The University of Mississippi’s Department of Music has been busy organizing its lineup of musical entertainment for this year. The department started its annual Faculty Recital Series Oct. 21.
John Schuesselin, organizer of the series and participant, said the recital “highlights the artists in the university faculty music department” and showcases the many talented professors who are teaching the students in the department.
This series, totaling five concerts, is made up of solo recitals and chamber recitals.
“The Monday, Oct. 21 performance contains the biggest performance groups and is the most colorful, which definitely makes for a very exciting show,” said Michael Rowlett, faculty clarinet player.
However, it will not be the only interesting show in the series, as all the performances have a theme or topic of some sort that will entertain the audience.
“It’s interesting because it brings different faculty musicians, which usually play separately, together,” Rowlett said.
The series will showcase the talents of faculty members in the Faculty Woodwind Quintet and the Oxford Piano Trio, as well as other faculty.
According to the music department’s website, the Woodwind Quintet has been giving concerts for the Oxford-University community since 1994 and has also performed across the Midsouth. The Oxford Piano Trio was created in 1988 and has presented many works of classical literature, in addition to showcasing new works.
During Monday’s performance the Woodwind Quintet performed a set of Hungarian folk dances by composer Ferenc Farkas and the Sextet for Piano and Winds by Poulenc with Stacy Rodgers, while the Piano Trio presented Robert Schumann’s Quintet for Piano and Strings along with performers Joshua Howard on the violin and Yan Mao on the viola.
Rowlett shared a sneak peak as to what the second performance on Nov. 18 will entail. Concertgoers can look forward to “a program where all the music is based on popular music. There will be a performance of music that was originally written for a TV show and pieces inspired by Nirvana and Alice in Chains.”
All of the performances are on Mondays at 7:30 p.m. in Nutt Auditorium. The performances are spread throughout the months of October through April, and student tickets are sold at the UM Box Office in the Student Union.
