MSU music department hosts faculty recital showcasing ‘Love Actually is all Around’

Voice and choral faculty members in Mississippi State’s Department of Music are hosting a 4 p.m. public recital Saturday, March 20, on the Starkville campus.

Admission is free to the outdoor performance at the amphitheater adjacent to Giles Hall. COVID-19 safety protocols will be followed.

Titled “Love Actually is all Around,” the recital will feature opera scenes and musical theater songs, including favorites from “La Traviata,” “The Barber of Seville,” “The Secret Garden,” “Giulio Cesare,” “Spamalot,” “The Magic Flute” and “Carmen.” Community members, as well as students in the MSU music department’s Opera Workshop program, will accompany MSU voice and choral faculty for the performance.

“We are excited to host this program because it will be our first in-person event since the pandemic began,” said Jeanette Fontaine, MSU assistant professor of voice and voice area coordinator.

“Our Master of Ceremonies Peter Infanger is a devilishly good host who has woven together a tale you won’t forget,” added Roza Tulyaganova, MSU assistant professor of voice. Infanger is an MSU voice lecturer and music director for Starkville First United Methodist Church.

The recital is part of “Vocal Odyssey in Creativity and Education,” or Voice, an annual music department-sponsored event aimed at exposing students to professional musicians and educators from across the country. Though not open to the public this year, Voice will feature special guests from the Starkville community who will present on various topics, including the influence of opera choruses on culture throughout history, the importance of music ministry and sacred music, the choral director as vocal pedagogue, and the interconnectedness of all experiences in shaping humans as people and musicians.

In addition to engaging in outdoor activities throughout the daylong program, voice students will have the chance to tour the Special Collections department at MSU’S Mitchell Memorial Library, along with its Charles H. Templeton Sr. Music Museum, Ulysses S. Grant Presidential Library, and the Frank and Virginia Williams Collection of Lincolniana.

For more information or questions, contact Fontaine at jfontaine@colled. msstate.edu or Tulyaganova at rozat@ colled.msstate.edu.