Ambassador Series
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The Ambassador Series, a cultural outreach project of USM's Gulf Park campus, will present musical performances along the Mississippi Gulf Coast. The eclectic series, with concerts ranging from jazz and steel pans to classical soloists and choral ensembles, includes something for everyone. Spanning the Mississippi Gulf Coast, the schedule includes performances in Pass Christian, Bay St. Louis, Gulfport, Waveland, Biloxi, Ocean Springs, Moss Point, and Gautier.
I am excited for us to be able to offer these opportunities to our students, visitors, and residents all along the Gulf Coast.
Shannon Campbell, Senior Associate Vice-President for Coastal Operations
Whether you are a seasoned supporter of the arts or looking to explore something new, the Ambassador Series is sure to provide unique experiences that will enrich the lives of community members and the coast’s arts and culture.
Upcoming Events at Gulf Park
Classics to Moderns: Three Centuries of the Piano
Featuring Dr. Ellen Elder
Thursday, January 25 | 12:15 p.m.
Fleming Education Center Auditorium
730 Beach Blvd. E.
Long Beach, MS
This concert will feature piano works from three centuries. Dr. Ellen Elder from USM,
will perform great virtuoso piano pieces by Franz Joseph Haydn, Franz Liszt, Charles
Ives, Arnold Schoenberg, and USM’s own Luigi Zaninelli.
Lift Every Voice: Music from the Civil Rights Movement
Featuring John Christopher Adams, tenor and Tyler Kemp, piano
Thursday, February 22 | 12:15 p.m.
FEC Auditorium
730 Beach Blvd E.
Long Beach, MS
There is no period in history where the culture and heritage of Black people isn’t
wrapped in music. Songs of tragedy and triumph have always been the soundtrack of
the Black experience in America, and history has shown that music is one of the best
ways to reach everyone within that culture. Music has the ability to pass along messages,
spread words of hope, advocate for common causes, echo the sentiments of hatred, and
harness the power and resilience of the human spirit.
Operatic tenor, John Christopher Adams will be featured in this meaningful concert
to commemorate Black History Month 2024. You will hear songs such as “Soon I Will
be Done,” “Ain’t-A-Dat Good News,” “Hush! Somebody’s Callin’ My Name,” “I’m a Soldier,”
“Amazing Grace,” “A Change Gon’ Come,” “We Shall Overcome,” and many other soulful
spirituals and Civil Rights songs. Lift Every Voice will be a celebration of the music
that communicated the heartache and hope throughout the Civil Rights Movement. From
exclusion to equality, and from oppression to inclusion, these songs will take the
audience on an amazing musical journey.
Rutter Requiem
Featuring USM's Gulf Coast Chorale
Sunday, March 3 | 2:30 p.m.
St. Michael Catholic Church
177 1st St.
Biloxi, MS
The Requiem by John Rutter is a musical setting of sections of the traditional Latin Requiem with additional psalms and verses in English from the Bible. He is known for his accessible and melodious writing and his works are filled with beautiful and memorable passages. His compositional style has been influenced by English, French, and American music, as well as composers such as Gabriel Fauré and Johannes Brahms. His Requiem was completed in 1985 and is dedicated to the memory of his father. Rutter wrote, “I wanted to write: intimate rather than grandiose, contemplative and lyric rather than dramatic, and ultimately moving towards light rather than darkness.”
Kreek’s Notebook
Featuring USM's Southern Chorale
Saturday, March 23 | 7 p.m.
Our Lady of the Gulf Church
228 S Beach Blvd.
Bay St. Louis, MS
Kreek’s Notebook has been very successful in Europe, and is now approaching 30 performances in the United States. The Southern Chorale did the US premiere in 2014, and this is the 10th anniversary of that event. The work is in eight movements, each featuring melodies and text from Estonian folk hymns collected by the composer during Soviet times. The hymns were being lost, so students of Kreek went to the villages to record these texts and melodies so they would survive. Many regard this work as mystical with its beautiful melodies and cannons.
Season Finale Concert- Joy!
featuring USM's Gulf Coast Civic Chorale
Friday, April 26 | 7 p.m.
Fleming Auditorium
203 Bear Point Drive,
Long Beach, MS 39560
The School of Music presents the Southern Miss Gulf Coast Civic Chorale’s final set
of spring concerts featuring a variety of choral music. The Civic Chorale finishes
out its 29th Season with Joy! – featuring choral music by living composers with an
uplifting and inspiring theme. Join us in April as we celebrate the effervescence
of springtime through music!
The Gulf Coast Civic Chorale’s Festival of Choirs
Tuesday, October 17 | 7 p.m.
720 East Beach Blvd. in Long Beach, Miss.
Free and Open to the PublicExperience a showcase of some of the region’s exceptional high school and community college choirs in a celebration of multi-generational music making. Dr. Jonathan Kilgore of Southern Miss School of Music will conduct the festival’s mass chorus, that is joined by the Southern Miss Concert Choir.
Vasti Jackson
Thursday, October 19 | 12:15 p.m.
720 East Beach Blvd. in Long Beach, Miss.
Free and Open to the Public
A program on Mississippi’s music roots will be presented by multi-Grammy-nominated, international performer, composer, producer, recording artist, and actor, Vasti Jackson. He will take the audience on a journey from the foundation of American music to the musical genres that grew from it. Including blues, gospel, country, and soul, to rock & roll, jazz, funk, and hip hop, this music is loved the world over. From Robert Johnson (the father of the blues) to Jimmie Rodgers (the father of country music) Mississippi encompasses the musical bookends of global popular music as well as everything in between.
A Civic Chorale Holiday
Friday, November 17 | 7:00 p.m.
720 East Beach Blvd. in Long Beach, Miss.
Free and Open to the PublicRing in the holiday season with “A Civic Chorale Holiday" with the Southern Miss Gulf Coast Civic Chorale and the Gulf Coast Chorale. The ensemble’s conductor, Dr. Jonathan Kilgore of the USM’s School of Music, has been an integral member of the Coast’s choral community for more than a decade. Members of the Southern Miss Gulf Coast Civic Chorale represent several communities and come from diverse musical backgrounds.
A Civic Chorale Holiday
Sunday, November 19 | 2:30 p.m.
870 Howard Ave, Biloxi, Miss.
Free and Open to the PublicRing in the holiday season with “A Civic Chorale Holiday: with the Southern Miss Gulf Coast Civic Chorale and the Gulf Coast Chorale. The ensemble’s conductor, Dr. Jonathan Kilgore of the USM’s School of Music, has been an integral member of the Coast’s choral community for more than a decade. Members of the Southern Miss Gulf Coast Civic Chorale represent several communities and come from diverse musical backgrounds.
A Musical Kaleidoscope | March 29 | 7 p.m.
Featuring the USM School of Music
Collaborative Piano Studio
Fleming Education Center Auditorium
USM Gulf Park Campus
730 E. Beach Blvd., Long Beach, MS
Mozart’s Cosi Fan Tutte | April 11 | 7 p.m.
Featuring the Southern Opera and Musical Theatre Company
Fine Arts Building Auditorium
Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College
Harrison County Campus
2226 Switzer Rd., Gulfport, MS
Long Beach Live | April 14 | 7-10 p.m.
Featuring the USM Jazz Band
Town Green 201 Jeff Davis Ave.,
Long Beach, MS
Sea of Stories | April 20 | 7 p.m.
Featuring Andy Narell and the Southern Mississippi Steel Pan Orchestra
Immersive Media Performing Arts Center
Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College
Harrison County Campus
2226 Switzer Rd., Gulfport, MS
Season Finale Concert | April 28 | 7:00 p.m.
Featuring Southern Miss Gulf Coast Civic Chorale
Our Lady of the Gulf Catholic Church
228 South Beach Blvd. Bay St., Bay St. Louis, MS
Season Finale Concert | April 30 | 2:30 p.m.
Featuring Southern Miss Gulf Coast Civic Chorale
Our Lady of the Gulf Catholic Church
USM Gulf Park - Fleming Education Center Auditorium
203 Bear Point Drive, Long Beach, MS
Festival of Choirs | Oct. 3 | 7 p.m.
St. Thomas the Apostle Catholic Church
720 East Beach Blvd, Long Beach, MS
Free and open to the public
Experience a showcase of some of the region’s exceptional high school and community college choirs in a celebration of multi-generational music making. Dr. Jonathan Kilgore of USM's School of Music will conduct the festival’s mass chorus, as well as USM’s Concert Choir. The Festival, which generally features between 300 and 400 singers, culminates in a mass choir performance of inspirational and exciting music.
Conductor: Dr. Jonathan Kilgore
Participating choirs this year are from:
- Biloxi High School
- Copiah-Lincoln Community College
- East Central High School
- Gautier High School
- Hancock High School
- Long Beach High School
- Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College (Harrison County Campus)
- USM Oratorio Chorus
- Pascagoula High School
- Pass Christian High School
- St. Martin High School
- The USM Southern Chorale
- The Southern Miss Gulf Coast Civic Chorale
Flutissimo 4 X 4 X 4
Fleming Education Center
203 Bear Point Drive, Long Beach, MS
Free and open to the public
The recital features 4 professional musicians playing music from 4 countries, written over 4 centuries, or 4 X 4 X 4. This special event celebrates the centennial of the great 20th century flute virtuoso Jean-Pierre Rampal.
Featuring enchanting works by Gioachino Rossini, Albert Roussel, and Francis Poulenc, this multimedia recital illuminates Rampal’s legacy and the music performed. Mississippi-based artists Danilo Mezzadri (flute), Susan Ruggiero (voice), and Brian Murphy (piano), share the stage with the internationally acclaimed Italian flutist Fabio Angelo Colajanni.
This collaboration brings to Long Beach, Mississippi the U.S. leg of a recital tour that began in Rome, Italy. Jean-Pierre Rampal was an internationally renowned flutist, with a superb sense of musicality, delightful tone, dazzling technique, and a charming personality. Rampal performed concerts around the globe for over fifty years and recorded over four hundred albums. He became the first flutist to achieve household name recognition.
Bass by the Sea | Oct. 22 | 8:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.
The Bass by the Sea will provide two opportunities to experience performances by some of the area’s finest double bassists. The Michael Cameron Double Bass Competition will kick off in Hardy Hall on the Southern Miss Gulf Park campus. The competition’s participants are Mississippi residents, and their performances will be adjudicated by two guest clinicians. In the afternoon, the first and second place winners of the competition will perform a concert along with bass ensembles. Both of these events are free and open to the public. Between the two public events, bassists from ages 18-35 will receive intensive instruction and learn from internationally acclaimed professionals in a day-long camp.
What is the Competition?
The Michael Cameron Double Bass Competition honors the legacy and celebrates the life of a world-renowned musician and educator, who served as the principal bassist for both the Sinfonia da Camera and the Champaign Urbana Symphony Orchestra. As professor of double bass at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, he positively impacted the lives of his students, including Dr. Marcos Machado, founder and organizer of Bass by the Sea.
Dr. Machado serves as professor of double bass at USM and maintains an active international schedule as a performer, educator, and administrator.
The inaugural competition and camp has garnered immediate support from some of the world’s leading double bass brands. Kolstein Music, Lemur Music, and Bass Scores Editions have each contributed to the event. Regional support comes from the Hattiesburg Concert Association, and the event is a part of our USM Ambassador Series.
Taste of Long Beach | Oct. 27 | 5:30 p.m.
Long Beach Senior Center
20257 Daughtery Road, Long Beach, MS 39560
Price: Early Bird Special: $30 | Day of Event at door: $40
Join the Long Beach Chamber of Commerce for the 13th Annual Taste of Long Beach event. This event will feature great food and beverages, live music, a silent auction
and more! Music provided by Nick’s Icemen **Must be 21 of age or older to attend.
Southern Miss Gulf Coast Civic Chorale
November 18 | 7:00 p.m. | Fleming Auditorium
November 20 | 2:30 p.m. | Biloxi’s Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary Cathedral
As a staple in the region’s arts and culture, the Southern Miss Gulf Coast Civic Chorale is in its 28th season of compelling performances and educational opportunities. The ensemble’s conductor, Dr. Jonathan Kilgore of the University of Southern Mississippi’s School of Music, has been an integral member of the Coast’s choral community for more than a decade. When speaking of the Civic Chorale’s musicians, Kilgore says, “It’s really an honor to make music with talented people who volunteer their time and energy to this ensemble.” Members of the Southern Miss Gulf Coast Civic Chorale represent several communities and come from diverse musical backgrounds.
Join us in joyfully welcoming the holiday season at the Southern Miss Gulf Coast Civic Chorale’s free concerts!
Magnificat | March 5 | 2:30 p.m.
Featuring Southern Miss Gulf Coast Civic Chorale
St. Michael Catholic Church
177 1st St., Biloxi, MS
More events coming soon!