UM alumni Price Walden (left) and Alice Anne Light (right) join faculty members Nancy Maria Balach and Jos Milton at this week’s taping of ‘LMR Live’ in Nutt Auditorium. Photo by Kevin Bain/Ole Miss Communications
OXFORD, Miss. – The University of Mississippi’s Living Music Resource and the Sarah Isom Center for Women and Gender Studies are teaming up again to host events for the annual Sarahfest.
UM alumnus and composer Price Walden will perform his original work “A Song of Songs” at 7:30 p.m. Friday (Oct. 27) in the David H. Nutt Auditorium. The Oxford resident will be accompanied by Alice Anne Light, a UM alumna and mezzo soprano; Bruce Levingston, the chancellor’s Honors College artist-in-residence; and Ole Miss students and faculty members.
The concert is free and open to the public.
“It is exciting to be showcasing Price Walden,” said Nancy Maria Balach, associate professor of music and director of the Living Music Resource, or LMR. “I have enjoyed watching him grow as an artist over the years and collaborating with him on various projects.”
Walden is performing some original works, which he said are meaningful to him and his growth as an artist. He describes many of his pieces as “very intimate” because they correlate with personal experiences.
“It’s always very special to share the music I have written with a local audience,” Walden said.
LMR is an online video resource featuring interviews with renowned vocalists and composers recorded on campus, led by Balach. This partnership led to the two musical performers for this year’s festivities.
Earlier this month, Sharde Thomas and the Rising Star Fife and Drum Band performed for the educational celebration.
LMR brought in Walden for Tuesday’s recording of “LMR Live,” the interactive live interview series run by Balach and her students. Also on stage were Jos Milton, UM associate professor of music, and Light.
“Alice Anne Light is finding great success in the world of music,” Balach said. “Our current students benefited immensely from her insight on last night’s ‘LMR Live’ program, will learn from her as she leads a master class and will experience her great artistry at the concert.
“Our students relate to Alice Anne Light and enjoy seeing how an Ole Miss alumna has successfully transitioned from academia to the professional world.”
Light is a faculty member at William Jewell College in Liberty, Missouri.
“It is an absolute joy to be back in Nutt Auditorium, putting this program together with UM students and faculty,” Walden said. “I am thrilled that our school is working to be a host for these types of conversations and events.”
When asked about his time in the Department of Music, Walden said, “I was able to learn from so many incredible people in my time at UM, and it is an incredible honor that I now get to work with them as collaborators, including the wonderful artists that are joining me for the concert.”