![The Starkville-Mississippi State University Symphony Orchestra opens its 49th performance season Saturday [Sept. 9] with a fall concert in Lee Hall’s Bettersworth Auditorium. (Photo by Megan Bean)](https://www.msstate.edu/sites/www.msstate.edu/files/inline-images/SSO_Concert_M4B0771.jpg "A Starkville-Mississippi State University Symphony Orchestra musician plays the violin during a concert.")
Contact: Sasha Steinberg
STARKVILLE, Miss.—Under the direction of Mississippi State Department of Music Head Barry E. Kopetz, the Starkville-Mississippi State University Symphony Orchestra opens its 2017-18 performance season with a Saturday [Sept. 9] concert on the Starkville campus.
Free to all, the 7:30 p.m. program at Bettersworth Auditorium in Lee Hall is made possible by the Starkville-MSU Symphony Association.
Song selections include George Frideric Handel’s “Concerto Grosso Op. 6, No. 5 in D Major,” Johann Baptist Georg Neruda’s “Concerto in E flat for Trumpet and Strings,” Gareth Walters’ “Divertimento for Strings” and Antonín Dvořák’s “Serenade for Strings.”
Anthony Kirkland, assistant professor in MSU’s nationally accredited Department of Music, will accompany the orchestra on trumpet.
Founded in 1969, the Starkville-MSU Symphony Association is a nonprofit volunteer organization whose members work to educate, enlighten and share classical music with the city, university and other communities in the Golden Triangle region.
Membership in the symphony association is open to individuals, families, businesses, educational institutions and other community organizations. Together with major contributions and sponsorships, memberships enable the association to offer orchestral and choral performances in a variety of musical styles at no charge.
In addition to MSU and the City of Starkville, major association contributors include the J.W. Criss Foundation, Mississippi Arts Commission, National Endowment for the Arts, Renasant Bank, Starkville Convention and Visitors Bureau and Columbus-based Gildea Foundation.
The association accepts tax-deductible donations via the MSU Foundation. To contribute, contact Lynn Durr at 662-325-8918 or ldurr@advservices.msstate.edu.
For additional SSO information including membership and sponsorship details, contact general manager Ryan Landis at 662-325-2872 or rml269@msstate.edu. Also, visit www.starkvillesymphony.org or follow the organization on Facebook @StarkvilleSymphony.
MSU is Mississippi’s leading university, available online at www.msstate.edu.