Contact: Erika Celeste
STARKVILLE, Miss.--The Starkville-Mississippi State University Symphony Association kicks off its 2007-08 concert season Oct. 2. with the annual "Pops on the Plaza" concert.
To begin at 6 p.m. at Cadence Bank Plaza in downtown Starkville, the public program will feature the State Messengers, a seven-piece university group specializing in tunes of the Swing and Bebop eras. Michael Brown, head of the MSU music department, is orchestra director.
Soft drinks and popcorn will be available, as will abundant space for dancing with the closing of Main Street. In addition to Cadence Bank, the event is sponsored by the Greater Starkville Development Partnership.
Musical entertainment continues Oct. 12 with a series of free concerts for children at Lee Hall auditorium on the MSU campus. School children in grades kindergarten-5 will be special guests for performances at 9 and 10:30 a.m., and 1 p.m. The 60-piece orchestra will perform selections from "Peter and the Wolf" by Prokofiev, as well as tunes from the Harry Potter films. Several participating students will have a chance to compete in a conducting contest.
"The concerts will be a treat for all ages," Brown said. "'While Peter and the Wolf' is considered a children's work, everyone loves a good story." The children's programs are made possible by support from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Mississippi Arts Commission, he added.
Later on the 12th, both adults and children of the Starkville, MSU and Golden Triangle communities will have the opportunity to enjoy an additional performance at 7:30 p.m. in Lee Hall. Selections from earlier in the day will be joined by Saint Saens' "Carnival of the Animals," featuring MSU piano artists Jackie Edwards-Henry and Rosangela Sebba.
Parents interested in having their children attend the morning program should contact the students' individual teachers. Parents of home-schooled children should telephone Ellen Boles at 662-324-1105.
For more information on the Starkville-MSU Symphony schedule, contact the music department at 662-325-3070.
For more information about Mississippi State University, see http://www.msstate.edu/.