Southern Miss Symphony Opens Season

Mon, 09/30/2024 - 09:38am | By: Dr. Mike Lopinto

The University of Southern Mississippi Symphony Orchestra opens its 105th season on Thursday, Oct. 3 at 7:30 p.m. in Bennett Auditorium on the Hattiesburg campus. The exciting program, including Dvořák’s “New World Symphony,” will be the debut of the venerable organization’s new music director, Gregory Wolynec. Remaining tickets are on sale now at the Southern Miss Ticket Office, or call 800.844.8425, 601.266.5418.

With the opening program, Wolynec chose three works to tell the story of his journey to Hattiesburg. Mozart’s charming Symphony No. 32 in G, k. 318 is in the form of an operatic overture with all of the melodic genius and grace that the Viennese master was famous for. Nashville-based Conni Ellisor’s “Blackberry Winter” was written for acclaimed dulcimer performer Stephen Siefert. It effortlessly blends the folk and classical worlds in a unique and uplifting fashion. Dvořák’s most famous masterwork, “New World Symphony” was featured prominently in the new director’s time in Prague as a Fulbright student.

Special guest Stephen Seifert joins the orchestra in a rarity – a mountain dulcimer performance. “Blackberry Winter,” by composer Conni Ellisor, has a hauntingly beautiful opening with sounds that are both familiar and new.

The entrance of the dulcimer is “one of those moments that you could never imagine but, when you hear it, just feels right,” Wolynec continued. “I love to watch the faces of first-time listeners at this magical moment as the sounds of the refined string orchestra mingle with the folk music of the eastern part of our country in the hands of this humble instrument.”

Czech composer Antonín Dvořák’s final symphony is unquestionably one of the most popular and performed works in the entire classical canon. It contains some of the composers most unique and colorful writing. He was entranced with the possibilities for music that he found in the traditional songs of the diverse populations that already defined our country.

The Southern Miss Symphony Orchestra is a study in international relations as students from across the globe come together for one purpose – music. It is one of the major ensembles and gems in the School of Music, offering an intense performance schedule covering classical to pop musical styles and drawing both students and guest artists from around the globe – the Symphony Orchestra truly is "bringing the world to Mississippi!" 

Wolynec concluded, “I cannot help but think that Dvořák would feel that an orchestra made up of students who have come to join us from more than a dozen countries would be the perfect vehicle to share his ‘impressions from a new world!’”