The LOU Symphony Orchestra presents a concerto and aria concert March 19 in the Gertrude C. Ford Center for the Performing Arts. Photo by Srijita Chattopadhyay/Ole Miss Digital Imaging Services
University of Mississippi opera director, award-winning student highlighted as soloists
The LOU Symphony Orchestra will present a Spanish- and French-themed concerto and aria concert at 7:30 pm Tuesday, March 19, 2024, at the University of Mississippi‘s Gertrude C. Ford Center for the Performing Arts.
The performance will feature soloist Bonita Bunt, UM director of opera theatre and assistant professor of music. Tickets, which can be purchased at the UM Box Office, are $15 for community members and $10 for students.
“This program has a lot of Spanish flair, which I think makes it especially interesting,” said Selim Giray, UM director of orchestral studies and director of the LOU Symphony. “Dr. Bunt will be singing four arias by Joaquín Rodrigo, who is best known for his famous guitar concerto.
“There’s a lot of tuneful and, in my opinion, audience-friendly music for everyone to enjoy.”
Besides the arias by Rodrigo, the repertoire includes pieces by French composers Georges Bizet, Henri Tomasi, and Emmanuel Chabrier; American composer Samuel Barber; and Spanish composer Manuel de Falla.
Graduate student Fredrick Hadley, trombone player and the 2023 LOU Symphony Orchestra Concerto Competition winner, will also perform.
“This concert combines some of the most intriguing Spanish music composed by Spanish and French composers into one excellent program,” Giray said. “Dr. Bundt is a marvelous colleague, whom I get to collaborate both as opera director with the upcoming Britten opera this semester, and as a soloist on this program. Frederick is our concerto competition winner who is our graduate student soloist this spring.
“It will be an enjoyable evening of great music.”
The LOU Symphony Orchestra includes Ole Miss students and faculty, as well as community members. The symphony’s next performance is a Memphis Runout Concert slated for March 25.
For a full schedule of events, visit https://symphony.olemiss.edu/.
By Erin Garrett
