Guest artist Basil Alter steps into spotlight with Barber violin concerto
Jackson, Mississippi — Mississippi Symphony Orchestra honors America’s 250th birthday with a spectacular concert showcasing classical composers of a strapping young nation that was just starting to make its musical presence known on the world stage.
“American Celebration” opens MSO’s flagship Masterworks Series at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, October 10, at Thalia Mara Hall with a sterling lineup of works by Leonard Bernstein, Samuel Barber and William Schuman.
Guest violinist Basil Alter, originally of Memphis and now based in London, brings Barber’s gorgeous Violin Concerto to the Jackson stage. Alter’s MSO debut is just one highlight in an evening that starts with Bernstein’s infectiously fun Candide Overture and comes to a close with Schuman’s masterful Symphony No. 3.
“American Celebration” puts the spotlight on 20th century greats beyond the typical Aaron Copland and George Gershwin standards which are so often featured in all-American programs. Bernstein, Barber and Schuman, too, shaped the nation’s culture and artistic voice, and these works are either firsts or firsts in a while for MSO.
“I was just determined to do something very fresh,” MSO Conductor Crafton Beck said. This program fills the bill, particularly with Schuman’s bold and brilliant symphony as the finale. Beck fell in love with the piece in college. Though labeled by Gramophone “one of the masterpieces of the 20th century,” the 1941 work is not performed as often as it should be.
“I’ve always thought it was magnificent, and wondered why more people don’t play it,” Beck said. In its first outing for MSO, “I think the orchestra’s going to eat it up.”
Beck has known Alter since he was a teen in Memphis a decade ago and is eager to have this now international prize-winning violinist play for Jackson music fans. “He’s brilliant and he’s as talented as he can be,” Beck said, adding that the Barber concerto he will be sharing “is the prettiest thing in the world.”
The MSO Masterworks Series is presented by the Selby & Richard McRae Foundation. Concert co-sponsors are James & Sybil Child, John & Morella Henegan, Mike & Jamie McRee, and John & Carol Palmer.
The Thalia Mara Hall box office will open at 6:30 p.m. on the evening of the concert. Join Millsaps College Emeritus Professor of Music Tim Coker for Tim Talks, a free pre-concert lecture sponsored by Four Seasons of the Arts, at 6:45 p.m. on the second-floor mezzanine.
Reserved-seat tickets for the “American Celebration” concert are $45 and up for adults, $15 for students, and available in advance: online at msorchestra.com or in-person at Ardenland in Duling Hall.
See the full lineup of MSO’s “Season of Excellence” at msorchestra.com and contact Patron Services at 601-414-6005 or patronservices@msorchestra.com for assistance with subscription sales.
The MSO season is supported in part by the Arts Center of Mississippi, a city cultural facility, Mississippi Arts Commission, a state agency, and the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency.
Who: Mississippi Symphony Orchestra
What: American Celebration, Masterworks Series concert
When: 7:30 p.m. Saturday, October 10, 2026
Where: Thalia Mara Hall, 255 E. Pascagoula St., Jackson, MS
Website: msorchestra.com
Tickets: ticketmaster.com
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