STARKVILLE — The sounds of a violin and a flute, then the notes of a viola and a frame drum drift through the air, playing duets that create flowing melodies.
While this kind of performance is normal in a concert hall, on Monday afternoon Mississippi State University Department Head and Professor of Music Daniel Stevens and two of his colleagues performed three pieces together at Starkville Rotary Club’s weekly meeting in the Georgia Blue restaurant.
Following the performance, Stevens spoke with the club about the current state of the MSU Department of Music, particularly highlighting the new $21 million Music Building on Hardy Road that opened in November 2022 and the “doors it will open.”
“It gives more opportunities for faculty to collaborate,” Stevens told The Dispatch. “We have our own performance area in music and it really feels like a good home.”
Stevens said the music department used to be scattered across six buildings on campus. But with the opening of the new 37,000-square-foot facility, the music department is housed in the music building and the Kent Sills Band Hall next door.
The new Music Building, he said, includes a rehearsal hall and faculty offices, but also sound-proof rooms and a recording studio. This recording studio, he said, was finished recently, as more equipment was moved in following the official ribbon cutting.
Besides the new building, Stevens said the MSU Music Department has also added a new degree program this fall, with a bachelor’s of music performance. He told The Dispatch he was thankful that the Institutions of Higher Learning was willing to work with the department to expand the university’s music programs.
“For some reason over the various decades, it was just something that wasn’t prioritized at Mississippi State,” Stevens said. “It probably was at a time where there used to be a focus on every campus having their main degrees. … Southern Miss would have been known for performance and Mississippi State education.”
But Stevens said this new program will make the music department more well-rounded, supporting a “farther reaching” department to reach out to students both in-state and out-of-state.
Currently, Stevens said, the department includes more than 140 music majors, 26 full-time faculty members, 18 lecturers and five staff members.
But the music department also reaches beyond the university and into the city, including a Community Music School for musicians ages 5 to 75, for those in the city who want to learn a new instrument. He also said a recent partnership with the Starkville-Oktibbeha Consolidated School District is helping third- through sixth-graders in district schools to learn how to play string instruments.
Besides these music education programs, Stevens also mentioned the frequent performances given by the university’s ensembles, community band and Starkville-MSU Symphony Orchestra, among others.
“It’s all about outreach and connecting with people in any kind of art form,” Stevens said. “If you aren’t performing for audiences or teaching the next generation, people just aren’t going to appreciate it anymore.”
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