In what has become a Northeast Texas favorite event, the Marshall Symphony Orchestra is underway with plans for their Voices 2.0: The Heartland Concert
Slated for Saturday, May 8, 2021 in downtown Marshall, Voices 2.0 will offer a classical twisted on contemporary country music classics.
The vocalists who will accompany the orchestra at the concert will be determined by auditions that are open to the public.
They are open to all ages and there is no entry fee required to audition.
An initial round of auditions were held Saturday April 3 at Telegraph Park in Marshall.
The contest will visit Jefferson this weekend with auditions slated for Saturday, April 10 at The Jeffersonian Institute.
A final audition will we held on Saturday, April 17 at Telegraph Park.
Competitors must be present at one of the Qualifying Auditions to advance to the Final Audition.
Qualifying Auditions are unaccompanied or you may bring karaoke accompaniment audio.
Selected Finalists will be asked to sing one of the Heartland songs:
- -Homecoming Queen- Kelsea Ballerini.
- -You Belong With Me- Taylor Swift.
- -Beautiful Crazy- Luke Combs.
- -Whiskey Glasses – Morgan Wallen.
- -God’s Country- Blake Shelton.
- -Down to the Honkytonk- Jake Owen.
- -Love You Too Late- Cole Swindell.
- -Lose My Mind – Brett Eldridge.
- -Breathe- Faith Hill..
- -Devil Went Down to Georgia – Charlie Daniels Band.
- -Something Bad- Miranda Lambert/Carrie Underwood.
- -Tennessee Whiskey- Chris Stapleton/Justin Timberlake .
- -If you See Him- Reba/Brooks & Dunn.
- -Islands in the Stream- Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers.
- -Girl in a Country Song- Maddie and Tae .
- -House That Built Me- Miranda Lambert.
- -Troubadour- George Strait.
- -Redneck Woman- Gretchen Wilson.
- -Here For the Party- Gretchen Wilson.
- -Friends in Low Places- Garth Brooks.
Now in its 70th season the MSO features professional musicians from across the Arklatex and beyond.
They are led by conductor Kermit Poling who Forum magazine named one of the top 10 people to watch.
After 32 seasons as the Shreveport Symphony’s Associate Conductor, 27 years as Concertmaster and his many seasons as music director of the South Arkansas Symphony, Poling brought his talents to the MSO.
As a conductor, Maestro Poling performs extensively throughout the world.
In January, 2017 he made his debut recording with the London Symphony Orchestra, recording an album of his own compositions for the Centaur label.
He has been featured with European orchestras such as the Orchestra Filarmonia Veneta in Italy, in Mexico with the Symphony Orchestra of the State of Mexico and the Shenzhen Symphony of China among many others.
Closer to home he’s conducted the Oklahoma City Philharmonic, the Longview Symphony, Monroe Symphony, the Shreveport Summer Music Festival and other U.S. orchestras.
Poling received the Outstanding Artist in Music Fellowship in 2000 from the State of Louisiana and twice received a Music Fellowship from the Shreveport Regional Arts Council. Maestro Poling studied at the Boston Conservatory of Music, the Cleveland Institute of Music and the Tanglewood Music Center, where he worked with Leonard Bernstein, Kurt Masur, Gustav Meier and Seiji Ozawa. In 2005, Maestro Poling served as one of three international judges for China’s National Young Artists Competition with the China National Symphony in Beijing.
In 2012, he was awarded a career advancement award from the State of Louisiana.
For more information, visit www.marshallsymphony.com.