Take 6 brings Grammy-winning a cappella to Coral Gables Sept. 25

Ten-time Grammy winner Take 6 will perform at Maurice Gusman Concert Hall in Coral Gables on Friday and Saturday, Sept. 25-26. The a cappella group will share the stage with the University of Miami Frost School of Music's Henry Mancini Institute (HMI) Orchestra, a 75-member ensemble that blends a symphony orchestra with a jazz big band.

Both concerts begin at 7:30 p.m.

Residency Includes Educational Masterclasses on Arranging

The performances cap a five-day residency during which Take 6 will also film masterclasses and Q&A sessions for an educational series aimed at preserving their arranging methods for future musicians. It marks the third time Take 6 has worked with the HMI, following performances in 2012 and 2013.

"Once we decided we were really going to start focusing on the legacy part of our career, it was a natural fit to go back to our friends at the Frost School and let them be the first school we work with in putting our educational series together," Take 6 member Dave Thomas told Frost News.

The sessions will focus on what the group calls "the five commandments of arranging," covering the full process from choosing a song to the final product. Thomas said the group will sit at a keyboard, demonstrate how they build arrangements and invite participants to interact with them.

Setlists Feature Jazz Standards and Spirituals

Stephen Guerra, assistant professor at the Frost School of Music and HMI creative director, arranged several songs for the collaboration. The setlists include jazz standards "God Bless the Child" and "Stardust," "Windmills of Your Mind" from the film "The Thomas Crown Affair," tunes by Al Jarreau and Stevie Wonder, the traditional spiritual "Mary, Don't You Weep," and early Take 6 hits "Spread Love" and "Stand by Me."

The program will differ each night.

New Album Previews Orchestral Jazz Reworkings

Take 6 co-founder Claude McKnight said performing with a full orchestra opens things up creatively for the group. The collaboration also previews material from "Rhapsody," a new album expected in early 2027 that dives into jazz classics such as "Rhapsody in Blue" and "Blue Skies," according to the Amsterdam News.

Award-Winning Group Marks Decades of Success

Formed in 1980 at Oakwood College in Huntsville, Ala., Take 6 has won 10 Dove Awards, two NAACP Image Awards and a Soul Train Award over more than four decades. The Jazz Journalists Association named the group its 2026 Vocal Group of the Year.