Under the direction of Dr. Douglas Hill and Mr. Lloyd McDonald, Middle Georgia Youth Wind Ensemble performs an eclectic repertoire of music, ranging from the standards of the band literature to contemporary and unique selections. Building: McCorkle Music Building, Neva Langley Fickling Hall

Richard Kosowski, conductor

The School of Music concert season opens with a showcase of performances by the distinguished faculty artists in a festive gala concert event. Afterwards, please join us for a reception honoring the performers and the start of the concert year on the patio.

After three days of intense solo and chamber study with Center Faculty, eight high school seniors have a chance to showcase their talents in the free afternoon concert. Help celebrate Labor Day in a concert that features Center faculty and students. 3 p.m., Fickling Hall. Seating is first come, first served.

Distinguished faculty artist Elizabeth Pridgen is joined by pianist Julie Coucheron for an evening of piano four-hand music featuring works by Mozart, Mendelssohn and Barber. Coucheron has established an international career winning first prize in all the national competitions she has attended in addition to winning prizes in Italy, Germany and the United States. Originally from Oslo, Norway, Coucheron resides in Atlanta and is a member of the Georgian Chamber Players.

Professors of Music Rich Kosowski and Carol Goff will present an evening of songs and arias featuring the achingly beautiful Tre sonetti di Petrarca by Franz Liszt, lieder of Richard Strauss, rarely heard French Baroque and Classical arias, and five comical and touching Appalachian folk songs arranged by North Carolina composer Kenneth Frazelle.

Nova Thomas is an internationally known opera singer whose performances have taken her to the opera houses of Cologne, Hamburg, Stuttgart, Paris, Hong Kong, Dublin, Belfast and New York. A faculty member of The New School's Drama School and Mannes School of Music in New York City and the world-renowned Westminster Choir College, Thomas will lead a four-day workshop with Mercer University voice students on acting for the operatic stage. The group sessions of the workshop are free and open…

Recitals are held in the Bell House Jennings Salon at 7 p.m. and are free and open to the public. Seating is first-come, first-served. Doors open 30 minutes beforehand.

The 18th annual presentation of Chamber Ensembles comprised from the Mercer University Wind Ensemble offers up a program of every imaginable setting! Small groups from a woodwind quintet to a full brass choir will explore the variable palette of musical timbres available to these instrumentations.