Forest Community Arts is happy to present Dr. Justin Sharp in a all Gershwin concert Saturday, October 20 at 2:00 p.m. The concert will be held at the Forest Presbyterian Church and the public is invited to the concert and the reception that will immediately follow the show.
The concert will feature musical works of Pulitzer Prize winning brothers George and Ira Gershwin. It is said that the brothers became the songwriting team whose voices are synonymous with the sounds and style of the Jazz Age. The brothers worked almost exclusively with each other composing dozens of scores for Broadway and Hollywood. They had many individual hit songs; their greatest achievement may have been elevating musical comedy to an American art form.
Dr. Sharp is a native of Sebastopol and is the son of Reverend John and Mrs. Jan Sharp. He has one brother, Jonathan, who is a missionary in Portugal.
Sharp is a pianist and composer who has performed extensively throughout Mississippi and the United States in numerous recitals, music conferences and festivals. Most recently he performed a set during the 2018 Wing Dang Doodle Festival last month.
As a composer, he has enjoyed similar successes with many performances of his work throughout Europe and Asia. Sharp has received several awards and commissions from various organizations including Angelo State University, the University of Texas at Austin, Mississippi Music Teachers Association and Mississippi Institute of Arts and Letters.
Sharp is currently a keyboard/music instructor at East Central Community College where he has taught since 2015. Previously he worked in early child education developing music curriculums designed for use within the traditional classroom setting.
Dr. Sharp is a graduate of ECCC, Mississippi College and he holds a Master of Music and a Doctor of Musical Arts degrees from the University of Texas at Austin.
Admission to the concert is free and a love offering will be taken. The Forest Community Arts invites everyone to come join them at the Forest Presbyterian Church and enjoy the musical brilliance of the Gershwin brothers emmeshed with the musical talent of Dr. Justin Sharp this Saturday at 2:00 p.m.
