KENNESAW - A top chamber ensemble of black classical musicians is set to perform at Kennesaw State University in celebration of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People's 100th anniversary.

KSU and the NAACP Cobb branch will celebrate the founding of the nation's oldest civil rights organization at 8 p.m. Jan. 9, 2010, with a performance by the Ritz Chamber Players at the Dr. Bobbie Bailey & Family Performance Center on campus. A private black-tie reception will be conducted before the event.

The performance is open to the public. Tickets are $15 and can be purchased online or by telephone at ticketing.kennesaw.edu or (770) 423-6650. They're also available at the Cobb NAACP office at 605 Roswell St. in Marietta; call in advance (770) 425-5757.

"We thought it would be an opportunity to bring a diverse audience to the KSU campus that might not have an opportunity to come to campus," said KSU spokeswoman Arlethia Perry-Johnson.

Founded in 2002, the Jacksonville, Fla.-based Ritz Chamber Players is considered to be the nation's first chamber music ensemble comprised solely of musicians of African descent. Individual members are professional musicians who've performed with some of the world's pre-eminent orchestra's, including the New York Philharmonic, Boston Symphony, Philadelphia Orchestra, Chicago Symphony and London Symphony.

The ensemble seeks to increase the visibility of black musicians within classical music, said founder, Terrance Patterson, who is the artistic director and a clarinetist. He said blacks make up less than 2 percent of classical musicians.

"It's easier to get elected to Congress," said Patterson.

Patterson said the ensemble will perform a standard classical repertoire and works by black composers at the event in Kennesaw, including those by Alvin Singleton and James Weldon Johnson, the late NAACP general secretary.

Longtime WABE FM classical music host Lois Reitzes of "Second Cup Concert" and Atlanta Symphony Orchestra broadcasts will serve as mistress of ceremonies for the event.

The purpose of the event at KSU is to celebrate the university's affiliation with the Cobb NAACP. Former KSU President Betty Siegel was a supporter of the NAACP. In 1994, a NAACP student chapter was established at the university. It has since grown to 77 current members.

More recently, the Cobb NAACP branch donated a collection of documents, photos and other memorabilia to the KSU Department of Archives and Records in February 2008. The records provide researchers and the public a window into the local civil rights movement of the turbulent 1960s and 1970s in Cobb.

KSU President Dr. Dan Papp said the university is committed to the principles of diversity and inclusion.

"KSU has had a long-standing partnership with the NAACP's Cobb County branch, and this partnership has strengthened diversity efforts at KSU," he said in a statement. "We are proud to collaborate on this very special event recognizing the centennial anniversary of the NAACP.

Cobb NAACP President Deane Bonner said the KSU event will be the finale in a yearlong series of events conducted in Cobb to celebrate a century of the NAACP. The year was kicked-off with a Founders' Day program at Marietta's Zion Baptist Church in February and included celebrations in all of Cobb's six cities.

"It's been phenomenal, the response we've gotten," said Bonner.