A passport to music awaits you

By Staff
CONCERT 3 Maggie Snyder, violist, and J. Patrick Rafferty, violinist, will perform Feb. 5, 2005.
By Penny Randall / staff writer
June 6, 2004
The Meridian Symphony Orchestra has your passport to live symphonic music and welcomes everyone to celebrate its 44th season.
The 2004-2005 season contains many familiar classical masterworks, such as Barber's "Adagio for Strings," Mendelssohn's "A Midsummer Night's Dream," Wagner's "Prelude and Love Death" from "Tristan and Isolde," Ravel's "Pavane for a Dead Princess" and Gershwin's "Concerto in F."
Ending the 2003-2004 season is the July 4 Cellular South Pops concert at Bonita Lakes. This is a free concert featuring the orchestra.
Each concert of the new season will focus on the music of a particular country. Concerts are held in the McCain Theatre on the campus of Meridian Community College.
Opening the season, on Sept. 11, will be a concert titled "America the Beautiful."
Guest pianist Logan Skelton will perform George Gershwin's "Concerto in F," the orchestra will perform African-American composer Ulysses Kay's "Presidential Suite" and Aaron Copland's "Four Dance Episodes from Rodeo."
Next up in November is the Viva la France program featuring guest harpist Grace Halsey in Debussy's "Sacred and Profane Dances" and Ravel's "Pavane," with the orchestra performing Georges Bizet's youthful "Symphony in C," Jacques Ibert's humorous "Divertissement" and music from Baroque composer Jean Phillipe Rameau's "Les Fetes."
In honor of Valentine's Day, a program of music by the great German Romantics features MSO concertmaster J. Patrick Rafferty and MSO principal violist Maggie Snyder in Mozart's "Sinfonia Concertante." The concert is Feb. 5.
The orchestra will offer three romantic compositions: Richard Strauss' "Don Juan," the "Wedding March" from Felix Mendelssohn's "A Midsummer Nigh's Dream" and the "Prelude and Love Death" from Richard Wagner's opera "Tristan and Isolde."
The season finale will be Operatic Italy and showcase the talent of T.O.P. (Those Opera People), a group of four singers presenting great arias, duets and ensembles from some of the world's most beloved operas: "The Barber of Seville," "Cavalleria Rusticana," "Madama Butterfly," "La Bohme" and "La Traviata."
T.O.P. is popular with Meridian audiences from appearances at the St. Paul's Chamber Series.