Contact: Maridith Geuder
For the head of Mississippi State University's music education department, Jan. 19 is a significant public and personal date. In addition to being Michael Brown's milestone 50th birthday, it's the day the nation annually honors the birth of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.
To commemorate both occasions, Brown will present a special birthday recital that day at Starkville's First United Methodist Church. His selections will include many personal favorite works for brass, including the Purcell Trumpet Sonata and Haydn Trumpet Concerto, as well as several of his published arrangements for brass and a jazz combo arrangement of Duke Ellington's "Take the A Train."
The 7:30 p.m. free event will be both Brown's 30th full-length annual recital and his last planned full-length musical program. Joining the celebration will be the MSU Faculty Brass Quintet and some of his former students and other MSU colleagues. The church's Brass Ensemble, which Brown has led for several years, also will be featured.
Brown said that his goal is to give the gift of music to a landmark day for him and the nation. It also provides a way to give something back to students.
"While there is no admission charge, and while we definitely do not invite birthday gifts, there will be an opportunity for those attending to contribute to an MSU scholarship fund for brass students," Brown said.
Brown and his wife Karen, a departmental instructor, initially established the Brown-Ross-Royer-Scarborough Brass Scholarship Fund in 1976 to honor their grandmothers and family members. The fund has support for student musicians at institutions where they have served, including Emmanuel College, Truett-McConnell College, Augusta State University, Indiana Wesleyan University, and, now, MSU.
Donations should be made to Mississippi State University.
For more information about the recital, telephone Brown at (662) 325-3070.