50th Season
September 15th, 2018
Milestones Concert
Symphony Orchestra
Symphony Orchestra
Rent Auditorium
Mississippi University for Women
at 7:30pm
Mississippi University for Women
at 7:30pm
The Fiftieth Season of the Starkville-MSU Symphony is an exciting milestone for our orchestra! Fittingly, our first concert offers works that were important milestones for their composers. First you will hear the overture to Nabucco, the opera that catapulted Giuseppe Verdi to national celebrity. Listen for the tune to "Va, pensiero" (Chorus of the Hebrew Slaves), a chorus in the opera that remains one of the most powerful musical expressions of patriotism. Next, we move to the Norfolk Rhapsody No. 1, which was one of the first orchestral works (and arguably the finest) composed by Ralph Vaughan Williams after his early years collecting folk songs. It would remain one of his most characteristic expressions of Englishness in music. Finally, enjoy perhaps the crowning achievement of Pyotr Tchaikovsky's career, his Sixth Symphony! A work that he himself called "the best thing I have composed," it marks his hard-won mastery of symphonic craft.
Nabucco Overtureby Giuseppe Verdi
Norfolk Rhapsody No.1
by Ralph Vaughan Williams
Sixth Symphony
by Pyotr Tchaikovsky
Nabucco Overtureby Giuseppe Verdi
Norfolk Rhapsody No.1
by Ralph Vaughan Williams
Sixth Symphony
by Pyotr Tchaikovsky
October 9th, 2018
Jazz at Renasant
Symphony Jazz Combo
Symphony Jazz Combo
Renasant Plaza
500 E. Lampkin, Starkville, MS
6:00pm
500 E. Lampkin, Starkville, MS
6:00pm
In our annual outdoor concert, sponsored by Renasant Bank, the Symphony Jazz Combo brings toe-tapping favorites to Downtown Starkville with a selection of jazz, swing, and popular ballads.
November 9th, 2018
Family Concert
Symphony Orchestra & Special Guest Vocalist
Symphony Orchestra & Special Guest Vocalist
Bettersworth Auditorium
Lee Hall, Mississippi State University
7:30pm
Lee Hall, Mississippi State University
7:30pm
For our Family Concert, we continue the trend of national fervor picked up from the first, but this time we move to our own turf! One of John Williams's best-loved concert works - Summon the Heroes (composed for the 1996 Summer Olympic Games in Atlanta) - kicks things off. Then we jump right into two selections that showcase a handful of patriotic tunes: Michael Brown's Three American Patriotic Songs and Morton Gould's American Salute. Briefly suspending our American focus, we will next hear the orchestra accompany the talented winner of the 2018 MSU Music Department Concerto Competition, Haylee Glenn, who will sing a heart-wrenching aria from Giacomo Puccini's final opera Turandot, "Signore, ascolta!" Finally, enjoy two very popular selections by "The Dean of American Composers" Aaron Copland: the Variations on a Shaker Melody (from the ballet Appalachian Spring) and the rousing Hoe Down from Rodeo!
Summon the Heroes
by John Williams
American Patriotic Songs
by Michael Brown
American Salute
by Morton Gould
Variations on a Shaker Melody "Hoe Down" from Rodeo
by Aaron Copeland
Special Feature: "Signore, ascolta!" from Turandot by Giacomo Puccini
performed by Haylee Glenn, winner of the 2018 MSU Concerto Competition
Summon the Heroes
by John Williams
American Patriotic Songs
by Michael Brown
American Salute
by Morton Gould
Variations on a Shaker Melody "Hoe Down" from Rodeo
by Aaron Copeland
Special Feature: "Signore, ascolta!" from Turandot by Giacomo Puccini
performed by Haylee Glenn, winner of the 2018 MSU Concerto Competition
November 11th, 2018
Salute to the Beatles
Symphony Chorus
Symphony Chorus
Trinity Presbyterian Church
607 Hospital Road, Starkville, MS
3:00pm
607 Hospital Road, Starkville, MS
3:00pm
In its 2018 Fall concert, the Symphony Chorus celebrates the Fab Four with choral selections written and produced by members of The Beatles. Music lovers of all ages will enjoy a repertoire showcasing the impact of this iconic rock band.
January 19th, 2019
Our America
Symphony Orchestra
Symphony Orchestra
Bettersworth Auditorium
Lee Hall, Mississippi State University
7:30pm
Lee Hall, Mississippi State University
7:30pm
We begin 2019 with more exciting American music! This includes another important milestone work, a rollicking overture, and a composition by our very own artistic director, Dr. Barry E. Kopetz. This concert's first piece is special in multiple respects. Mississippi native William Grant Still's Afro-American Symphony was the first symphony composed by an African American and premiered by a major orchestra. It is also a stunning exploration of what's possible when elements from African American and European classical music traditions are combined. And speaking of crossover icons, what extended sampling of American music would be complete without a little Leonard Bernstein? Hear next the sparkling overture to his celebrated light opera Candide. Rounding out this concert is Dr. Kopetz's attractive and skillfully written Americana Folk Suite.
Afro-American Symphony
by Mississippi native, William Grant Still
Still's symphony was the first composed by an African American composer and premiered by a major orchestra.
Candide Overture
by Leonard Bernstein
Americana Folk Suite
by the SSO's own Barry Kopetz
Afro-American Symphony
by Mississippi native, William Grant Still
Still's symphony was the first composed by an African American composer and premiered by a major orchestra.
Candide Overture
by Leonard Bernstein
Americana Folk Suite
by the SSO's own Barry Kopetz
March 2nd, 2019
Masterworks Founders Concert
Symphony Orchestra & Chorus
Symphony Orchestra & Chorus
Bettersworth Auditorium
Lee Hall, Mississippi State University
7:30pm
Lee Hall, Mississippi State University
7:30pm
With our Masterworks Concert we move to music from the first half of the 19th century, including another colorful overture and what is perhaps the most famous of all symphonies! Continuing a season-long trend, we will begin by enjoying a concert piece that deftly weaves in materials from another work. Hector Berlioz's skills as an orchestrator and creator of musical thrills are on full display with his Roman Carnival Overture, which draws upon some of the choicest bits from his opera Benvenuto Cellini. And you'll surely want to stick around for the evening's main musical course - Ludwig van Beethoven's titanic Ninth Symphony. Take this special opportunity to hear our live performance (with the help of the MSU State Singers) of an iconic masterpiece!
Roman Carnival Overture
by Hector Berlioz
Ninth Symphony
by Ludwig van Beethoven performed with the MSU Chorus
Roman Carnival Overture
by Hector Berlioz
Ninth Symphony
by Ludwig van Beethoven performed with the MSU Chorus
April 13th, 2019
Epic Movie Themes
Symphony Orchestra
Symphony Orchestra
Bettersworth Auditorium
Lee Hall, Mississippi State University
7:30pm
Lee Hall, Mississippi State University
7:30pm
In our last concert, we offer some of your favorite epic movie music! You're bound to encounter some familiar musical faces across its four selections. We fittingly open with the fanfare from Richard Strauss's Also Sprach Zarathustra, heard in Stanley Kubrick's film 2001: A Space Odyssey and which is a frequent musical guest in popular culture. Next, experience again Howard Shore's hauntingly beautiful score to The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. From there, we move to Hans Zimmer's stirring and majestic contribution to the historical epic Gladiator. Closing out the season is John Williams's music that revitalized the classical Hollywood score and was written for a film trilogy that needs no introduction - Star Wars!
Also Sprach Zarathustra
by Richard Strauss, from 2001: A Space Odyssey
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring Score
by Howard Shore
Gladiator Theme
by Hans Zimmer
Star Wars Theme
by John Williams
Also Sprach Zarathustra
by Richard Strauss, from 2001: A Space Odyssey
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring Score
by Howard Shore
Gladiator Theme
by Hans Zimmer
Star Wars Theme
by John Williams
