The Mississippi Symphony Orchestra and Music Director Crafton Beck at a previous summertime concert at Old Trace Park on the Barnett Reservoir. Photo: Clarion Ledge.
In Wednesday’s (5/30) Clarion Ledger (Jackson, MI), Ed Inman writes, “The stars will be shining brightly at Old Trace Park in Ridgeland this Friday, June 2, as the Mississippi Symphony Orchestra takes the stage for the 42nd annual Pepsi Pops concert…. Crafton Beck leads the Mississippi Symphony Orchestra beginning at 7:30 p.m. An Arkansas native, Beck joined the Mississippi orchestra as music director after concluding a 22-year tenure as music director and conductor of Ohio’s Lima Symphony Orchestra. Friday’s concert will feature selections from James Bond films, ‘Raiders of the Lost Ark,’ ‘Lord of the Rings,’ ‘The Muppets,’ ‘Evita’ and ‘Harry Potter’ as well as pop [songs] and more. The program will build to a climax of patriotic music and a spectacular fireworks show … ‘It’s designed to have something everyone will recognize,’ said Mississippi Symphony Orchestra President and Executive Director Jenny Mann. Whether arriving by land or by boat, ‘you can make it exactly the kind of experience you want it to be,’ she said…. The concert will mark the last show of the symphony’s 2022-23 performance schedule. ‘It’s the last hurrah—the culmination of our official season,’ said Chantel Lott, director of communications and development for the Mississippi Symphony.”
