OXFORD, Miss. – Start the holidays in style Sunday (Dec. 11) with “Sounds of the Season,” a heartwarming concert featuring the Tupelo Symphony Orchestra and special guests Mary Donnelly Haskell and Guy Hovis, at the Gertrude C. Ford Center for the Performing Arts at the University of Mississippi.
The 3 p.m. show is hosted by Emmy Award-winning actress Doris Roberts and the reigning Miss America, Teresa Scanlan. Tickets range from $31 to $37 and are available by calling 662-915-7411.
“This is our final concert of the year at the Ford Center and we wanted to mark the holiday season with great performers doing holiday favorites,” said Norm Easterbrook, Ford Center director.
Roberts began her acting career in 1952 but is best known as Marie Barone from “Everybody Loves Raymond,” which aired from 1996 to 2005 on CBS. Beginning at 1 p.m. Sunday (Dec. 11), Miss America 2011 Teresa Scanlan will be on hand for photos with guests visiting the village before the 3 p.m. performance of “Sounds of the Season.”
The Tupelo Symphony Orchestra, founded in 1971, is celebrating its 40th anniversary. TSO draws musicians from Alabama, Arkansas, Mississippi and Tennessee, and is under the creative direction of Steven Byess, who has led the orchestra since 2006.
Haskell, an actress-turned-singer, has appeared in more than 20 television movies and has had recurring and guest-starring roles on shows such as “Sisters,” “Touched By an Angel” and “Seventh Heaven.” The Ole Miss alumna began a musical career at age 5, and her love for music never faded. In 2005, Haskell released her first full-length album, “Inspired: Standards – Good for the Soul,” which blends standards from the 1930s through the ’50s with pop favorites and a few new compositions.
Hovis, also an Ole Miss alumnus, has performed on national television for more than 40 years, beginning with Art Linkletter’s “House Party Show” on CBS in 1967. He has recorded 15 albums, has been nominated as artist and producer of the year by the Gospel Music Association, and is a member of the Mississippi Musicians Hall of Fame. Hovis is best known, however, for the 40-plus years he was a regular member of the “Lawrence Welk Show,” which still airs on 280 public television stations with a weekly viewing audience of more than 3 million.
View a complete schedule of 2012 Ford Center events. For assistance related to a disability, call 662-915-2787.