For nearly a decade, Atlanta Symphony music director Robert Spano has been championing a group of composers often referred to as the “Atlanta School” – Jennifer Higdon, Michael Gandolfi, Osvaldo Golijov and Christopher Theofanidis. “In a reversal of usual box-office patterns, [ASO] concerts with music by Atlanta School composers typically sell at about 84% of capacity, … versus an average of 78% for other classical events.”