By Scott Meeker
smeeker@joplinglobe.com
Though it is billed as an all-Canadian concert, those attending tonight’s performance by the Southern Symphony Orchestra can expect plenty of international flavor.
Under the direction of Kexi Liu, the orchestra will present “Clinking Maple Leaves” at 7:30 p.m. today in the Taylor Performing Arts Center at Missouri Southern State University.
“This concert is part of the Canada Semester at Missouri Southern,” said Liu. “Basically, the pieces will be in the classical period, but with some modern styles.”
He said that throughout the years, Canadian composers have offered a diverse repertoire of music.
The opening selection will be “Fantasy on Scottish Melodies,” by composer Sir Ernest MacMillan.
The program will continue with a performance of “Concerto for Percussion and Orchestra” by Allan Gordon Bell. It will feature Greg Haynes, a new percussion professor at Missouri Southern, on a variety of percussion instruments, Liu said.
Haynes previously was director of the marching drum line at the University of Kansas and was the principal timpanist with the KU Wind Ensemble. He also is on the substitute musicians list for the Kansas City Symphony and was the sole percussionist for “The Only Good Indian,” a film selected to screen during the 2009 Sundance Film Festival.
“The percussion concerto is semi-modern,” Liu said. “It is 20th century but very rare. It is very interesting and will really attract the attention of the audience.”
“Temple Steps,” by Jim Hiscott, will have an Indian-Balinese flavor, he said.
“The last piece, ‘Rhapsody Thessaloniki’, is based on Greek folk dances,” said Liu.
“There is a very international style to this program,” he said.
Music to the ears
Admission to the Southern Symphony Orchestra performance is free.
Local News
MSSU’s Canadian concert features international flavor
- Local News
-
-
City wants to buy weather radios for those without
Phil Jones had been working on a construction project outside his house all day on May 22 and was unaware that a tornado watch had been issued. Once he was inside, though, his weather radio went off, and he learned that a warning had been issued.
-
Architects present preliminary JHS plans at community meeting
Reaction appeared mostly supportive Thursday night among the roughly 50 people who attended a community meeting at which architects presented their preliminary site plans for the future combined Joplin High School and Franklin Technology Center.
-
Confessed shooter testifies against co-defendants in Pittsburg murder case
Rickey Smith testified Thursday that as he came in the back door of Ryan Bailey’s home in Pittsburg with a 9 mm pistol in his hand, Bailey looked up from the couch in his living room.
-
School district’s proposed street-closing plan questioned
Plans to close some streets near the proposed Joplin High School drew questions, including a challenge from a former Joplin mayor, during a public hearing this week.
-
Neosho council approves new golf cart contract
The purchase of golf carts was back on the agenda this week for the Neosho City Council. City Attorney Steve Hays said there were errors in the financing terms that were part of a bid approved last month for the purchase of 55 gas-powered carts from E-Z-Go for $144,195, so the purchase of a new fleet was rebid.
-
Mike Pound: Spirit of competition evident during double-overtime game
When I played basketball in high school, I played in several very close games.
Now, some people who may have known me in high school are probably laughing right now and saying, “What Mike meant to say is that when he was in high school, he came very close to playing in some games.” -
Mo. optometrist filed $40 million refund claim
A southwest Missouri optometrist who filed a tax return claiming a $40 million refund has been sentenced to four years and three months in federal prison.
-
Okla. receives waiver from No Child Left Behind
Oklahoma’s top education official reacted with glee Thursday with the announcement that the state is one of 10 states being granted a waiver from the federal No Child Left Behind law that requires students be proficient in reading and math by 2014 — but focused on getting students to “just pass the tests.”
-
Kan. House approves bipartisan redistricting bill
Power in the Kansas House is likely to shift next year from rural parts of the state to the Kansas City area after members overwhelmingly approved a bipartisan bill Thursday for redrawing their districts.
-
Fugitive in 1993 British heist arrested in Ozark
A man suspected of stealing about $1.5 million from a security van in England in 1993 has been arrested in southwest Missouri.
- More Local News Headlines
-
Denver's Largest-Ever Drug Bust Nets Dozens
Marines: No Punishment for Nazi-like Flag
Vets Look to Translate Military Skills Into Jobs
Expert: Removing LA School's Staff 'Appropriate'
Raw Video: School Bus Burst Into Flames
LA School Reopens Amid Sex Abuse Scandal
$25B Settlement Reached Over Foreclosure Abuses
Pentagon: Allow Women Closer to Front Lines
Obama Gives Education Waivers to 10 States
Giffords Aide to Run for Her Seat
LA School in Sex Abuse Scandal Reopens
Winter Slamming North Asia, Parts of Europe
Syrian Forces Renew Bombardment of Homs
States, Banks Reach Foreclosure-abuse Settlement
Raw Video: Italy's Mount Etna Bursts Into Life
Greeks March; Angry Despite Debt Deal
Raw Video: U.S. Pullout Celebration
Raw Video: Annual Empire State Building Run-Up
Man Killed in Courthouse Shootout
Air Force Airlines: Leaders Get Polished Service
