Contact: Robbie Ward
STARKVILLE, Miss.--In an inaugural overseas road trip that began this week, Mississippi State's wind ensemble will spend the next nine days performing in Ireland, Wales and England.
Director of bands Elva Kaye Lance said the trip should greatly expand the musical experiences of members while helping showcase university music programs to an international audience. In all, nearly 60 musicians, faculty members and support personnel are taking part.
"It's a wonderful opportunity for our students to work with musicians in other countries," Lance said. "Anytime students can travel, it broadens their perspectives on many levels."
Lance said many of the performances will share the stage with local bands and choruses. After first visiting Dublin, the MSU travelers will leave by ferry for Wales and then England.
In Ireland, for example, the ensemble's performance locations include Dublin's historic St. Patrick's Church, formally known as the National Cathedral and Collegiate Church of Saint Patrick. The St. Patrick's Choir School was part of the premiere performance of George Frederic Handel's oratorio "The Messiah" in April 1742, she explained.
Lance said another major highlight of the trip will come when the students display their talents in London at the British Royal Military School of Music, which trains musicians for the British Army's 29 bands.
Lance said the trip is the first effort by the MSU band programs to provide members with at least one travel-abroad opportunity as a group during their time at the university.
While the trip is a first for the wind ensemble, the University Chorus performed in Holland, Germany and Switzerland during the 1970s.
For more information, Lance may be reached at eklance@colled.msstate.edu. For further assistance, telephone 662-325-2713.
For more information about Mississippi State University, see http://www.msstate.edu/.