MSU Wind Ensemble to be featured Friday at state band clinic in Natchez

Members of MSU’s Wind Ensemble smile for a group photo on the Bettersworth Auditorium stage.
Mississippi State’s Wind Ensemble will perform this Friday [Dec. 13] as the featured university band for the Mississippi Bandmasters Association State Band Clinic. (Photo by Beth Wynn)

Contact: Anna Owens

STARKVILLE, Miss.—Mississippi State’s Wind Ensemble will perform this week in Natchez at an annual clinic for high school and middle school band directors and students across the state.

Performing this Friday [Dec. 13] at 7:30 p.m. at the Natchez Convention Center, the group will represent MSU as the featured university band at this year’s Mississippi Bandmasters Association State Band Clinic.

Led by MSU Director of Bands Elva Kaye Lance, the ensemble will debut “Five Mississippi Rush,” a new work commissioned by Phi Beta Mu’s Mississippi chapter. Composed by MSU Associate Director of Bands Cliff Taylor, the piece draws inspiration from the counting system in tag football.

MSU Director of Bands Elva Kaye Lance conducts the university’s Wind Ensemble in concert at Bettersworth Auditorium.
Led by MSU Director of Bands Elva Kaye Lance, the Wind Ensemble is pictured during a performance at Lee Hall’s Bettersworth Auditorium. The university’s premier concert band also has made international appearances in Italy, Austria and the Czech Republic. (Photo by Beth Wynn)

Lance said the performance will be a chance for ensemble members to showcase their skills and serve as role models for their peers.

“We are pleased to have this opportunity to perform at the State Band Clinic,” she said. “The students attending this clinic are the finest in our state, and we are excited to share our program with them, their band directors and their families.”

Guest conductors alongside Lance include Barry E. Kopetz, professor and head of MSU’s Department of Music; Craig Aarhus, MSU associate director of bands; and Mohamad Schuman, president of Phi Beta Mu’s Mississippi chapter.

Performing with the band is The Boston Brass, an internationally acclaimed brass quintet founded at Boston University.

The Wind Ensemble is MSU’s premier concert band, and selective membership is determined by competitive audition regardless of major. In addition to clinic and concert performances, the band has made international appearances in Italy, Austria and the Czech Republic.

Housed in the Department of Music, MSU’s band program includes students of all majors and provides opportunities for ensemble and auxiliary participants. Learn more at www.msuband.msstate.edu.

For more information on the MBA clinic including a schedule of events, visit www.msbandmasters.com.

MSU is Mississippi’s leading university, available online at www.msstate.edu.