A couple of thousand elementary school children got an earful of symphonic music today on the Jackson State University campus as the Mississippi Symphony Orchestra played at Rose E. McCoy Auditorium.
To hear some of the kids tell it, the experience was “awesome.”
That’s how Christopher Dawson, 9, of Raines Elementary School put it.
“I think it’s better than anything else in the world!” enthused Dawson, one of more than 2,000 third-graders who came to attend the 9:30 a.m. and 11 a.m. performances.
Every third-grader in the entire Jackson Public Schools system was scheduled to be on campus to hear the symphony, according to Michael Beattie, symphony president and executive director. And it looked like it, as dozens of school buses wound their way around campus.
Fellow Raines student Quntarius Hartig, 9, said he liked the drums best.
Dawson agreed, saying he wants to learn how to play them himself.
That should be music to JPS teachers’ ears since the concert is part of the orchestra’s String Program, a partnership with JPS to develop student interest in performing music at all JPS elementary, middle and high schools.
Adults enjoyed the show, too.
Fran Nixon, a yoga teacher from Clinton, slipped in to see some of her students play the bass and viola. “It’s beautiful! I loved it!” she said, adding that she has small children and believes “it’s a great program for kids.”
Jessica Reed, a school counselor shepherding the Raines students agreed: “Awesome!”
The event is hosted by the Jackson State University Department of Music.
