The Starkville-MSU Symphony will present its Criss Christmas concert Friday, Dec. 2 at 7:30 p.m. in historic Lee Hall’s Bettersworth Auditorium on the campus of Mississippi State University. The free performance is being sponsored by the campus Lyceum Series.
Barry E. Kopetz, MSU music department head, will conduct. Featured soloist will be Sherri Falcone, the orchestra’s principal clarinetist and an MSU clarinet and saxophone instructor.
The orchestra’s second concert of the 2016-2017 season begin with Beethoven’s “Symphony No. 1 in C major, Op. 21.” Composed at the turn of the century (1799-1800), Ludwig van Beethoven’s first symphonic work marked a major change in the nature of symphonic music.
The program will also include Johann Sebastian Bach’s “Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring” and “Concertino for Clarinet, Op 26” by Carl Maria von Weber, featuring Falcone.
Additional pieces are Ralph Vaughan Williams’ “Fantasia on Greensleeves,” an arrangement for flute, harp and strings of the popular song “Greensleeves,” a melody known since the 16th century. It was in the 19th century, however, that it assumed new lyrics as “What Child is This?” and became part of the Christmas tradition.
“Petite Symphonie” (Movement II: Andante Cantabile) by Charles-Francois Gounod is considered to be an excellent example of wind writing that explores the various sonorities of the instruments to the fullest.
The final section will be medley of Christmas carols with origins in various nations.
The concert is made possible by generous support from the J.W. Criss Foundation to the Starkville-MSU Symphony Association and MSU Lyceum Committee.
For information on remaining events of the Lyceum Series’ 2016-17 season, visit union.msstate.edu/student-activities/lyceum.
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