Swing into the Christmas season with the sounds of Capital Brass during Thursday’s holiday-themed installment of the St. Paul’s Music Series.

The concert will get underway at 12:05 p.m. at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in downtown Meridian. Perfect for a lunch getaway, listeners are encouraged to bring their favorite eats, said Joanne Entrekin, a spokesperson for the music series. Admission is free.

An active member of the Mississippi Arts Commission’s Touring Artists Roster, Capital Brass has delighted audiences in Mississippi and neighboring states with programs of various styles, including Renaissance, Baroque, contemporary and jazz.

The ensemble is comprised of six professional musicians from across the country. All have high school or college teaching experience and perform with numerous professional ensembles, including the Mississippi Symphony Orchestra.

• Robert Cheesman, trumpet, has a bachelor of Music Education degree and a Master’s degree in Trumpet performance from the University of Southern Mississippi. Presently a member of the Mississippi Symphony Orchestra, Bob has not only played with symphonies throughout the South but has done  recording work in Dallas, Atlanta and Memphis, and has free-lanced extensively with many well-known entertainers. Bob has done clinics and  teaching throughout Western and Central Canada and the U.S. and is presently Jazz Band Director and Instructor of Brass at Hinds Community College.

• Wayne Linehan, trumpet, has a bachelor of music degree in education from the State University College at Fredonia, New York, a master of music degree in trumpet performance from the State University of New York at Buffalo, and is currently working on his doctor of musical arts degree at the University of Southern Mississippi.

Linehan has been an extra with the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, a member of the Missouri Symphony Society Chamber and Festival Orchestras, Principal Trumpet in the Buffalo Pops Orchestra, and played lead with Johnny Mathis and the New York production of “Camelot” with Richard Harris. He is currently Second Trumpet in the Mississippi Symphony and Mississippi Opera Orchestras, and a member of the MSO Brass Quintet. He is Conductor/Music Director of the Metropolitan Chamber Orchestra, has taught at Hinds Community College, Millsaps College, and is currently an adjunct professor at Mississippi College.

• Mimi Draut Linehan, horn, has been Principal Horn with the Mississippi  Symphony Orchestra, and Horn in the MSO Wind Quintet, since coming to Jackson in 1983. She also currently performs with the

Alabama Symphony, the Mississippi Opera and the Meridian Symphony, and teaches at Mississippi College.

As a student at the University of Southern Mississippi, Mimi majored in music performance, studying horn with Dennis Behm. She has performed as soloist with the New Orleans Philharmonic and the Mississippi Symphony, Principal Horn with the Missouri Symphony Society Chamber Orchestra, and extra with the Charleston (SC) Symphony.

• Ken Lyon, trombone, earned a bachelor of music education degree from the University of Southern Mississippi, where he was a featured Euphonium soloist with the USM bands. During that time he also performed in concert at the T.U.B.A. International Symposium at North Texas State University.

Ken currently plays bass trombone with the Mississippi Symphony Orchestra, is active in the Jackson area as a free-lance trombonist, and teaches at Velma Jackson Magnet School.

• Tex Chapman, tuba, is the newest member of Capital Brass. He earned a bachelor of music performance degree from Louisiana State University, and both a bachelor of music in music education and a master of music performance from the University of Southern Mississippi.

Tex has performed with the Gulf Coast Symphony, the Port City Symphony and the Meridian Symphony, and has worked and performed with “His Way Homes” Summer Jazz program in Jackson for the past two years. Tex is currently the band director at Northwest Rankin Junior High School.

• Sherwood Berthold, percussion, is principal timpanist with the Mississippi Symphony Orchestra and Mississippi Opera Orchestra. He holds bachelor and master of music degrees from the Manhattan School of Music. “Bud” has previously played with the American Symphonic Wind Symphony, the  Atlantic Wind Symphony and the Manhattan Symphony Orchestra. He also plays drums with “The Bluz Boys” and the jazz/Latin fusion band “Nite People.”

Bud teaches private lessons and is the applied percussion instructor at Mississippi College and Hinds Community College.

The St. Paul’s Music Series is an outreach ministry of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, offering a relaxing and entertaining musical break to attendees. Two concerts – the first and last – start at 5:15 p.m. for after-work enjoyment, complete with hors d’oeuvres and libations. The music series is presented by Hardy and Dottye Graham.

St. Paul’s Episcopal Church is located at 1116 23rd Ave.