The University of Southern Mississippi Gulf Coast Civic Chorale will perform two free Young at Heart concerts featuring John Rutter’s Mass of the Children this month.

The first concert will be Friday, April 24 at 7:30 p.m. at the First Baptist Church in Biloxi. The encore performance will be Sunday, April 26 at 3 p.m. in the Advanced Education Center auditorium on the Southern Miss Gulf Park campus in Long Beach.

John Rutter’s Mass of the Children will be accompanied by a chamber instrumental ensemble. Local high school singers will also join in the performance of this glorious and touching work featuring music about children and youth. Following the April 26 performance at the Gulf Park campus, the chorale will host an ice cream social.

In its 14th year at Southern Miss, the chorale is under the direction of John Flanery. Serving as a community outreach program for the university, the ensemble meets once each week for rehearsal and performs a wide variety of choral literature throughout the year. It is sponsored in part by Charter Bank.

The Southern Miss Gulf Park campus is located on Highway 90 in Long Beach three miles west of Highway 49. For more information on Southern Miss Gulf Coast Civic Chorale performances, visit www.usm.edu/gc/civic_chorale; or call 228.865.4573 or 601.266.4092.

About The University of Southern Mississippi
The University of Southern Mississippi, founded in 1910, is a comprehensive doctoral and research-extensive university fulfilling its mission of being a leading university in engaging and empowering individuals to transform lives and communities. In a tradition of leadership for student development, Southern Miss is educating a 21st century work force providing intellectual capital, cultural enrichment and innovation to Mississippi and the world. Southern Miss is located in Hattiesburg, Miss., with an additional campus and teaching and research sites on the Mississippi Gulf Coast; further information is found at www.usm.edu/gulfcoast .