A frequently performing group at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival takes to the stage March 25 at Mississippi State for the university's 1997 American Music Concert.
The New Leviathan Oriental Fox-Trot Orchestra performs at 7:30 p.m. in Lee Hall Auditorium. Also featured will be ragtime pianist Richard Zimmerman.
The annual concert features music drawn from the university's Templeton Music Museum, a collection of turn-of-the century music and musical instruments.
The series is sponsored by the music education department with support from Charles Templeton, a Starkville businessman and Mississippi State alumnus who donated memorabilia in the museum that bears his name.
Tickets are $5 for general admission; $3, students, faculty and staff.
Now in its 25th year, the 18-piece New Leviathan is dedicated to the preservation and performance of popular music from the first third of the 20th century. Playing tunes from composers Jelly Roll Morton, Eubie Blake and Walter Doyle, among others, the group has earned a reputation for its lively presentation of the popular music of earlier times.
The New Orleans-based group was featured in Woody Allen's 1994 film "Bullets Over Broadway," as well as in events ranging from the Great Connecticut Jazz Festival to NBC's "Saturday Night Live."
Richard Zimmerman, who makes an encore performance in the series, is an author and producer who lives near San Francisco. He has appeared in concert throughout the world and is the founder of the Maple Leaf Club, a national organization devoted to preserving ragtime music.
For more information about the concert, call (601) 325-3070.