Contact: Sasha Steinberg
STARKVILLE, Miss.--Current and former Mississippi State music department faculty members will help present "Musical Memories," a free Tuesday [Feb. 10] concert at Starkville's First Baptist Church.
Also featuring the State Singers student chamber choir, the 7:30 p.m. performance sponsored by the university's music department will include:
--Compositions by Douglas McConnell, a former MSU music faculty member also active in local church music;
--A saxophone and organ piece commissioned by former associate professor Gail Levinsky in memory of MSU music professor emeritus Leanne H. Fazio; and
--A solo harpsichord work commissioned and performed by professor Jackie Edwards-Henry as a memorial to her husband and former associate chemistry professor William P. "Bill" Henry.
Conducted by assistant professor Gary Packwood, the State Singers will join with Edwards-Henry and two other music faculty members for a showcase of McConnell's works. They include Jessica Banks, flute lecturer and flute choir director, and Michael Patilla, associate professor of guitar.
McConnell now is professor at the School of Music at Heidelberg University in Tiffin, Ohio. In addition to composing for voice, choir, organ, piano and harpsichord, he has produced works for performances in North America and throughout Europe.
Levinsky, a member of the music department 1994-2000, now teaches at Susquehanna University in Pennsylvania. She is a solo saxophonist who actively commissions and premieres new works and regularly presents at state music education symposiums.
Levinsky will be accompanied on the organ by McConnell's wife Joan, a former First Baptist organist now teaching and serving as a staff accompanist for Heidelberg's music school.
Fazio, who died in 2013, was an organist for Starkville's Episcopal and First Presbyterian churches.
Bill Henry, who died a year ago, was honored posthumously with the Robert E. Wolverton College of Arts and Sciences Legacy Award in recognition of his "significant and lasting effect on the college, its students, faculty and staff and in doing so further advancing the idea of liberal arts education."
Edwards-Henry, who teaches piano and piano pedagogy, is a solo and collaborative pianist and harpsichordist featured on the Mississippi Arts Roster. For more biographical information, see www.music.msstate.edu/faculty/bio/jacquelineedwardshenry.
The early-week concert is made possible with support from the Starkville Area Arts Council and J.W. Criss Foundation.
First Baptist is located on Lampkin Street in the downtown area, across from Starkville City Hall.
For additional information on the event, contact Edwards-Henry at 662-325-2864 or JEHenry@colled.msstate.edu.
Accredited by the National Association of Schools of Music, MSU's music department offers a bachelor's degree in four areas of music education, as well as a bachelor of arts in music. Learn more at www.music.msstate.edu, facebook.com/pages/Mississippi-State-University-Department-of-Music/227362148042 and twitter.com/mstatemusic.
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