Pops in the Park Benefits VSU Music Scholarships

VALDOSTA — Valdosta State University’s Music Scholarship Alliance hosts Pops in the Park at 6 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 6. General admission tickets are $20 for adults; $15 for students, senior citizens, and military personnel; and free for children ages 12 and under.

Pops in the Park features entertaining performances by three VSU Department of Music faculty-led student groups — Steel Drum Band, conducted by Ryan Smith, assistant professor of percussion; Spotlighters, conducted by Clell Wright, director of choral activities; and Wind Ensemble, conducted by Benjamin Harper, director of bands and assistant professor of music.

The Wind Ensemble’s clarinet section features prominently in American composer Leroy Anderson’s lighthearted “Clarinet Candy.”

Pops in the Park highlights include special appearances by VSU Department of Music faculty members.

Susan Boddie, assistant professor of voice, sings Brazilian composer Antonio Carlos Jobim’s “Corcovado (Quiet Nights of Quiet Stars)” and “My Favorite Things” from Rodgers and Hammerstein’s “The Sound of Music,” both arranged and guest conducted by David Springfield, assistant professor and director of Jazz Studies.

Ryan Smith performs composer Leroy Anderson’s “The Typewriter,” which features an actual typewriter as a percussion instrument.

Proceeds from Pops in the Park benefit scholarships for students studying in the Department of Music at VSU.

Pops in the Park attendees are welcome to bring their outdoor folding chairs, picnic dinners, and blankets and enjoy an evening of musical performances at the Fine Arts Building Amphitheatre. Tables for up to eight may be reserved for $150.

Tickets may be purchased at https://community.valdostastate.org/pops_in_the_park or at the event.

Call the College of the Arts Outreach Office at (229) 333-2150 for more information.