Contact: Maridith Geuder
STARKVILLE, Miss.--Mississippi State University kicks off its 2007-08 performing arts season with an Oct. 9 performance by Philadelphia's Koresh Dance Co.
The high-energy troupe that combines ballet and modern jazz is part of a nine-month season that also will include Broadway, South African gospel, New Orleans jazz, and chamber quartet music.
Next in the season will be the Nov. 15 production of "Gypsy," which has been hailed by the New York Times as "the greatest of all American musicals." Drawing on the combined musical talents of legends Jule Styne, Stephen Sondheim and Arthur Laurents, "Gypsy" tells the story of an overbearing, ambitious stage mother and her two daughters' rise to stardom. It also features several songs that have gained widespread popularity, among them "Let Me Entertain You" and "You Gotta Get a Gimmick."
In early 2008, the intricate rhythms and harmonies of the native South African group Ladysmith Black Mambazo will be featured Feb. 12. Their creative marriage of native musical traditions with Christian gospel creates a spiritual experience that has touched a worldwide audience, thanks, in part, to their inclusion in Paul Simon's 1986 album sensation "Graceland."
A March 4 performance by the New Orleans-based Preservation Hall Jazz Band will feature a distinctive jazz that has drawn audiences worldwide in venues ranging from Carnegie Hall to Bangkok stages. Formed in the 1960s, the band continues a timeless tradition under the direction of Ben Jaffe.
Concluding the 2007-08 series, the Turtle Island Quartet's April 13 appearance will fuse classical quartet with contemporary American musical styles. Praised by the San Francisco Examiner for its "zest, imagination and brilliant technique" and winner of the 2006 Grammy Award for Best Classical Crossover Recording, the group has been credited with creating a new trend in chamber music for strings.
General admission tickets for all Lyceum performances are available at the door: $15 for adults, $10 for senior citizens (65 and over by request), and $8 for children 3-12. MSU students will be admitted free with student identification. Individual reserved tickets are available in advance at www.ticketweb.com, beginning Sept. 24.
Season tickets (reserved seating) are $50 and include both the Lyceum Series and MSU Faculty Chamber Series. MSU employees and senior citizens can purchase season tickets for $40 with proof of age or institution employment.
Season tickets must be purchased in advance by mailing a check and a stamped, self-addressed envelope to MSU Lyceum Series Season Tickets, P.O. Box HY, Mississippi State, MS 39762.
The Lyceum Faculty Chamber Series features performances throughout the 2007-08 season by the music department faculty. General admission is $5; MSU students, free with proper identification.
For more information on the series or individual performances, telephone Brenda Neubauer at 662-325-4201 or visit www.msstate.edu/dept/lyceum.
For more information about Mississippi State University, see http://www.msstate.edu/.