Southeast symphony

The Southeast Missouri Symphony Orchestra opened its 2010-2011 concert season last Tuesday with a spectacular concert featuring an all-George Gershwin program.

The five musical works included: "Crazy for You Overture," "Lullaby," Concerto in F Major, selections from "Porgy and Bess" and "Rhapsody in Blue." Piano virtuoso Jack Gibbons joined the orchestra for the Concerto in F Major and "Rhapsody in Blue."

Gibbons further entertained the 749 individuals who attended the concert at Bedell Performance Hall on the River Campus with two encore performances. The encore performances included an arrangement of John Philip Sousa's patriotic classic "Stars and Stripes Forever" and the Gershwin classic "I Got Rhythm."

Southeast Missouri State University music professor Sara Edgerton did an outstanding job conducting the orchestra. The trumpet, oboe and clarinet solos were especially beautiful. It was wonderful to see Dr. Brandon Christensen, who has performed in Italy, Finland and China, serving as the concertmaster.

The performance was the first of six during the symphony's 10th anniversary season, which will continue through May.

A special thank you to all those who made last week's performance a tremendous success.