The Atlanta Chamber Players (ACP) will continue their 31st season with one of chamber music’s most beloved theatrical works, American composer George Crumb’s “Voice of the Whale,” on Friday, Feb. 16 at 8:15 p.m. at Spivey Hall.

Crumb’s 1960 masterpiece was inspired by the singing of the humpback whale. According to Paula Peace, artistic director and pianist for ACP, “The ‘Voice of the Whale’ is one of our most requested signature pieces and must be experienced live for its full dramatic effect. We are thrilled to be performing this particular concert at Spivey Hall, one of the finest small halls in the nation, for its gorgeous acoustics and intimacy will make a memorable setting for this stunning work.”

Musicians perform wearing black masks on a stage bathed in blue light, to evoke the colors of the ocean, as the composer directed. The performers use a number of unusual instrumental techniques such as singing into the flute, harmonics and drumming on the cello, and glass rods and chisel inside the piano to evoke seagulls and other sounds of the deep.

Traditional works on the evening program include Antonin Dvorak’s “Piano Quintet in A Major,” with its bright Bohemian melodies and folk rhythms, and Franz Schubert’s passionate single movement “Quartettsatz” for string quartet.

Making his Atlanta chamber music debut on this program is violinist Justin Bruns, the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra’s (ASO) new assistant concertmaster. Other ACP musicians include Peace on piano, Christina Smith on flute, Christopher Pulgram on violin, Brad Ritchie on cello, and Catherine Lynn on viola.

Last year, ACP were the recipients of the mayor's Phoenix Award and the Atlanta City Council's Proclamation of "Atlanta Chamber Players" day, presented during their "Waltzing through the Endtime" (an original score with theatrical performances by Atlanta's "Theatrical Outfit" based on Georgia Poet Laureate, David Bottoms', book by the same name) concert at Herren's downtown. They played the Rialto for their 25th anniversary, Emory's Schwartz Center for the Performing Arts. ACP has performed critically-acclaimed concerts in over 200 cities in the U.S. and abroad, with five CDs to their credit. Their latest CD will be released this spring. The ACP also has a private performance series called the Soiree Series, a subscription-based audience, where they play in upscale homes around Atlanta.

Peace, the founder, artistic director and pianist for the Atlanta Chamber Players, grew up in south Fulton County, and is a graduate of Headland High School. Her family still resides in Fayette County. Her husband, Michael Moore, plays tuba for the Atlanta Symphony and is the founder of the Atlanta Brass Ensemble.

Tickets are specially-priced at $15 for the Feb. 16 show. For more information, call the Spivey Hall box office at 678-466-4200, ACP hotline at 770-242-2ACP or visit www.atlantachamberplayers.com.

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