Contact: Paige Watson

STARKVILLE, Miss. — Mississippi State University’s music department is set to host its first-ever departmental gala to showcase the musical talents of faculty and students.

The Tuesday [Jan. 26] event will begin at 7:30 p.m. in the McComas Hall theater. Open to the public, the program will consist of musical performances by university ensembles, faculty and students.

The evening performance lineup will include, among others:

--Flute lecturer Jessica Banks and piano professor Jackie Edwards-Henry performing “Pan et les Bergers” from “La Flûte de Pan,” op. 15 (1907) by Jules Mouquet (1867-1946).

--Kevin R. West, a senior music/instrumental major from Byram, with a xylophone performance of “Apocalyptic Etude” (2009) composed by Dave Hall (b. 1983), assistant professor of percussion and jazz studies and percussion program coordinator of the percussion program at the University of Nebraska.

--Professor of music education Robert “Bob” Damm, performing “Tiriba” by B. Michael Williams (b. 1954), professor of music and director of percussion studies at Winthrop University in Rock Hill, South Carolina.

--Assistant professor of voice Tara Warfield, voice lecturer Christopher Jordan and collaborative piano instructor and departmental accompanist Karen Murphy, performing “Là ci darem la mano” from “Don Giovanni” (1787) by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-91).

--Associate professor Michael Patilla with a guitar performance of Julia Florida – Baracola by Agustín Barrios (1884-1944).

--Performance of Roy Hargrove’s (b. 1969) “Strasbourg-St. Denis” by “Five Guys Who Improvise”: junior software engineering major Daniel J. Eads from Huntsville, Alabama, on bass; junior electrical engineering major Alden C. Michaels from Hoover, Alabama, on piano; junior management/marketing double-major Jarrett N. Taylor from Ocean Springs, on drums; and senior electrical engineering major Jonathan M. Watts also from Hoover, Alabama, on saxophone. The group currently is accepting applications for a fifth guy.

--Senior music/vocal major Corinne D. “Cori” Reece from Aberdeen with a performance of “Měsíčku Na Nebi Hlubokém” from the opera “Rusalka” (1901) by Antonín Dvořák’s (1841-1904).

--Voice lecturer Jeanette Fontaine, voice instructor Ryan Landis and voice lecturer Christopher Jordan with a performance of “Zitti, zitti” from “The Barber of Seville” (1816) by Gioachino Rossini (1792-1868).

--Professor Rosângela Y. “Rose” Sebba, a Steinway Artist and chair of the department’s piano concentration, will be joined by Jackie Edwards-Henry and Karen Murphy for a performance of “Valse” (1890) and “Romance” (1891) by Sergei Rachmaninoff (1873-1943).

--Associate professor of percussion Jason Baker, associate professor and associate director of bands Cliff Taylor, Michael Patilla, clarinet and saxophone instructor Sheri Falcone performing Baker’s arrangement of William Crell’s (1868-1933) “The Mississippi Rag” (1897).

MSU State Singers—under the direction of associate professor and choral activities director Gary Packwood—will perform “Pure Imagination” from the 1971 motion picture “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.”

Recent summa cum laude music and mathematics graduate Davide J. Incognito-Fiasconello of Magee is among the MSU alumni who will speak during the program.

Serving as master of ceremonies for the event is Jeffrey Rupp. Dress is black-tie optional, and all are invited to a reception immediately following the program. Light hors d’oeuvres will be served.

For more information about the gala, contact Elva Kaye Lance at 662-325-3070 or eklance@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, bit.ly/MSUMusicFB and twitter.com/mstatemusic.

MSU is Mississippi’s leading university, available online at www.msstate.edu.