MCC students to perform at The Mississippi Arts + Entertainment Experience in first college showcase 

Published 2:09 pm Monday, March 9, 2026

Music will fill the halls of the Mississippi Arts + Entertainment Experience when Meridian Community College students take the stage for a special celebration of the arts.

The MCC Performing and Fine Arts Celebration, which is a partnership with MCC and The MAX, is set for 5 to 8 p.m. Tuesday, March 17, at The MAX in downtown Meridian. The event is free and open to the public.

MCC is the first college to host a showcase at the Mississippi Arts + Entertainment Experience. The evening will highlight student musicians and visual artists while also inviting the community to experience their work.

“It’s a great experience for our amazingly talented students, faculty, and staff,” said Mitch Brantley, division chair of communication and fine arts and guitar instructor at MCC. “It’s an outreach to the community to share how creative these students are. It’s an honor to perform and present at The MAX, which celebrates Mississippians.”

The celebration will feature live performances by several MCC ensembles, including the Concert Choir, Dimensions vocal group and rock band, Guitar Ensemble, Resurrection Jazz Band, and the Screaming Eagle Community Concert Band.

Students in the MCC Guitar Ensemble will perform a mix of movie and television themes, hymns, blues, and an Irish song. The group is directed by Brantley and includes Timiahis Brown Wallace, Malachi Foster, James Hicks, and Haley Reynolds.

The MCC Concert Choir, under the direction of Tammy Miles, MCC choir director and music instructor, will present a variety of choral selections, including “Ride On, King Jesus” by Edward Boatner, “Ubi Caritas” by Michael John Trotta, and “Let Everything That Hath Breath” by Jeffery Ames. Concert choir members include Lauren Broome, Wallace, Kyndal Cochran, Jaidia Cockrell, Desiray Coffie, Arron Davis, Margarita Gonzalez, Matthew Jackson, Jozlyn Spears, Scarlett Walker, Tiyanna Ward, Sarah-Anne Warren, Aidyn Way, and Jaden White.

Dimensions, MCC’s contemporary vocal group and rock band, will perform popular songs such as “Free Ride” by Edgar Winter, “New York State of Mind” by Billy Joel, and Broadway musical selections. Dimension members include Broome, Wallace, Davis, Gonzalez, Jackson, Reynolds, Walker, Ward, Warren, and Way. The Dimensions are guided by Miles, artistic director; Brantley, instrumental director; and Daniel Boles, technical director.

Also offering music will be the Screaming Eagle Concert Band and the Resurrection Jazz Band, both under the direction of Chris King. Among the selections performed will include “Bonds of Unity March,” “Pure Imagination,” “The Wild Westerns,” “A Million Dreams,” “Symphony of Sit-Coms,” “Leap Frog,” “Blue Bossa,” “Skylark,” “Straighten Up and Fly Right,” “Joe Avery Blues,” and “Splanky.”

In addition to the musical performances, guests will be able to explore an exhibition featuring visual art, including paintings, drawings, and designs created by MCC students. Terrell Taylor is the MCC art instructor and Casteel Gallery director, and is coordinating the art students’ participation in the celebration.

MCC Speech Instructor Erica Stokes will serve as the emcee for the event.

Food will be available for purchase in the courtyard during the event. Visitors may park in the Arts District Parking Garage and ride the trolley to and from The MAX from 4:30 to 8:30 p.m.

For more information about the event, contact Brantley at 601-484-8881 or mitch.brantley@meridiancc.edu.