Jan. 7, 2005--Arkansas State University in Jonesboro will present the Memphis Symphony Orchestra at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 29, in Riceland Hall of the Fowler Center, 201 Olympic Dr., on the ASU campus.

Under the direction of Maestro David Loebel, the Memphis Symphony will present an “All Mozart Evening,” featuring such favorites as the famous Horn Concerto No. 4 and Symphony No. 34. The Memphis Symphony Orchestra, founded in 1952, is currently celebrating its 52^nd season. Considered to be one of the country’s leading regional orchestras, Memphis Symphony Orchestra is made up of 34 “core” members, plus additional musicians hired for each service. This concert will mark the second time the orchestra has performed in the Fowler Center.

Each season, the orchestra performs more than 80 concerts, including Masterworks, chamber and pop series concerts; family concerts; outdoor concerts and special concerts such as a musical tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., a Fourth of July Celebration and a Symphony New Year’s Eve.

In September and May of each season, the orchestra presents light classical music in the beautiful, informal outdoor setting of the Dixon Gallery and Garden in its “Symphony in the Gardens” series.

The orchestra regularly performs at the Memphis Arts Festival and plays for Opera Memphis and Ballet Memphis. The orchestra has also performed in various Elvis Presley Birthday Celebrations.

Nearly two years ago, the Memphis Symphony Orchestra was welcomed into the new Cannon Center for the Performing Arts in grand style.

Loebel, is the music director and conductor of the Memphis Symphony, a post he has held since 1999. In recent seasons, Loebel’s schedule included debuts with Opera Theatre of Saint Louis and Opera Memphis as well as family and educational concerts at the famed Carnegie Hall in New York City.

As a guest conductor, Loebel has appeared with the Philadelphia Orchestra, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony Orchestra, National Symphony Orchestra, Minnesota Symphony Orchestra, Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, Seattle Symphony Orchestra and Brooklyn Philharmonic Orchestra. Internationally, he made his debut in Japan and has toured extensively in Australia. He has appeared in numerous summer festivals and workshops.

Tickets for the concert are $25 and $20 for adults and $18 and $14 for seniors and students. They may be purchased by calling the ASU Central Box Office at 870-972-2781 or online at http://tickets.astate.edu.

Other Fowler Center performances this year are: Ethos Percussion Group on Feb. 8, Rockapella on March 22, and the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra on April 26.

For more information, call the Fowler Center at 870-972-3471.

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