OXFORD, Miss. – The Gertrude C. Ford Center for the Performing Arts will bring the Russian Folk Instrument Orchestra to the University of Mississippi this fall, thanks to a generous gift from Dr. Billy and Rebecca Long of Madison.

The $20,000 gift established the FCPA Russian Folk Instrument Orchestra Fund. The Longs became interested in assisting the Ford Center through Cheryle Sims, a Ford Foundation board member and former patient of Long’s.

“Several years ago, she invited us to attend a ballet performance and introduced us to this wonderful facility,” he said. “Since then, we have gotten progressively more interested in attending various events. We realize what a wonderful venue the Ford Center offers to the greater Mississippi community.”

Last year, the Longs traveled to Russia and attended several opera, ballet and symphony performances in Moscow and St. Petersburg while also touring academies where young Russians are trained in artistic skills. The UM alumnus and longtime Ole Miss sports fan wanted to provide a way to bring these performers to the United States.

“We are excited about the future offerings at the Ford Center, and the intention to promote the performing arts to a wider audience,” Long said. “I hope that our interest in the Ford Center may spark an interest in our junior high and high school students to see live performances. 

“The Ford Center is an essential part of the university’s outreach to Oxford and the surrounding area, but also to our college students who wish to develop an appreciation for the performing arts, and even become a performer themselves.”

The performance is set for Oct. 3 and will include an outreach activity earlier that day for area students, said Julia Aubrey, Ford Center director.

“It will be an international cultural event that will appeal to arts enthusiasts of all ages, and I believe our Oxford audience will embrace this group of talented young musicians and welcome them into our community,” she said.

To contribute to programming at the Ford Center, contact Angela Barlow Brown at 662-915-3181 or ambarlow@olemiss.edu.

OXFORD, Miss. – The University of Mississippi Opera Theatre presents a lighthearted musical adventure that offers a perfect introduction to the world of opera when it performs Benjamin Britten’s “Albert Herring” this weekend at the Gertrude C. Ford Center for the Performing Arts.

“Albert Herring” is a comic three-act opera composed by Britten in 1947. Set in East Suffolk at the turn of the 20th century, the production depicts a May Day festival that goes wrong when the quiet young man who has been elected as May King chooses to experience life’s pleasures as he breaks away from the rules and expectations society has placed on him.

“Albert Herring” will be performed by Ole Miss graduate and undergraduate vocal music majors, supported by the UM Orchestra. Performances are 7:30 p.m. Saturday (April 22) and 2 p.m. Sunday (April 23).

“‘Albert Herring’ promises to be a delightful experience,” said Kate Meacham, Ford Center marketing director. “It’s also a great opportunity to try opera if you have never seen one.

“It’s sung in English, so it’s easy to follow the story. The show is very funny, and the cast and crew have done a wonderful job bringing the show to life.”

Before Saturday’s concert at 6:45 p.m., assistant professor of music Jos Milton will deliver a lecture offering a brief exploration into the life and works of Benjamin Britten.

“Come support our university student singers and orchestra as they present ‘Albert Herring,'” said Julia Aubrey, Ford Center director. “You will be delighted with the quality voices, acting and support from the orchestra pit from these young musicians. The set, lighting and costume designers have created a wonderful visual component that you do not want to miss.”

Tickets are $21 for Orchestra/Parterre, $18 Mezzanine, $15 Balcony $21 Tier 1 box seats and $18 Tier 2 box seats. A 10 percent discount is available for all UM faculty, staff and retirees. Tickets are available at the UM Box Office at the Ford Center, online at http://olemissboxoffice.com/ or by phone at 662-915-2787.

OXFORD, Miss. – Mother and daughter singer-actresses Mary Donnelly Haskell and Mary Lane Haskell are the featured performers Sunday (March 5) for a University of Mississippi Department of Music fundraiser.

The department’s second annual “hUManities affair” is set for 4:30 p.m. at the Lyric. Tickets are $50 for singles and $75 for couples. All proceeds benefit innovative and educational programs produced by the Living Music Resource.

“This is the first time for LMR to showcase Mary Donnelly and Mary Lane in concert, my first time to perform with them and our first event at the Lyric,” said Nancy Maria Balach, professor of music and event coordinator. “The repertoire includes American standards (popular and jazz songs from the early 20th century).

“The evening will also include Guy Hovis, whom many will remember from ‘The Lawrence Welk Show.'”

For tickets, visit http://www.umfoundation.com/lmrhumanitiesaffair.

To date, LMR has brought Grammy Award-winning composers, Broadway performers and Metropolitan Opera artists to Oxford. The Haskells also were featured on an LMR LIVE live-stream interview series Tuesday (Feb. 28) at The Powerhouse.

They are set to lead a “Between the Bar Lines” master class at noon Wednesday (March 1) in the music department’s Choir Room.

“Although I’ve sung in Oxford many times, I’ve never had the opportunity to do a whole concert of songs from the Great American Songbook, or as most people refer to as ‘standards,'” Mary Donnelly Haskell said. “I grew up listening to the music of Rosemary Clooney, Ella Fitzgerald and Frank Sinatra, so this is a chance to sing many of my favorite songs.”

The mother and daughter have performed together in Oxford before, including the successful production of “Hello, Dolly!” and “Sounds of Stage & Screen” concert, both held at the Gertrude C. Ford Center for the Performing Arts. Still, Sunday’s benefit will be a unique experience for them both.

“Mary Lane and I have chosen songs for the concert that will definitely have this audience humming along,” she said. “We have songs by Gershwin, Cole Porter, Duke Ellington and many more. The hardest thing was narrowing the list down, since we love them all!”

As an UM undergraduate, Mary Donnelly Haskell often performed with the Mississippians Jazz Ensemble.

“It is extra-special that The Mississippians will again collaborate with her on this concert,” Balach said.

Originally from Beaumont, Texas, Mary Donnelly Haskell was crowned Miss Mississippi in 1977 and graduated with distinction from UM in 1981. She has starred in episodes of “Touched By An Angel,” “Seventh Heaven,” “Sisters,” “Diagnosis Murder,” “Days Of Our Lives” and more than 20 movies for television, including two of the Hallmark Channel’s highest-rated Christmas movies: “Once Upon A Christmas” and “Twice Upon A Christmas.”

An accomplished singer, she has performed at venues including the Kennedy Center and the White House. and with the Prague Symphony Orchestra. She is also a popular recording artist, having released four children’s CDs, an adult contemporary album and a collection of sacred hymns and praise songs.

Mary Lane Haskell has performed at Carnegie Hall with Michael Feinstein and Elaine Stritch, serves on the Great American Songbook board and appears regularly on TV series and movies. Most recently, she was featured on NBC as Miss Moody in the Dolly Parton movie “Christmas of Many Colors.”

For more information about the UM Department of Music, go to http://music.olemiss.edu.

OXFORD, Miss. – The Grammy Award-winning Los Angeles Guitar Quartet, renowned by critics for its precision, rich tonal palette and joyous performances, comes to the University of Mississippi for a Friday (Oct. 7) concert at Gertrude C. Ford Center for the Performing Arts.

Tickets for the 7:30 p.m. show are $22 for balcony seating, $26 for mezzanine and tier two box seats and $30 for the orchestra, parterre and tier one box levels. They are available through the Ole Miss Box Office, either online or in person in Ole Miss Student Union.

The group’s four accomplished musicians are John Dearman, Matthew Greif, William Kanengiser and Scott Tennant, each offering a unique stage presence by capturing sounds and style from around the world. The quartet’s works include French Renaissance dances, Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No. 6, Brazilian favorites and American classics, such as pieces from John Philip Sousa and Miles Davis.

“We are looking forward to having such accomplished musicians at the Ford Center,” said Kate Meacham, the theater’s marketing director. “The performance will include classics by Bach and Debussy, as well as more contemporary pieces by Aaron Copeland and even two composed for L.A. Guitar Quartet.

“It promises to be a truly enjoyable performance. This is a wonderful opportunity for our community to see such a highly acclaimed guitar quartet.”

Dearman, a native of Minneapolis, is a versatile guitarist whose styles range from samba to bluegrass and from flamenco to classical. He is director of the guitar chamber music program at California State University at Northridge in Los Angeles.

Greif, the newest member of the quartet, has a background in guitar styles of classical, jazz, rock and bluegrass, among others. He teaches classical and jazz guitar at California State University at Dominguez Hills in Carson.

Kanengiser is an acclaimed guitar soloist, recording artist and professor at the University of Southern California’s Thornton School of Music. He has won the Concert Artists Guild New York Competition and is best known as the classical guitarist in the 1986 film “Crossroads.”

Tennant is a Detroit native and world-class performer, author and teacher. He has performed concerts since he was 12 years old and is the author of the best-selling book and video “Pumping Nylon,” a technical handbook for classical guitarists. Tennant previously taught at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and is on the faculty at the USC Thornton School of Music.