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Craig Young Conducts Mississippi Wind Symphony at Summer Concert


Craig Young director of Mississippi College bands

Music lovers shouldn’t miss the Mississippi Wind Symphony’s final concert of its 17th season.

Titled “An American Experience,” the summer concert will showcase some of the memorable moments in USA history.

Mississippi College director of bands Craig Young will lead the talented musicians in the June 27th program. The Belhaven University Center for the Arts in Jackson hosts the 7:30 p.m. concert. Admission is free to the performance that Tuesday evening.

Featured selections will include Samuel Barber’s World War II “Commando March” and Leonard Bernstein’s “Dances from West Side Story.”

Audiences will also hear popular compositions such as John Philip Sousa’s turn-of-the-century “Easter Monday on the White House Lawn.” Joseph Willcox Jenkins’ “American Overture for the Band,” is well-timed for the crowd on hand as Independence Day nears.

An Ohio State University alumnus who plays the saxophone with passion, Young will be among several award-winning musicians with strong connections to Mississippi College.

Young will conduct Mississippi Wind Symphony members including MC music professors James Sclater, Ben Williams and Wayne Linehan.

MC Music Department Chair Angela Willoughby hopes to see a nice turnout for what should be a splendid concert in the capital city.

Young deserves a nice round of applause for having the vision, zeal and determination to bring this amazing group together in Central Mississippi, she says.

“They rehearse and perform for the sheer joy of the experience,” Willoughby said. “And our community receives the benefit.”

Music fans can catch Young conducting several groups on the Mississippi College campus in Clinton. He leads the MC Pep Band at Choctaws football games in Robinson-Hale Stadium every fall. He conducts the jazz ensemble and symphonic orchestras at Mississippi College.