Hurricane Katrina won't stop Gulfport concert series

JACKSON, Miss. -- The concerts must go on.

Hurricane Katrina destroyed Catherine Barnes' home in Biloxi and the accounting firm where she worked. But Barnes decided that the annual concert series she oversees in Gulfport would continue.

"I thought it would be good to focus on something else instead of my own disaster," she said.

The "Arts Under the Dome" is in its 13th season and will run monthly through May.

With so few cultural activities available now, "we just felt like it was something that we needed to do," she said. However, she added that donations to the series and sales of some season tickets are down.

This year's series began with the University of Southern Mississippi Chorale and Vocal Jazz Ensemble, followed by QuinTango, a quintent that performs tango-laced music and has played at the Kennedy Center and the White House. The next performance is on Feb. 25, featuring Mazaika, a Russian duo of an accordionist and a violinist.

"Arts Under the Dome" continues on March 18 with folk singers Robin and Linda Williams and Their Fine Group. The series concludes with acoustic blues trio Saffire-The Uppity Blues Women on May 5.

The 7 p.m. concerts are held beneath a stained-glass dome at First United Methodist Church in Gulfport. Tickets are $10. For details, call (228) 863-0047.