cellist
Music partner: Roswell Music Club
Denielle Wilson is a musician and educator from Lithonia, Georgia. She has taught privately and publicly, and performed in solo, chamber, and orchestral settings throughout the Atlanta, Chicago, and Charlotte metropolitan areas.
Her interest in a career as an orchestral musician began while spending five years in the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra’s Talent Development Program, studying with cellist Joel Dallow. She went on to receive her Bachelor’s degree in Cello Performance and Music Education from Northwestern University’s Bienen School of Music, with her primary mentors being Hans Jørgen Jensen and Wei Yu.
More recently, Denielle completed her master’s degree through the Diversity Fellowship with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra and the University of Cincinnati’s College-Conservatory of Music.
Highlights from Past Performances
- In October 2021, we welcomed Jake Xerxes Fussell and band to our first concert under the stars at the Chattahoochee Nature Center. This Pop Up also marked our first performance that was funded in part by a grant from South Arts in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts.
- The inaugural season of the RAF Pop Up Performance Series began with a standing room-only concert at the intimate Roswell Historic Cottage.
- Due to COVID-19, our plans changed but the show must go on and we quickly reimagined our events and transformed parking lots into safe, physically distant yet social spaces for artists and audiences.
- 1400 concert-goers joined us for in-person concerts coming from Roswell, Johns Creek, Alpharetta, Marietta, Smyrna, Decatur, and Atlanta.
- Another 2100 households tuned in for our first-ever live stream concert early in 2020.
- Headliners in 2020 included: Ed Roland (of Collective Soul), John Driskell Hopkins (of Zac Brown), Randall Bramblett Band, Acoustic Syndicate, Ruby Velle and Enrique Che (of Making Movies)
