At Georgia Tech, creativity has always been essential to discovery. 

This year, GT Arts Presents invites audiences to Imagine More through performances spanning musical genres, artistic traditions, and creative disciplines. 

Tickets are now on sale for the 2026-27 season, and audiences can experience everything from the signature sound of Atlanta's Ruby Velle and the Soulphonics to the genre-defying performance of OkCello and the interactive, family-friendly creativity of Mario the Maker Magician. 

"The season intentionally welcomes a wide range of audiences by offering performances that appeal to different passions and perspectives," said Associate Vice Provost for the Arts Jason Freeman 

The first performances of the season exemplify that range. 

An Atlanta Sound Opens the Season 

The season begins Friday, Sept. 18, with Ruby Velle and the Soulphonics, an Atlanta-based band whose modern take on classic soul has earned local and national recognition. 

The group's debut album, It's About Time, reached No. 4 on the iTunes R&B chart and the top 30 of Billboard's Heatseekers chart, while its music and performances have drawn attention from national outlets including MTV and Paste. The Ferst Center performance will also celebrate the band's upcoming album, Lovesick and Feverish, showcasing both new music and longtime favorites. 

"Our upcoming album means the world to me," Velle said. "There's a song on it called ‘World In Mine,’ started as a first dance song, perhaps for a wedding, and it evolved into my tribute of love, for this creation, for this band, for our 2.0 and 3.0 journey, and for the ability to now show the next generation what it's like to not just desire to be an artist, but to embrace and accept the artist that you are becoming." 

That connection to the next generation will also be part of the evening. The winning student group from the GT Arts and Georgia Tech Musicians Network Battle of the Bands will open the performance, enabling student musicians to share the stage with established Atlanta artists. 

Technology, Music, and a Growing Georgia Tech Connection 

Three weeks later, on Friday, Oct. 9, OkCello brings a distinctly different experience to the season. 

OkCello is the stage name of Atlanta cellist and composer Okorie Johnson, whose performances combine cello, live looping, improvisation, storytelling, and technology to push beyond conventional expectations of classical music. 

For his Georgia Tech performance, Johnson will take that approach a step further with four large-scale video avatars of himself appearing onstage, each performing a looped part. As the layers build, the avatars gradually come together to create the effect of a full band, expanding a solo cello performance into a multimedia experience. 

The performance also builds on Johnson's growing relationship with Georgia Tech and his interest in the creative possibilities at the intersection of art and technology. 

Something for Every Generation 

The season's range extends to audiences of all ages with Mario the Maker Magician. A self-taught magician and maker, Mario Marchese combines magic, robotics, engineering, comedy, and a do-it-yourself aesthetic in an interactive performance built around curiosity and invention. 

Marchese has toured internationally and appeared on television, including Sesame Street. His all-ages show is especially popular with children ages 4 to 12 and their families, but is designed as a multigenerational experience that gives children and adults a chance to share the magic of making. 

As Georgia Tech continues to strengthen connections among the arts, research, technology, and education, GT Arts Presents creates opportunities for the campus community and the greater Atlanta region to encounter new artists, ideas, and experiences through live performance. 

The 2026-27 season invites you to discover, connect, and imagine more. 

Tickets for GT Arts Presents performances are available now at arts.gatech.edu/presents.