Southern Miss School of Music Connoisseurs Series Offers Free Concerts with World-Class Artists
Thu, 09/04/2025 - 09:52am | By: Dr. Mike Lopinto
Bob Sheppard
The University of Southern Mississippi (USM) School of Music has announced the 2025-26 Connoisseurs Series, offering performances by world-class guest artists for the community. The first of four landmark events is set for Sept. 16 at 7:30 p.m. in Marsh Auditorium on the Hattiesburg campus, featuring legendary jazz performer Bob Sheppard and his quartet. Thanks to the Mr. and Mrs. James Simrall, Jr. Arts Endowment, these concerts are presented at no charge to the public.
Bob Sheppard’s performing credits read like a Who’s Who of Jazz, including collaborations with Chick Corea, Freddie Hubbard, Michael and Randy Brecker, Mike Stern, Herbie Hancock, Kurt Elling, Dianne Reeves, Lyle Mays, John Beasley and Steps Ahead. He is also a first-call studio musician in Los Angeles, appearing on numerous albums, movie soundtracks and television shows. For more than 40 years, Sheppard has been making a great noise—both seen and unseen, but always heard.
Dr. Colin McKenzie, director of the USM School of Music, expressed enthusiasm for the Connoisseurs Series, calling it “an enriching lineup designed to engage students, faculty, staff and the community with world-renowned artists who bring their talents to our campus.” This year’s performances, he said, highlight a diversity of musical styles, “guiding audiences from the well-loved classics to the latest compositions across various musical forms.” McKenzie encouraged the community to attend, describing the series as an opportunity to immerse themselves in the vibrant local music culture.
The series continues on Oct. 2 at 6 p.m. in Marsh Auditorium with North Meets South. Toronto-born guitarist Danielle Cumming and American tenor John Wesley Wright, from Rome, Ga., formed the duo in 2007 as colleagues at Salisbury University. They have now performed together for more than a decade. While their repertoire ranges from Renaissance works to modern popular music, African American spirituals hold a central place in their performances and educational outreach. Recent highlights include performances for descendants of Frederick Douglass at Frederick Douglass Day in Easton, Md.; the National Folk Festival; and the Roland Hayes Museum’s Harris Arts Center in Calhoun, Ga., as well as online concerts for the Bay View Music Festival in Michigan and the Marlow Guitar Series in Montgomery County, Md.
On Oct. 22 at 7:30 p.m. in Marsh Auditorium, famed pianist Einav Yarden will perform for Mississippi audiences. Yarden has been praised for her “imagination and exceptionally vivid playing…sense of immense majesty, tempered by gentleness and quiet grace” (The Washington Post) and “glistening rapture…ingenious humor” (Tagesspiegel, Germany). She has appeared at major venues worldwide and as a soloist with orchestras in Berlin, Israel, Germany, Romania, Canada and the United States under conductors such as Sir Neville Marriner, Leon Botstein, Steven Sloane, Frédéric Chaslin and Mendi Rodan. Her awards include top prizes at the International Beethoven Piano Competition in Bonn and the Minnesota International Piano-e-Competition, among others.
The spring season begins Feb. 13 at 6 p.m. in Marsh Auditorium with a performance by the Three Reeds Duo. Co-founded by Leah and Paul Forsyth in 2005, the oboe-saxophone duo has built a repertoire spanning baroque and classical transcriptions to contemporary concert literature. They have performed in a variety of venues all over the world, such as the World Saxophone Congress and the International Double Reed Society Conventions to chamber music series and collegiate concert halls.
The program will also feature flutist Stephen Clark, recipient of the 2016 Sir James Galway Rising Star Award and a first-prize winner at both the 2018 IMKA Music Competition and the 2018 Alexander & Buono International Flute Competition. Clark has given more than 1,000 performances across six continents and made his New York recital debut at Carnegie Hall in 2018. A native of Glasgow, Scotland, he studied at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, the Royal Northern College of Music, and in Switzerland with Sir James Galway.
On March 3 at 7:30 p.m. in Marsh Auditorium, the Ariel Quartet will perform. Known for its virtuosity, musical insight and fiery performances, the Quartet has earned international acclaim for more than 25 years. Formed when its members were teenagers, the Ariel was recently named recipient of the prestigious Cleveland Quartet Award, granted by Chamber Music America. In addition to international touring, the Quartet serves as faculty quartet-in-residence at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music.
The Connoisseurs Series is made possible by the annual support of the Mr. and Mrs. James Simrall, Jr. Arts Endowment. The series represents each applied area—brass, jazz, piano, voice and woodwinds—through annual guest artist performances. These renowned musicians enhance the training Southern Miss students receive from the School of Music’s world-class faculty and add to the rich cultural offerings presented annually to the Hattiesburg and regional community.