Contact: Sammy McDavid
The Percussion Ensemble of Mississippi State's music education department will present its spring concert April 9 at the University Amphitheater.
"Percussion Extravaganza," which begins at 6 p.m., is being made possible by the generous support of the Mississippi Holland Music for All Fund, with additional support from the Lois C. Kaufman Endowment for Music Education at MSU.
The free public program features South American and Caribbean musical styles, among them, Afro-Cuban mambos and boleros, Brazilian sambas, and Jamaican reggae and calypso tunes. Special guests will include the Starkville High School Steel Band, Nashville, Tenn., professional drummer Bryan Owings Jr. and the 80-member third- and fourth-grade South Side Elementary School Choir of West Point.
Audience members, who should bring their own lawn chairs or blankets for seating, will have available free snacks of hotdogs, popcorn and soft drinks provided by the MSU Alumni Association and Campus Activities Board. In case of inclement weather, the event moves to the Lee Hall auditorium.
In order of appearance, the concert will include:
--"Wabash Samba" and the "Big Yellow Mambo," followed by ensemble collaborations with the SHS Steel Band, under the direction of Michael Goodwin, of "Yellow Bird," "Marianne" and "Margaritaville." This segment concludes with the premiere of "Euphoria," a new piece for steel band composed by SHS student Albert C. Oppenheimer.
--Owings, son and namesake of longtime WCBI-TV/Columbus weatherman Bryan Owings Sr., featured in "Suite for Solo Drum Set and Percussion Ensemble." Local guitarist Edwin Daniel, keyboardist David Reese and bass player/vocalist Jim Beaty also will be on hand for such classic Latin tunes as "Oye Como Va" and "Valdez in the Country."
--The finale, which begins with the West Point South Side choir and concludes with all participants joining together on "Young and Old" and two Jimmy Buffet hits, "Volcano" and "Jamaican Farewell."
For more information, telephone (662) 325-3070.