There is still time to grab a ticket for Middle Tennessee State University’s annual celebration concert of its performing and fine arts programs — Art and Design, Theatre and Dance and Music — this Saturday, Jan. 27, at Tucker Theatre. 

Host Diana DeGarmo, Broadway and American Idol alum, will kick off the 2nd annual show at 7:30 p.m. Jan. 27 at Tucker Theatre on campus, 615 Champion Way. Free parking is available in any of the lots near the Boutwell Dramatic Arts Building, with a map available at https://www.mtsu.edu/parking/documents/parking-map.pdf.

General admission tickets are $20 per person and can be purchased at https://www.mtsu.edu/mtsuarts/ or at the door. Child tickets are also for sale at $10 each. Tickets are free for current students who present their MTSU ID, and members of the MTSU Arts Patrons Society can also receive their complimentary tickets by RSVPing to Jennifer.Rice@mtsu.edu. 

Concert co-directors and faculty Will Perkins and Kristi Shamburger are both excited by the talent and opportunities fostered by this year’s production.

“This year we welcome … Diana DeGarmo who will not only perform in the concert but also spend one-on-one time with several of our student performers fostering their abilities,” said Perkins, assistant professor in the School of Music. “This concert and celebration are a tribute to the vibrant arts programs at MTSU and a testament to the dedication of our fabulous faculty, staff and students.”

“We are very excited to bring you this year’s MTSU Arts Celebration Concert and share many of our talented students and offer a peek at what we have been working on in class and on the stage,” said Shamburger, associate professor and interim chair of the Department of Theatre and Dance. “And most of all, we are grateful for this opportunity to say ‘thank you’ to those that support the arts in our community and not only make it possible for us to do what we love; but for sharing that joy with us! Thank you!”

In addition to hosting and performing both with students and solo, DeGarmo will present the Ascend Scholarship to a fine arts major who shows potential for excellence in their chosen profession and contributes to the development of the university’s artistic community. 

For the second year in a row, College of Liberal Arts Dean Leah Tolbert Lyons will induct new members into the MTSU Arts Hall of Fame during the concert, to recognize persons, living or deceased, and organizations who have made major contributions to the development and recognition of the arts on campus. 

In addition, attendees can look forward to the following performances: 

· The MT Production class will perform “New Music” from “Ragtime” and “Once Upon a Time” from “BKLYN the Musical” accompanied by DeGarmo and “Stepsister’s Lament” and “There is Music in You” from “Cinderella.”

· MTSU Dance students will perform an excerpt from “By Design.”

· Several School of Music ensembles will perform, including “thank u, next” by the MTSU Chamber Ensemble, the “Golden Snake Dancing Wisely” by the MTSU Chinese Music Ensemble, “Evenings Prayer” from “Hansel and Gretel” by the MTSU Opera Theater and “Sarah” by the MTSU Steel Pan Ensemble. 

Learn more about the events and offerings at the College of Liberal Arts at https://mtsu.edu/liberalarts/. Learn more about becoming an MTSU Arts Patron at https://mtsu.edu/mtsuarts/patronssociety.php.

— Stephanie Wagner (Stephanie.Wagner@mtsu.edu)