2024-2025 Spire Series Season
Welcome to The Spire Series! We are committeed to building community through the presentation of extraordinary performances in one of Baltimore's most beautiful sacred spaces - the sanctuary of First & Franklin. The series features local, national, and international musicians and includes both free and ticketed concerts.
Please consider becoming a donor by clicking the button below.
Your generous donation allows us to present top-tier arts programs at First & Franklin and the ability to offer free tickets for the entire community to most of our concerts. Your donation also provides education opportunities for students, including from the Baltimore School for the Arts.
2024-2025 Spire Series
15th Anniversary Season
Friday, Mar. 14, 2025 | 7:30p
Giorgio Buttitta, guitar
Free | No Tickets Required | Contributions Accepted
Hailing from Palermo, Italy, classical guitarist Giorgio Buttitta makes his Spire Series Debut. The program, titled “Reverie” takes us on a journey through some of the most loved repertoire of the instrument and which draws on the rich history of classical guitar. A journey consisting of dances and dreams, colors, timbres, this program showcases the expressiveness of the guitar.
Program & More Information
Friday, Apr. 25, 2025 | 7:30p
Chanticleer
- TICKETS REQUIRED for both the concert and the post-concert reception - We expect demand for this concert to be high, please purchase well in advance.
- Tickets for the post-concert champagne reception can be purchased at the same time as the concert tickets.
- Discounted Tickets Available for Donors and groups of 10 or more. Contact information@firstfranklin.org for more information.
Chanticleer returns to First & Franklin to help us celebrate our 15th anniversary season. Join us for a jubilant celebration of choral singing: from Renaissance masterworks to Romantic part-songs, contemporary commissions, vocal jazz, and everything in between. Chanticleer is at home in every genre and revels in sharing the best of their art form wherever they go. Repertoire includes Renaissance motets by William Byrd and Heinrich Isaac, classic arrangements of familiar folk songs like “Shenandoah” and “Calling my children home,” settings of the jazz standards “Blue Skies” and “Lost in the Stars,” as well as contemporary arrangements of Joni Mitchell’s “Both Sides Now” and Queen’s “Somebody to Love.”
Program & More Information
Please allow 24-48 hours after becoming a donor to receive
a promo code that can be used to purchase discounted tickets.
Thursday, May 22, 2025 | 7:00p
BSA Armstrong Honors Recital
Free | No Tickets Required
Student Musicians will be announced in Spring 2025
The Spire Series is proud to host its close neighbor, Baltimore School for the Arts, for the annual Armstrong Honors Recital. This special event showcasing select members of the graduating class of 2025, is named for one of Baltimore’s great educators and BSA founder, Margaret Armstrong.
Sunday, Jun. 1 | 3:00p
Prelude to Pride Concert
Tin Pan Alley Alive!
David Giardina, vocalist | Paul Bisaccia, piano
Free | No Tickets Required | Contributions Accepted
First & Franklin kicks off Pride Month in Baltimore.
Mix a young, award winning New York City television-movie actor/director with a crooner's voice that brings you back to the music of the 20's and 30's, with a dynamic pianist that the American Record Guide says "for Gershwin interpretations wins hands down". Shake well and - presto!, an unforgettable concert of song hits, and nostalgia.
David Giardina is an exciting performer who has done everything from "As the World Turns" to network television specials. He has also crooned at the fabled Rainbow Room at Rockefeller Center. He is also an award winning film producer and author. Paul Bisaccia is known as "America's Gershwin Pianist" Together their unique chemistry on stage makes for a special concert you won't want to miss.
Of course there will be tons of music from the Gershwin Songbook with hits like I Got Rhythm, A Foggy Day and They Can't Take That Away from Me.
Paul will perform some of his trademark "Novelty Numbers" including Bumble Boogie, Dizzy Fingers and The Banjo.
David will croon a special arrangement of Over the Rainbow and a Chopin set including a wild Minute Waltz. When is the last time you heard a great crooner in person? A concert guaranteed to send you out singing!
Previous Concerts 2024-2025
Sunday, Dec. 15, 2024 | 4:00p
Candlelight Choral Concert
Program & More Information
Friday, Oct. 4, 2024 | 7:30p
Ann Street Trio
Program & More Information
Friday, Nov. 8, 2024 | 7:30p
SARAH CHALFY, soprano
MICHAEL SHEPPARD, piano
Program & More Information
Become a Spire Series Donor
Your generous donation allows us to present top-tier arts programs at First & Franklin and the ability to offer free tickets for the entire community to most of our concerts. Your donation also provides education opportunities for students, including from the Baltimore School for the Arts.
Stay Informed
Your generous donation allows us to present top-tier arts programs at First & Franklin and the ability to offer free tickets for the entire community to most of our concerts. Your donation also provides education opportunities for students, including from the Baltimore School for the Arts.