Greetings and welcome to another performance in our ambitious American Perspectives season. A quote attributed to Betsy Ross describing our country’s flag was used as inspiration for this season’s programming. With Bars of Red, we present an event that I believe we will be talking about for years. In celebration of Women’s History month, 10 young women will be featured in a groundbreaking performance by one of our country’s foremost voices in great music.
“We
identify the flag with almost everything we hold dear on earth - peace, security, liberty, our family, our friends, our home.”- Calvin Coolidge
PROGRAM
THE UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN MISSISSIPPI COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES SCHOOL OF MUSIC
present
Bars of Red
The University of Southern Mississippi Symphony Orchestra
Gregory Wolynec, music director
Thursday, March 26, 2026 - 7:30 p.m.
The Thomas V. Fraschillo Stage at the Mannoni Performing Arts Center Auditorium
Maurice Ravel (1875-1937)
Pavane for a Dead Princess (1910)
Carlos Tello, guest conductor
George Gershwin (1898-1937)
An American in Paris (1928)
A Conversation with Julia Wolfe
Intermission
Julia Wolfe (b.1958)
Her Story (2022)
I. Foment
II. Rise
Anne Kauffman, Director
Jeff Sugg, Scenic, Lighting and Production Designer
Anya Plotkin, Stage Manager
Christina English, Restaging Director Produced by Bang on a Can
Riley Young, Emma Walker, Jayla Davis, Sarah Kwas, Tara Piggott, altos Casey Wood, chorus director
This program is presented in part by a generous grant from Partners for the Arts.
CONDUCTOR’S NOTES
D uring the spring of 2025, I surveyed the Symphony Orchestra to find out what works our students were interested in performing. The craft of assembling pieces into cohesive programs is of tremendous importance to me, so the intent was never to simply choose works from a sort of popularity contest. However, I did pay close attention to these suggestions and have been delighted to include works by Brahms, Mozart and John Adams in our programs so far this season. This evening, we will open with two more of these selections.
The featured work this evening, Her Story by Julia Wolfe, will be dealt with below. It was written to commemorate the centennial of the 19th amendment to our Constitution with which women secured the right to vote. Once this piece was confirmed, I looked for ways to frame this important event from 1920. Two contrasting pieces jumped off this student survey that I felt would work to great effect.
French composer Maurice Ravel and American composer George Gershwin have been linked in history because of a famous encounter. In the 1920s, at a point that Gershwin had already achieved much success and acclaim, he asked Ravel if he could study with him. The meeting turned into a lengthy discussion about music. Eventually, Ravel expressed something along the lines of “why do you want to become a second-rate Ravel when you are already a first-rate Gershwin?” It is one of the most famous attributions in music history.
O ver the course of this evening, we will present a sort of sonic and emotional crescendo. Scored for orchestra in 1910, Ravel’s Pavane is a tender work written for smaller ensemble. The name comes from an ancient dance of the Spanish aristocracy. Ravel at times indicated that the memory of a young girl dancing this processional at court was his inspiration. Of course, at other times he said that he just liked the pairing of the French words - Pavane pour une infante défunte. The musical textures range from delicate lines for solo wind instruments through lush moments of beautiful harmonies in the strings. Music like this requires great sensitivity to the various colors of the orchestra. Even with a group of modest size, we hear that Ravel was one of the great masters in orchestral shading.
Gershwin’s An American in Paris will surely be one of the most performed works as we celebrate 250 years of our great land. This iconic piece effortlessly fuses jazz and other popular idioms into a work designed for the concert hall. To the usual forces of the symphony orchestra, Gershwin adds three saxophones and a series of tuned taxi horns. By this point in his career, the composer had already achieved considerable success on Broadway and with his first pioneering efforts at “serious music” with Rhapsody in Blue and his Concerto in F for piano.
An American in Paris is charming music and, as the members of the USM Symphony have heard me say many times, nothing in music is harder to pull off than charming. An opening walking melody is interrupted by popular Parisian tunes and startling taxi horns. Our tourist, suffering perhaps from a bit of homesickness, seems to find his way into a series of clubs, where we first encounter the blues followed by a more upbeat Charleston in which flappers of the 1920s seem to dance the night away. Back on the street, the music returns to where it began before combining many of the ideas into a grand finale. This was adventurous music for Gershwin at the time and shows a great deal of influence from French composers of the era. If a time machine existed to take us anywhere, Paris in the 1920s would be my first choice.
Her Story was co-commissioned by the Boston, Chicago, Nashville, National and San Francisco Symphony Orchestras. Nashville was chosen for the initial premiere as Tennessee provided the necessary vote for the 19th Amendment’s ratification. I have many friends that were associated with that performance and spoke of it in glowing terms. As a Bang on a Can production, more on that to follow, we have been asked to provide the detailed program note created for that performance, which you will find at the end of my notes. Please take the time to read it.
About a year ago, I was reminded of this work as the last of the commissioning orchestras presented it in Washington, D.C. I reached out to the composer through her website and inquired about the availability of the work to groups outside the commission. The next morning, I had a delightful chat with one of her associates and the beginning of a plan emerged. It took several months to finalize all elements of the agreement. If there was a sticking point, it was my insistence that our students form the chorus. Originally written for the outstanding choral ensemble Lorelei, it has been a pleasure to have Christina English coach us through all the movements for this performance. This is the first collegiate ensemble to present this work, and I will forever be grateful that Julia Wolfe and the folks at Bang on a Can were willing to think outside of the box and find their way to Hattiesburg.
Works such as Her Story don’t present themselves very often, as they pose unique and wide-ranging challenges. There is not a genre that is defined by small chorus of amplified women’s voices with large orchestra (to include massive percussion resources, electric guitar and electric bass) involving staging, lighting and video displays. Genre-defying works help us to grow as musicians and artists while challenging and rewarding audience members with a feast for the senses and a directness of communication that knows few equals. They are very difficult to present with a traditional symphony orchestra’s season as the demands on the players, the facilities and the budget can be overwhelming. To me, this sort of challenge is custom-made for the environment of a high-profile School of Music with outrageous goals. Mississippi? Why in the world not!
Foment
Dear John
I desire you would remember the ladies and be more generous and more favorable than your ancestors. Do not put such unlimited power into the hands of husbands. Remember, all men would be tyrants if they could. We will foment a rebellion. We have no voice.
Conjuring up unnatural powers that destroy... UnAmerican
I didn’t raise my girl to be a voter Look at me Look at my arm And she bared her right arm, to the shoulder Look at me
I have ploughed and planted reaped and gathered and gathered and gathered and gathered I am strong
ABOUT HER STORY -
written by Thomas May
One of today’s preeminent examples of the American maverick tradition of trailblazing composers, Julia Wolfe has had a formidable impact on the direction taken by the contemporary music scene. The body of work she has created, which reflects the collective’s uninhibited, genre-defying attitude, taps into the power of music to illuminate the stories that make up our histories and, in the process, to evoke their contemporary resonance. Her contributions as co-founder and co-director of the influential music collective Bang on a Can (established in 1987) have further extended Wolfe’s influence among the new
generation of composers.
Her Story is the latest in an ongoing series of large-scale, immersive choralinstrumental compositions in which Wolfe reimagines the tradition of the oratorio to examine the landmark struggles that have shaped American history and culture. It originated when Beth Willer, the artistic director of Lorelei Ensemble, asked her to write a piece marking the year of suffrage and became the composer’s main focus during the height of the pandemic.
In 2015, Wolfe won the Pulitzer Prize in music for Anthracite Fields, which pays homage to the lives and legacy of coal miners from her native Pennsylvania who helped transform the young nation into a global power. Other examples include 2009’s Steel Hammer, a work that draws on the legends associated with John Henry and American folk idioms, and Fire in My Mouth from 2019, which addresses the plight of garment industry laborers in New York City at the turn of the century.
What Her Story shares with its predecessors is a command of compelling musical narrative that is enhanced by Wolfe’s innovative use of documentary sources from the historical record and by her flair for striking sonic images. With this new work, the composer also continues her collaboration with director Anne Kauffman, scenic and lighting designer Jeff Sugg, and costume designer Márion Talán to complement the dramatic arc traced by the music with a visual, theatrically engaging dimension.
It ’s a drama with very high stakes indeed: the still-unfinished quest for equal rights for women. While the original impetus for the piece was to mark the 19th Amendment’s centennial, Wolfe expanded the vision of Her Story to encompass reminders of the struggle from the years well before it crystallized into the suffragist movement, as well as of the voices left out of the promise of fully equal rights—a promise that has remained unfulfilled, and even undermined, in the century since 1920.
Wolfe distilled the text for her two-movement oratorio from widely varying sources. The first movement, titled “Foment,” presents an extract adapted from a letter Abigail Adams wrote in 1776 to her husband John, the future U.S. President, just months before he helped draft the Declaration of Independence. She reminds him that “the ladies,” if overlooked, “are determined to foment a rebellion.”
“Raise,” the title of the second movement, juxtaposes texts from three distinct sources. First is a sequence of negative adjectives culled from the propaganda of anti-suffragists. These insults underscore the reality that the ideological division in the U.S. remained strong even as the 19th Amendment finally passed in the summer of 1920. “The pro-suffrage movement itself was factious,” Wolfe points out, “as opinions differed on how to battle for the right to vote, which voices would be heard, and which voices left out. The derogatory adjectives and descriptions in the text here refer to all women fighting for representation.”
“I didn’t raise my girl to be a voter” is taken from a political cartoon from a 1915 edition of Puck magazine lampooning the anti-suffrage movement. It plays on a pacifist song popular as the Great War raged (“I didn’t raise my boy to be a soldier”).
W ith the words, “Look at me,” Wolfe turns to the extraordinary figure
of Isabelle Baumfree (1797-1883). Enslaved in New York state until young adulthood, she became a powerful advocate for the suffragist and abolitionist movements, changing her name to Sojourner Truth after a life-changing religious experience. In 1851, she delivered a famous extemporaneous speech that was later published in two different versions (both as edited by white allies) and became known by the title, “Ain’t I a Woman?” Wolfe takes words from both written versions, thus amalgamating what she calls “the mythological, the representational and the very possibly true phrases” associated with the speech.
WHAT TO LISTEN FOR
Though the text is historical, Wolfe’s music does not evoke “period” sounds. In its fusion of elements from folk and popular genres with inventive vocal textures and artful repetitions, her sound world is recognizably of our own time, and she enlarges the palette of her large orchestra with the contemporary sounds of electric guitar and bass guitar. The intention is to create the impression “that we are in the room with these women in a very immediate way.”
Wolfe’s score divides and remixes the 10 amplified voices of the Lorelei Ensemble (five sopranos and five altos) in many different ways throughout Her Story to deepen or even interrogate the meaning of the text. Her vocal writing ranges from clear word painting—as in the off-kilter rhythms at “unbalanced”— to abstract textural colorings that defamiliarize the words, as we hear in her treatment of “remember” in “Foment.”
Humor is also enlisted for the sarcastic setting of the political cartoon referenced in “Raise.” Contrasts of loud with quiet intensity play a significant role in articulating the fundamental drama of Her Story, which traces history’s pattern of hope, frustration, and final affirmation in the reawakened words of Sojourner Truth: “I am strong.”
— Thomas May is the Nashville Symphony’s program annotator.
STRINGS
Dr. Borislava Iltcheva, violin
Dr. Hsiaopei Lee, viola
Dr. Alexander Russakovsky, cello
Dr. Marcos Machado, bass
Dr. Nicholas Ciraldo, guitar
WOODWINDS
Dr. Danilo Mezzadri, flute
Dr. Pablo Hernandez, oboe
Dr. Jackie McIlwain, clarinet
Dr. Kim Woolly, bassoon
Dr. Dannel Espinoza, saxophone
BRASS
Dr. Rob Detjen, horn
Dr. T.J. Tesh, trumpet
Dr. Ben McIlwain, trombone
Dr. Richard Perry, tuba
PERCUSSION
Dr. John Wooton, percussion
PIANO
Dr. Michael Bunchman, piano
Dr. Ellen Elder, piano
Dr. Hongzuo Guo, staff pianist
Dr. Elizabeth Moak, piano
Zhaolei Xie, staff pianist
ORCHESTRAL ACTIVITIES
Dr. Gregory Wolynec
CHORAL ACTIVITIES
Dr. Gregory Fuller
Dr. Jonathan Kilgore
VOICE
Dr. Kimberley Davis
Dr. Taylor Hightower
Dr. Meredith Johnson
Dr. Jonathan Yarrington
MUSIC EDUCATION
Dr. Ashley Allen
Dr. Melody Causby
Dr. Ian Cicco
Dr. Kellie Clark
UNIVERSITY BANDS
Dr. Catherine Rand
Dr. Travis Higa
Dr. Cody Edgerton
JAZZ STUDIES
Larry Panella
MUSIC HISTORY
Dr. Vanessa Tonelli
Dr. Edward Hafer
Dr. Joseph Jones
MUSIC THEORY
Dr. Danny Beard
Dr. Joseph Brumbeloe
Dr. Douglas Rust
DIRECTOR
Dr. Colin McKenzie
ASSOCIATE DIRECTORS
Dr. Joseph Jones
Dr. T.J. Tesh
ASSISTANT TO THE DIRECTOR
Laurie Rinko
FINANCE AND ADMINISTRATION SPECIALIST
Jennifer Knue
ADMINISTRATIVE SPECIALISTS
Sinetta Bolton
Dr. Kevin Ledgewood
ACADEMIC ADVISEMENT
COORDINATOR
Kristin Sheppard
GRADUATE COORDINATOR
Dr. Melody Causby
PR/MARKETING AND EVENT COORDINATOR
Dr. Mike Lopinto
PIANO TECHNICIAN
Carlos Boza
ABOUT THE ARTISTS
Morgan
Amelia Sutherland is a graduate vocal performance student at The University of Southern Mississippi. Originally from Midland, Michigan, Sutherland graduated from Central Michigan University with her bachelor’s in vocal performance and a minor in violin performance. Sutherland performed in various ensembles, many solo works, and operas during her undergraduate career, including roles as Venus in Venus and Adonis and Cinderella in Into the Woods. She continues to perform at Southern Miss with Southern Chorale and the Southern Opera and Musical Theater Company, most recently as Adele in Die Fledermaus. Sutherland aspires to perform with internationally renowned opera companies and orchestras, as well as collaborate and perform modern works like Her Story!
Morgan Anderson is a graduate assistant with the choral department pursuing a Master of Music in choral conducting under the instruction of Dr. Gregory Fuller. Originally from the Sunshine State, she is an alumna of Rollins College, where she was actively involved in choir, orchestra, and staged productions. She strongly resonates with the message of Her Story and is honored to return to the stage to share this profound work.
Hailing from Crestview, Florida, Jaynie Darby is a junior choral B.M.Ed. student at The University of Southern Mississippi studying voice under Dr. Taylor Hightower. Darby placed first in the 2025 Mississippi NATS Lower Classical division and recently debuted as Rosalinde in the Southern Opera and Musical Theatre Company’s production of Strauss’ Die Fledermaus. Internationally, she premiered solo work in Richard Burchard’s Requiem for the Forgotten with the Southern Chorale, Southern Miss’ premier choral ensemble.
Reese Walker is a native of Crystal Springs, Miss. She is currently attending The University of Southern Mississippi, where she is pursuing a degree in music education. She is a member of the Southern Chorale and studies applied voice under Dr. Meredith Johnson. Upon her graduation, she plans to continue her studies with a master’s degree in vocal performance. Her dream is to pursue a professional vocal career.
Amelia Sutherland,
Anderson, Jaynie Darby, Reese Walker, Bonnie Littlejohn, sopranos Riley Young, Emma Walker, Jayla Davis, Sarah Kwas, Tara Piggott, altos
Bonnie Littlejohn is a Southern Miss senior from New Albany, Miss., pursuing a Bachelor of Arts in music with a concentration in piano. She is a piano student of Dr. Elizabeth Moak and a harp student of Dr. Kristina Finch. At Southern Miss, Littlejohn has performed as a vocalist with the Southern Chorale and the Southern Opera and Musical Theatre Company and as a harpist with the USM Symphony Orchestra and Wind Ensemble. She plans to continue her education with a master’s degree in library and information science.
Riley Young, a Hattiesburg native, is a senior at The University of Southern Mississippi studying speech pathology and audiology. She is a member of the Southern Chorale and has thoroughly enjoyed working on this piece alongside her fellow musicians. This fall, Young looks forward to returning to Southern Miss to begin work on her Doctorate of Audiology. Excited for what’s ahead, she is grateful for this experience and can’t wait to share this music with you.
Emma Walker grew up in Mobile, Ala., and is currently a student at The University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg, Miss., earning a degree in vocal performance. She is a member of the Southern Chorale and studies with Dr. Kimberley Davis. In the fall of 2024, Walker was a part of the Disney College Program, where she worked as an attraction’s operator at The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror at Disney’s Hollywood Studios in Orlando, Fla. She plans to return with the Disney Company after college to work as a character performer.
From Clinton, Miss., Jayla Davis is a junior at The University of Southern Mississippi, earning a degree in choral music education. She is a member of the Southern Chorale, Spirit of Southern, and studies voice under Dr. Kimberley Davis. She also serves as the vice president for the student chapter of the American Choral Director’s Association at Southern Miss. After graduation, she plans to teach secondary choral music education.
Sarah Kwas is a 2025 graduate from Southern Miss with a bachelor’s degree in interdisciplinary studies with a minor in graphic design. In her time as a double music major, she studied voice under Dr. Ann McPhail, marched in the drumline in The Pride of Mississippi, and sang in the Southern Chorale for five years while also studying oboe under Dr. Galit Kaunitz. She plans to tour abroad with the Southern Chorale on their tour this summer and is very pleased to be a part of Her Story.
Tara Piggott is a graduate assistant for Choral Activities at The University of Southern Mississippi, where she is pursuing her master’s degree in choral conducting. She earned her Bachelor of Music Education from the same institution in 2024. Originally from Mobile, Alabama, Tara is an active and passionate performer. She has appeared as a vocalist with the Southern Chorale and the Southern Opera and Musical Theatre Company. She is grateful for the opportunity to return to the stage and bring this meaningful work to life.
A native of Ogden, Utah, Casey Wood spent eight years as a choral director and music theory teacher at Box Elder High School in Brigham City, Utah. During that time, Wood directed six different choirs. Notably, the Box Elder High School Madrigals received superior ratings at state festival each of his eight years. His groups have also sung at the
Utah American Choral Directors Association annual conference and the Utah Music Educators annual conference.
Wood is the founder and artistic director of The Summit Singers, a community choir based in Box Elder County, Utah. This 60-voice group has performed collaborations with school groups in the area, as well as the Utah Music Educators annual conference. Wood is also an active keyboardist and singer in both Missouri, Idaho, Wyoming, Montana, and Utah, playing in numerous professional rock and jazz bands.
Wood holds a BM in choral music education from Weber St. University. In 2025, he completed the MM in choral conducting at the University of Missouri under the direction of Dr. Brandon Boyd. He is currently pursuing a DMA in choral conducting at The University of Southern Mississippi under the direction of Dr. Greg Fuller.
Julia Wolfe’s music is distinguished by an intense physicality and a relentless power that pushes performers to extremes and demands attention from the audience. She draws inspiration from folk, classical, and rock genres, bringing a modern sensibility to each while simultaneously tearing down the walls between them.
Wolfe’s recent premieres include Pretty, premiered in June 2023 by conductor Kirill Petrenko and the Berlin Philharmonic. Co-commissioned by the Berlin Philharmonic, Houston Symphony, Philadelphia Orchestra, and the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, Pretty is a raucous celebration — embracing the grit of fiddling, the relentlessness of work rhythms, and inspired by the distortion and reverberation of rock and roll.
unEarth, commissioned and premiered in June 2023 by the New York Philharmonic, is a large-scale work for orchestra, men’s chorus, and children’s chorus that addresses the climate crisis. Performed in three movements, the 40-minute piece is realized with spatial staging and scenic design projected on a large circular screen.
Her Story, a 45-minute semi-staged work for orchestra and women’s chamber choir, received its world premiere in September 2022 with the Nashville Symphony, conductor Giancarlo Guerrero, the vocal ensemble Lorelei, and stage direction by Anne Kauffman. Co-commissioned by the Nashville Symphony, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Boston Symphony Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony, and National Symphony Orchestra, Her Story invokes the words of historical figures and the spirit of pivotal moments to pay tribute to the centuries of ongoing struggle for equal rights and representation for women in America.
The 2019 world premiere of Fire in My Mouth – a large-scale work for orchestra and women’s chorus – by the New York Philharmonic with The Crossing and the Young People’s Chorus of New York City, addresses the plight of young immigrant women working in New York City’s garment industry at the turn of the century. The work received extensive acclaim — one reviewer called it “a monumental achievement in high musical drama, among the most commandingly imaginative and emotively potent works of any kind that I’ve ever experienced” (The Nation Magazine).
In addition to receiving the 2015 Pulitzer Prize in Music Wolfe was a 2016 MacArthur Fellow. She received the 2015 Herb Alpert Award in Music and was named Musical America’s 2019 Composer of the Year. Wolfe is a 2024 Guggenheim Fellow. She is co-founder/co-artistic director of New York’s legendary music collective Bang on a Can and is the artistic director of NYU Steinhardt Music Composition.
Her music is published by Red Poppy Music and G. Ricordi & Co., New York
(ASCAP) and is distributed worldwide by the Universal Music Publishing Group.
Jeff Sugg (scenic, lighting, and production designer) is a Tonynominated designer and theater-maker with over 25 years of experience in the performing arts. Sugg has designed for a wide range of productions from Broadway to regional theater to international concert halls. Select theater credits include Broadway: Mr. Saturday Night, Tina: The Tina Turner Musical, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (Broadway, Tour, Australia), Sweat, Bring It On, 33 Variations, and London: Tina the Musical (West End), Jack Absolute Flies Again (National Theatre). His off-Broadway and regional work has been seen at Second Stage, The Public, St. Ann’s Warehouse, BAM, Lincoln Center, Playwrights Horizons, NYTW, Steppenwolf, Arena Stage, La Jolla Playhouse, Berkeley Rep, and dozens more. His work with music has included Julia Wolfe’s Fire in My Mouth, Flower Power, and her Pulitzer Prize–winning piece Anthracite Fields; Natalie Cole; and Prince’s final appearance on Saturday Night Live. Jeff Sugg is the recipient of the Lucille Lortel Award, Obie Award, Bessie Award, and two Henry Hewes Design Awards.
Anya Plotkin (production stage manager)-After joining forces with Bang on a Can in Chicago, where Anya is the on-call production stage manager for the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, she has led Her Story performances with the Boston Symphony, San Francisco Symphony, and National Symphony Orchestra. She has stage-managed for companies all over the country, including at home with Chicago Opera Theater and Lyric Opera of Chicago. Anya is also a founding member of Music Theater Works’ YouthREACH Workshops. When she isn’t working, she enjoys going on adventures with her young daughter.
Christina English (restaging Director)-Noted for her “rich and mellifluous” voice (Opera News) and “striking” stage presence (The Arts Fuse), mezzo-soprano Christina English brings a collaborative spirit to projects rooted in storytelling and connection. Her work spans opera, oratorio, chamber music, and musical theatre, with a particular love for projects that foster deep connection and community among musicians and audiences alike. Her 202526 season includes a return to American classics for a program of Berlin and Porter; a winter solstice tour, Frost and Fire, with Lorelei Ensemble; and appearances with the Boston Baroque ensemble. Recent highlights include Messiah, Don Giovanni, and Beethoven’s Ninth with Boston Baroque; Mrs. Allan in Argento’s The Voyage of Edgar Allan Poe with Odyssey Opera and BMOP; and solo appearances with Musicians of the Old Post Road, Arcadia Players, Back Bay Chorale, Boston Cecilia, and Lowell Chamber Orchestra. With Lorelei Ensemble, she performed Wolfe’s Her Story with orchestras across the U.S., including Boston, Chicago, Cincinnati, Nashville, and San Francisco. A passionate believer in music’s ability to foster connection and spark dialogue, for several years Christina was executive director of Sheffield Chamber Players, an ensemble devoted to creating connection and community through intimate chamber music performances. She is also a member of Beyond Artists, a coalition of performers who support causes they care about through
About Bang on a Can
Founded in 1987 by composers Michael Gordon, David Lang, and Julia Wolfe, Bang on a Can is dedicated to making music new, creating an international community dedicated to innovative music, wherever it is found. With adventurous programs, it commissions new composers, performs, presents, and records new work, develops new audiences, and educates the musicians of the future. Bang on a Can has grown from a one-day New York-based Marathon concert (on Mother’s Day in 1987 in a SoHo art gallery) to a multi-faceted performing arts organization with a broad range of year-round international activities. Projects include the annual LONG PLAY (Brooklyn) and LOUD Weekend (MASS MoCA) festivals; the Bang on a Can All-Stars, who tour to major festivals and concert venues around the world every year; and the Bang on a Can Summer Music Festival at MASS MoCA – a professional development program for young composers and performers led by today’s pioneers of experimental music. Each new Bang on a Can program has evolved to answer specific challenges faced by today’s musicians, composers, and audiences, in order to make innovative music more widely accessible. Bang on a Can is building a world in which powerful new musical ideas flow freely across all genres and borders.
Tammy Mansfield (costumer)-With a degree in music theory and composition and a Master’s degree in conducting from The University of Southern Mississippi, Tammy divides her time as a music director, arranger, and costumer. She has costumed over 25 shows in the last decade, many for Southern Miss and FestivalSouth, including local schools and theater organizations. Tammy is a founding member of the Hub City Players professional theatre company, winner of The American Prize for Musical Theater Performance for James and the Giant Peach and Disney’s Beauty and the Beast
Robert Corey (technical director) is the senior arts facilities and event manager for the College of Arts and Sciences at Southern Miss. An alumnus of the school, he holds a BFA in design. He has served as director of operations for Gulf South Productions and technical director for the University of Mobile. At Southern Miss, he coordinates events across the arts programs in all performing arts facilities across multiple disciplines.
Mike Lopinto (production consultant) has written, directed, music directed, designed sets and lighting for numerous productions. He received the American Prize in Directing – The Charles Nelson Reilly Prize – for both his collegiate and professional body of work. Lopinto brings a new level of creativity and recognition to arts programs in Mississippi. He has coordinated events with classical celebrities from Placido Domingo, Renée Fleming and Sir James Galway, to pop icons Dionne Warwick, the Pointer Sisters and Patti LaBelle, as well as directing the award-winning galas. He is the artistic director of FestivalSouth® that has reshaped summers in the Hub City and the creative director of Consult M, a multifaceted arts development
organization that has worked regionally with arts organizations around the country. At Southern Miss, he serves as the assistant to the dean of the College of Arts and Sciences for arts PR/marketing at the same.
Lopinto is the director of the coronation for the Mystic Krewe of Zeus, and his voice can be heard at all Southern Miss games as “The Voice of The Pride” and on commercials across the South. Learn more at consultm.net.
For Carlos E. Tello Herrera, conducting is more than leading an orchestra—it is about channeling music’s profound ability to inspire and transform. A native of Cali, Colombia, he currently serves as the Symphony Orchestra conducting graduate assistant and coconductor of the new Hattiesburg Civic Orchestra.
Carlos is currently pursuing a Doctor of Musical Arts (DMA) in orchestral conducting at Southern Miss with Dr. Gregory Wolynec, where he also received his master’s degree in orchestral conducting studying with Dr. Michael Miles. His musical foundation began with a bachelor’s degree in double bass performance from the Conservatorio Antonio María Valencia in Cali, Colombia, and a Master of Music Research from the International University of La Rioja, Spain.
Previous conducting experiences include leading the Bolívar Symphony Orchestra and the Chamber Orchestra Tito Sangiorgi, where he served as chief conductor. Carlos’ artistic vision emphasizes music’s transformative power, bridging cultures and ideas through performance.
Gregory Wolynec is in his second year as director of Orchestral Activities at The University of Southern Mississippi. He directs the Symphony Orchestra, oversees the graduate program in orchestral conducting, and conducts performances of the Southern Opera and Musical Theatre Company. He is also the founder and music director emeritus of Middle Tennessee’s acclaimed Gateway Chamber Orchestra (GCO), which he directed for 17 years. Wolynec previously served as director of instrumental ensembles at Austin Peay State University (APSU) in Clarksville, Tenn., from 2003-24.
Wolynec has sought to revolutionize the potential of the 21st century orchestra. His unique programming philosophy received national attention with GCO producer Blanton Alspaugh receiving two GRAMMY nominations and a win as Classical Producer of the Year. Ambitious multi-media family concerts have been recognized by the National Endowment for the Arts and the League of American Orchestras. He spearheaded pandemic projects, including the Magical Music & Timeless Tales video series, the YouTube broadcast of the Beethoven @250: Humanity in 2020 concert, and America’s Haydn Festival in May of 2021, featuring performances by GCO, as well as the St. Lawrence String Quartet, pianist Henry Kramer and hosted by Bill McGlaughlin. In 2021, Wolynec also worked with composer Cristina Spinei to successfully launch the first NFT of a musical work commissioned by an American orchestra. This was profiled on NPR’s Marketplace Money. He also oversaw a multi-year project in collaboration with Nashville Ballet to create a new Nutcracker employing the music of Tchaikovsky, Duke Ellington and Vinico Meza. In 2025, Wolynec oversaw the groundbreaking release of recordings of Osvaldo Golijov’s massive La Pasión según San Marcos in audio, video and virtual reality formats.
Wolynec holds a BM in music education and clarinet performance from SUNY Potsdam’s Crane School of Music, as well as the MM and DMA in instrumental conducting from Michigan State University. He was a recipient of a Fulbright Grant to Prague, Czech Republic, where he studied conducting at the Prague Conservatory. There he also worked with the Karlovy Vary Symphony.
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ORCHESTRA PERSONNEL
Violin 1
Kevin Andre Zerrate Aria*
Juan Lincango
Allyson Gomes
Dexter Rodkey
Keyu Zheng
Katarzyna Gwiazda
João Vitor Gonzaga
Amelia Brencick
Paul Armijos Yambay
Christian Onyewuche
Violin 2
Carlos Suarez*
Ethne Killgore
Paulo Victor Alves
Lucas Gonzalez
Sofia Araujo
Paloma Vieira Guillory
Elizabeth Brown
Veronica Morales
Grace Pineda
Katelynn Ferguson
Viola
Rene Espinal Reyna*
Christian Avila
Adelle Paltin Panella
Renata Andrade
Jordan Wayne
Natalia Escobedo
Violoncello
Cristian Sanchez*
Evelin Lopez
Gabriel Barros
Mauricio Unzueta Salas
Vivian Herring
Itzel Orellana
Xinguang Zou
Kassandra Henriquez
Frank Palomino
Bass
Daniel Magalhaes*
Marcus Silva*
Matheus Ferreira de Souza
Jose Cuellar
Manuel Jara
JaLaan Dubose
Daniel LaMere
Harp
Tess Fullerton
Electric Guitar
Daniel Petrocelli Ugas
Electric Bass
Manuel Jara
Flute
Hallie Ward*
David Reyes
Erin Russell
Piccolo
David Reyes
Oboe
Geordie Nabors*
Juan Carlos Piedra Carvajal*
Joshua Strobel
English Horn
Joshua Strobel
Clarinet
Matt Barron*
Nicole Johnston
Bass Clarinet
Eva Matson
Bassoon
Zachary Howell*
Osvaldo Redondo Alfaro
Nancy Diaz
Gabe Flores
Contrabassoon
Gabe Flores
* denotes principal players
Saxophone
Sean Garde
Tiara Harris
Tyler Tucker Horn
Abby Loftin*
Chance Rootes
Gracie Bridges
Eli Wright
Kallie Olivarez
Trumpet
Mariah Atwood*
Rob Smith*
Anthony Leggio
Trombone
Jonathan Henneveld*
David Bretz
Bass Trombone
Alex Handley
Tuba
Clenon Hartzog*
Timpani
Nathan Wright*
Percussion
Yu Chih Cherry Chen*
Malachi Collins
Jason Quiros
Cameron White
George Walker
Keyboard
Margaleth Espinoza Fernandez*
Rehearsal Pianist
Rebekah Presswood
Symphony Patrons,
This past fall, we launched a series of ambitious new projects and an annual fundraising campaign to support them. Through the generosity and vision of several donors, we are hard at work “Bringing Mississippi to the World.” This season, our talented musicians already shared the stage with internationally acclaimed jazz pianist, Aaron Diehl, and his trio in a program featuring Mary Lou Williams’ Zodiac Suite. Our livestream programs now feature sound produced by a GRAMMY-winning engineer.
This evening, we welcome Pulitzer Prize-winning composer, Julia Wolfe, and the Bang on a Can team to present a groundbreaking performance of Her Story in celebration of women’s history month. This spring, the USM Symphony will embark on its first performance out of Hattiesburg in several years. We are just getting started. In the months ahead, we will announce plans for new touring and recording activities that will educate our students while celebrating the cultural vitality of our wonderful community.
Please consider joining the USM Foundation’s “Bringing Mississippi to the World” fund with a one-time or multi-year gift. I can think of no better cultural ambassadors for our great state than our gem here in Hattiesburg!
With
gratitude,
Gregory Wolynec, DMA Director of Orchestral Activities
MAIL
$40,000 and above
Mr. and Mrs. Frank D. Montague III
$25,000 to $39,999
Dr. Beverly Dale
$10,000 to $24,999
Dr. and Mrs. Arthur C. Martin
$5,000 to $9,999
Drs. Donald and Catherine Cotton
$2,500 to $4,999
Dr. and Mrs. Richard L. Conville
$1,000 to $2,499
Mr. David C. Carroll
Mrs. Mary J. Cromartie
Mr. and Mrs. Alex Killgore
Mrs. Virginia W. Morris
Mrs. Ardith Wolynec
Lt. Col Jason Hillman THANK YOU TO DONORS
Drs. Gregory and Lisa Wolynec
$500 to $999
Dr. and Mrs. Robert Y. Lochhead
Ms. Vicky A. Ward
$250 to $499
Dr. David M. Cochran Jr.
Up to $249
Dr. and Mrs. Andrew L. Dickson
Mr. and Mrs. Howard A. Fromkin
Dr. and Mrs. Robert F. Heath
AMERICAN PERSPECTIVES
Season Finale
Ground of White
Thursday, May 7, 2026 – 7:30 p.m. Main St. Baptist Church
The majestic voices of the Hattiesburg Choral Union present the poetry of Robert Frost in a tender fashion. Aaron Copland’s mighty third and final symphony is often referred to as the essential American symphony. This work personifies the “Dean of American” composer’s voice, which defines American music. It also prominently features his “Fanfare for the Common Man.”
ENDOWMENTS
When it comes to making a long-term impact on Southern Miss, there are many giving options to choose from besides simply writing a check. To find a charitable gift that best meets your family's goals and supports Southern Miss for years to come, please contact us and join this family that will sustain the Symphony for generations.
CONTACT
Amy Antoinette Batiste
601.266.6114
amy.batiste@usm.edu
BAND/DIXIE DARLING
Dewey W. Camp Scholarship Endowment –Fund 0846
Billie and Homer Sullivan Jr. Pride Scholarship – Fund 1237
Martha and Noobar Odjakjian Memorial Scholarship Endowment – Fund 1250
Margaret and Warren Dunn Pride Scholarship – Fund 1426
Drs. Mark and Martha Stevens and Anna Stevens Swann Pride Endowment – Fund 1463
Barnes-Manning Scholarship Endowment –Fund 1716
Janet Sims Band Scholarship Endowment –Fund 1727
Band Scholarship Endowment – Fund 2482
Kappa Kappa Psi Gamma Chi Chapter Alumni Scholarship Endowment – Fund 2515
Charles and Diane Thomas Endowment in the School of Music – Fund 0511
Anita Joe “Butch” McDonald Endowed Dixie Darling Scholarship – Fund 0667
Carl and Margaret Alesio Dixie Darling Scholarship Endowment – Fund 1421
Kristen Margaret Warren Memorial Scholarship – Fund 1591
Linda Smith Abner Dixie Darling Scholarship Endowment – Fund 2108
Alma Murphy Dixie Darlings Scholarship Endowment – Fund 2155
Sherman and Mildred Hong Percussion Scholarship Endowment – Fund 2419
Pep Band Scholarship Endowment – Fund 2213
CHOIR
Charles and Diane Thomas Choral Tour Endowment – Fund 1465
Steffan Myers Spirit of Southern FFE – Fund 2366
Drs. Mark and Martha Stevens and Anna Stevens Swann Choir Endowment – Fund 1463
CHOIR/VOCAL
Tennessee Ernie Ford Music Scholarship Endowment – Fund 1218
GUITAR
Elmo and Mary Glenn Harrison Guitar Scholarship Endowment – Fund 0931
Pat and Brett McKenzie Music Scholarship Endowment – Fund 2564
JAZZ
M. Ashley DuBoise Scholarship Endowment in Jazz Studies – Fund 0570
Jerald S. and Christine B. Hughes Jazz Studies Scholarship Endowment – Fund 1273
MUSIC
Frank Earl Marsh Scholarship Endowment –Fund 0690
Raymond and Karen Mannoni Music Scholarship Endowment – Fund 0737
Kathryn Swetman Page Scholarship Endowment – Fund 0821
Mabel Ve. Shannon Silver Memorial Scholarship Endowment – Fund 0864
Joe Barry Mullins Scholarship – Fund 0905
Mary Lillian Peters Whitten Music Endowment – Fund 0968
Thad and Gerry Waites Music Scholarship Endowment – Fund 0980
Dr. Nancy O’Neal Tatum Music Scholarship Endowment – Fund 0982
Edna and Dave Perkins Music Faculty Enhancement Endowment – Fund 1261
Lorena Bessey Mangin Music Scholarship Endowment – Fund 1270
Zackery Music Scholarship Endowment –Fund 1750
James O. and Mary Ann Schnur Lower Brass Scholarship – Fund 1278
J. Larry and Linda B. Smith Music Scholarship Endowment – Fund 2063
Jim and Jamie Self Tuba Scholarship Endowment – Fund 2488
Dr. Patricia Ann Sharpe Malone Memorial Scholarship Endowment – Fund 2526
MUSIC EDUCATION
Dr. Jack P. Donovan Memorial Scholarship –Fund 1153
Charles and Carolyn Elliott Endowed Scholarship in Music Education – Fund 1162
Dorothy and Laurance Cunningham Endowment in Music Education – Fund 1167
Mississippi Orchestra Teachers Association/ Sara Dean Music Scholarship Endowment –Fund 1608
Agnes and Joseph “Bud” Hillman Scholarship Endowment – Fund 2127
ORCHESTRA
Edna and Dave Perkins Endowed Scholarship in Strings – Fund 0515
Harry Wells McCraw Violin Scholarship Endowment – Fund 0629
Harold Luce Orchestra Scholarship Endowment – Fund 0659
June Ross Vardaman Violin Chair Orchestra Endowment – Fund 0669
John P. and Ellene C. Moseley Scholarship Endowment – Fund 0966
Hilda and George McGee Endowed Music Scholarship – Fund 0979
Tom and Claire Brantley Trombone Scholarship – Fund 1364
William T. Gower Orchestra Scholarship Endowment – Fund 1499
Thomas D. and Lorraine Smith Ott Wind Scholarship – Fund 1539
Jaime Jiménez Endowed Cellist Scholarship – Fund 1638
Herbert Allen Hart Symphony Percussion Scholarship Endowment – Fund 1765
Allen Hale Southern Mississippi Symphony String Scholarship Endowment – Fund 1766
Jay Dean USM Symphony Woodwind Scholarship Endowment – Fund 1767
Hattiesburg Civic Association Orchestra Scholarship Endowment – Fund 1778
Partners for the Arts Orchestra Scholarship Endowment – Fund 1779
Elizabeth M. Irby Orchestral Chair Scholarship Endowment – Fund 1780
John N. Palmer Foundation Orchestral Scholarship Endowment – Fund 1794
Richard Fabian and Katherine Smith
McCarthy Violin Scholarship Endowment –Fund 1799
Hattiesburg Coca-Cola Symphony String Scholarship Endowment – Fund 1818
Orpheus Orchestral Scholarship Endowment – Fund 1869
The University of Southern Mississippi Opera Endowment – Fund 1939
Voice of the Century Centennial Orchestra Scholarship Endowment – Fund 1945
Rebecca Smart Montague Symphony Scholarship Endowment – Fund 1975
Sonya Rebecca Jordan Fox Symphony Orchestra and Opera Endowment – Fund 2099
Jay Dean International Music Scholarship Endowment – Fund 2281
Joe B. Price Horn Scholarship Endowment –Fund 2291
Dr. Toxey Michael and Mrs. Virginia Wicke Morris Orchestra Symphony Endowment –Fund 2602
PIANO
Dr. Trelles Glenn Case Piano Performance Scholarship Endowment – Fund 2601
Fannie Godbold Ginn Piano Scholarship Endowment – Fund 0584
Melba Ough Ragsdale Memorial Piano Scholarship Endowment – Fund 2073
George Imbragulio Piano Memorial Scholarship Endowment – Fund 2240
PIANO/VOICE
Patricia Graham Gable Endowment in Music – Fund 0517
VOICE
Angela Stevens Wallace Voice Scholarship Endowment – Fund 0697
The University of Southern Mississippi Foundation is a nonprofit organization committed to serving the University community by overseeing fundraising efforts to raise private support for scholarships and other academic needs at Southern Miss. The Foundation manages donor dollars to provide the most advanced educational opportunities available to students, faculty, staff, alumni and friends of Southern Miss.
LEGACY LIFETIME MEMBERS
Gold Legacy Society - $25,000
Gail and Larry Albert
Becky and Doug Montague
Dr. Steven Moser
Ms. Sandra and Dr. R. Greer Whitacre
Silver Legacy Society - $12,500
Dr. Shannon Campbell
Tammy and Arthur Martin
Pam and Doug Rouse
Bronze Legacy Society - $5,000
Alexander Brady Foundation
Linda Boutwell-Griffith and John Griffith
Jennifer Brannock and Dr. David R. Davies
Dr. Amy Chasteen
Iris Easterling
Erin and Dennis Granberry
Lt. Col. Jason Hillman in honor of Carole Marshall
Amy and Don Hinton
Carole Marshall in memory of John Ivany Marshall
Stace and Andy Mercier
Drs. Stacey and Michael Miles
Ruth and Dr. Lance Nail
Dr. and Mrs. Joe Paul
Eula and Dr. Roderick Posey
Dee and Toddy Tatum in memory of Dr. and Mrs. A.T. Tatum
Becky and Doug Vinzant
ANNUAL MEMBERS
PRESIDENT’S CIRCLE - $5,000+
Cadence Bank
Beverly Dale
GRAND BENEFACTOR - $2,500
Catherine and Donald Cotten
Dr. and Mrs. Chris Winstead
BENEFACTOR - $1,000
Myrle-Marie Bongiovanni
Gwen and Perry Combs
Mo and Dick Conville
Iris Easterling
HCS Trading, LLC
Dr. and Mrs. Lawrence Leader
Jane and Charles Lewis
The Linda Becker Smith Revocable Trust
Dr. Keith and Carolyn McLarnan
Dr. Steven and Anita Murphey
Dr. and Mrs. Tom Puckett
Southern Miss Alumni Association
Mrs. Sandra and Dr. R. Greer Whitacre
PATRON - $500
Dr. Chris and Missy Crenshaw
Drs. Jeremy Deans and Alyson Brink
Allyson Easterwood
Althea and Raoul Jerome
in memory of Dr. Patricia Malone
Lee-Way Financial
Robert Lochhead
John M. and Carolyn Lopinto Sr.
Missy Warren McGee
Mrs. Virginia W. Morris
Kathryn and Robert Morrow
Pinebelt Realty Enterprises, LLC and Mason and Magnolia Real Estate
Kathy and Randy Pope
Rion Snowden Architect, PLLC
Dr. Edward Sayre
Russ Willis
DONOR - $250
Linda and Larry Basden
Mary Glenn and Todd Bradley
Lt. Col. Raylawni Branch
Drs. Marvin and Bitsy Browne Miller
Rachel and Nicholas Ciraldo
Joelle Crook in memory of George T. Crook
Kimberley Davis
Beejee and Andy Dickson
Katherine and Chad Driskell
Kim Gallaspy
Cheryl L. Goggin
Dr. and Mrs. Robert Heath
Rebekah and Jeff Johnson
Richard and Elizabeth Johnson
Dr. Mike Lopinto in honor of Carolyn and John Lopinto
Tammy and Steve Mansfield
Carole Marshall
Maureen K. Martin in honor of Dr. and Mrs.
Aubrey K. Lucas
Cody and Joan McKeller
Dr. Colin and Mandie McKenzie
Becky and Doug Montague
Drs. Suzanna and Andrew Nida
Hal E. Odom
Dr. Derek and Mrs. Stephanie Patton
Denise and Richard Ratcliffe
Mr. and Mrs. William K. Ray
Dr. and Mrs. Douglas M. Rust
Mary and Eric Sumrall
Martha and Tommy Thornton
Debra and Richard Topp
Carey and Sharon Varnado
Sharon Weathersby
CONTRIBUTOR - $150
Anonymous
Dr. Jenna and Mr. Daniel Barton
Dennis Baum
Mitch and Marcia Cochran
Dr. Veronica Dzugan
Barbara Jane Foote
Howard and Liz Fromkin
John and Susan Howell
LuAnn Knight
Lorinda Krhut
Vicki R. Leggett
Milo McCarthy
Bebe McLeod and Bill McLeod
in memory of Dr. John A. McLeod III
LTC and Mrs. E. Walker Nordan
Betty and Bob Press
George and Jann Puckett in honor of DeAnna Douglas
Ann and Bill Simmons in honor of Dr. Jay Dean and Dr. Mary Ann Kyle
