MSU faculty concert to feature eclectic repertoire

Contact: Maridith Geuder

Pianist Jackie Edwards-Henry will present an evening of music at Mississippi State Oct. 19 with the help of several university faculty colleagues.

The 3 p.m. public program in the McComas Hall theater will feature works from a range of 20th century composers, including the Swiss-born Ernest Bloch--known for his dramatic scores often based on religious themes--to master songwriter Hoagy Carmichael, whose popular melodies are among the most extensively recorded jazz standards.

Edwards-Henry will be joined by saxophonist Gail Levinsky, a former MSU faculty member now at Susquehanna University in Pennsylvania, and flutist Lana Johns and percussionist Robert Damm, both of MSU's music education department.

Titled "Jackie Edwards-Henry and Friends," the performance also will include:

--"My Mountain Top" for soprano saxophone and tape, composed by Andy Scott, a member of England's Apollo Saxophone Quartet.

--"Florestan's Falcon (a Fantasy after Schumann)" for flute and piano, composed in 2002 by Dan Welcher of the University of Texas music faculty.

--"Prayer," part of a cycle of works Bloch composed for cello and piano and arranged here by Levinsky for alto saxophone and piano.

--"Prelude, Cadence, et Finale" for alto saxophone and piano, composed in the French tradition by Alfred Desenclos.

--"Epitaphe de Jean Harlow, Romance" for flute, saxophone and piano, composed by Charles Koechlin and inspired by the famous actress.

--"Energy Drink I" for alto saxophone, composed by Mark Engebretson, a faculty member at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.

--"Georgia on My Mind," Carmichael's classic, arranged for alto saxophone, piano and drum set.

For more information, telephone the music education department at (662) 325-3070.