Come join us for our Spring Concert on Saturday, April 5th, 2025, at 7:00 PM at First Baptist Church Marietta. Please read the page and scroll to the bottom for tickets.

Hymn tunes included in the upcoming Spring concert.

  • Alas and Did My Savior Bleed (Songs of the Cross)
  • Amazing Grace
  • America the Beautiful
  • Brethren, We Have Met to Worship
  • Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing
  • Doxology
  • Great is Thy Faithfulness
  • Holy, Holy, Holy
  • How Great Thou Art
  • In the Garden
  • It is Well With My Soul
  • Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee
  • A Mighty Fortress Is Our God
  • My Shepherd Will Supply My Need
  • On Jordan’s Stormy Banks I Stand
  • Softly and Tenderly
  • There is a Fountain
  • Victory in Jesus
  • Were You There?
  • What Wondrous Love is This
  • When I Survey the Wondrous Cross

More information about “Amazing Grace”…   Listen

As a young man, the author of perhaps the best known and most loved hymn, “Amazing Grace,” John Newton was forced into naval service aboard the HMS Harwich, where his poor behavior got him into trouble. To be rid of him, the captain sent Newton to a slave ship bound for Guinea, where his actions led to the eventual punishment of being chained on deck as a captive, with very little provisions.

Having returned to England, Newton took a job as first mate on the slave ship Brownlow, bound for Charleston, South Carolina. The atrocities of the slave trade had not yet convinced British officials and merchants to stop the business, and Newton, even with his newfound Christian faith, was entangled in the industry. He would later admit he struggled with his occupation and despised it. He believed all people should be treated humanely, having witnessed terrible acts committed against the Africans aboard previous vessels. He was granted a welcome change in 1754 when a seizure forced his resignation as captain of the African. For Newton, he believed this to be a release from a life in which he felt trapped.

In 1748, Newton’s father came to his rescue and ordered him to return to England on the Greyhound, but midway through the journey a great storm arose. For days, the crew struggled to keep the ship together, and Newton struggled with himself, reflecting on his poor choices. When the ship, or what was left of it, finally landed in Ireland, Newton made his way to the nearest church and dedicated himself to God.

Toward the end of his life, Newton became increasingly engaged in politics, using his background as a reformed slave trader to make arguments against slavery. He publicly entered the discussion in 1788 with his book, Thoughts upon the African Slave Trade. One year later, William Wilberforce, a mentee of Newton’s, made his first speech to the House of Commons for the abolition of slavery, and in 1807, the year John Newton died, the Slave Trade Act was passed, banning the trade of enslaved people on British ships. Newton’s legacy lives on in his most famous hymn, “Amazing Grace,” which became an anthem for the enslaved people of African descent as they struggled for reparation and equality in the years to come.

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Marietta Pops Orchestra is a community orchestra designed to draw together musicians from the Marietta, Georgia area to rehearse and perform quality orchestral music for the enjoyment of our audiences and the musical fulfillment of our performers.   Our commitment to musical excellence fosters our members’ lifelong love of music and our performances seek to enrich the musical life of the community.