Contact: Maridith Geuder
STARKVILLE, Miss.--As part of the community's Cotton District Arts Festival, the 60-piece Mississippi State University/Starkville Symphony Orchestra will present an April 16 concert, its final performance of the season.
The free 8 p.m. event in the McComas Hall theater launches a week of community and campus events that celebrate the performing, visual and literary arts.
Under the direction of Michael R. Brown, MSU music education department head, the symphony will perform popular favorites, ranging from Beethoven's "Egmont Overture" to "Fanfare for the Common Man" by the dean of American composers, Aaron Copland.
Also on the program will be selections from the Broadway musicals "Oklahoma," "Phantom of the Opera" and "Jesus Christ, Superstar."
Special arrangements of "Phantom" tunes by composer Andrew Lloyd Webber will be directed by Bruce Lesley, MSU director of choral activities.
The concert will conclude with a performance of George Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue," featuring piano soloist Jackie Edwards-Henry. The professor of music has performed throughout the United States, Canada and Great Britain.
While there is no admission for the concert, donations will be accepted to assist with production costs.
For more information, telephone the music education department at (662) 325-3070.