For the fifth-year, the Delta State University campus will recognize the artistic excellence of its students and faculty during the Arts in April Festival, sponsored by the Delta State University Special Programs Committee. Initiated in 2006, Arts in April spotlights students and faculty engaged in performing, visual and literary arts.
Dance will be on the slate for this year’s festival. The Different Drummer Belly Dancers from Bloomington, Ind., will join Assistant Professor of Music, Dr. Teri Herron, instructor of voice and general music studies at Delta State, for an outdoor exhibition of American Tribal Style belly dancing. A Mediterranean and Moroccan atmosphere will surround the performance, offering foods, music, fashion, and décor, at 3 p.m., on April 23 on the Delta State Quadrangle, or in the Wright Art Center Gallery on campus, if weather prohibits the outdoor venue. Audience members will have the opportunity to explore their own flexibility, or just watch and enjoy.The troupe will also give a workshop for area belly dance classes.
In addition, the annual Student Art Show will open on Sunday, March 28, at 4 p.m. in the Wright Art Center Gallery. Prior to the opening, a Pre-Show Forum will be held at 3 p.m. in the Gallery, where selected student artists and musicians will discuss ways in which their artistic products may share some qualities or style, but are also varied and different. Both events are free and open to the public.
Concerts are planned for several campus musical ensembles including large choral and instrumental groups: the Jazz Ensemble and theSteel Drum Ensemble. Several students will present senior recitals as well.
Guest artists will also be featured, including a program of Spanish vocal music on Tuesday, April 20, to be presented by Assistant Professor of MusicDr. Teri Herron, soprano, and Kimberly Jackson Carballo, pianist, from Indiana University. Carballo is a noted vocal coach and pianist. Included in her residency will be a master class for Delta State singers and a lecture on “Careers in Music.” The recital begins at 7:30 p.m. in the Recital Hall of the Bologna Performing Arts Center. A calendar of music events for April is available on the Delta State Department of Music web site.
Events at the Delta Music Institute (DMI) in April will include a viewing of the film “Nosferatu” featuring musical scores produced by DMI students. Also, the Delta International Film and VideoFestival will be held in April 7-8 on campus, presented by the Delta State Art Department.
The state competition of the National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS) will take place on April 15-17, in the Department of Music and the Bologna Performing Arts Center. Singers from Mississippi colleges and universities, high schools and communities who study voice with NATS membersand serve as thejudges will compete in this multi-age event. Some events are open to the public, although the preliminary and semifinal auditions are not. The final auditions will be held Saturday morning, April 17, in the Bologna Performing Arts Center.
For more information on the arts festival, contact Dr. Mark Butler, chair of the Special Programs Committee, and Delta State professor of music at (662) 846-4619. Additional publicity for selected events will be available.
