Two Mississippi State faculty members will represent the state early next month at the 25th anniversary celebration of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.
Flutist Lana Johns and pianist Joel Harrison will present a concert of 20th century American and Czech music in a 6:45 p.m. performance Nov. 3 at the Washington, D.C., landmark. The Celebration Concert Series will feature an artist or group from all 50 states.
The Music Education colleagues formed the Johns-Harrison Duo in 1992 and have performed widely throughout the South, as well as in the German and Czech republics of central Europe. They were nominated for the Kennedy Center gala by Sen. Trent Lott and Nell Elam of Starkville, director of the Mississippi Alliance for Arts Education.
"We are honored to represent Mississippi," Harrison said, adding that the performance will draw on the duo's continuing interest in contemporary American and Czech music.
In 1994, the two were artists-in-residence of the Prague Conservatory of Music and played two major concerts in the city. They also pursued research at the Czech Music Archives.
"Our Kennedy Center program is a reflection of our research in Prague," Harrison said. "We'll be performing works that have not been published worldwide. We chose pieces that we felt were unusual, unknown or highly effective."
Program selections include pieces by Petr Eben, Robert Muczynski, Jindrich Feld, Eduard Drizga, and Lowell Liebermann.
Harrison, an associate professor, is a Mississippi Touring Artist whose performances have been featured on Public Radio in Mississippi. He also is president of the Mississippi Music Teachers Association.
Johns, an assistant professor, has performed in recitals throughout the United States and in South America. Last August, she and Harrison were featured performers at the National Flute Association, performing works by Jindrich Feld.
This World Wide Web version of MSU Memo was modified and updated by Chris Brown.
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Last modified: Friday, 14-Jun-2002 15:58:59 CDT.
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