By Staff
Special to The Star
March 7, 2004
Sharon Lebsack is a familiar face when the Meridian Symphony Orchestra is on stage. She has been principal flute for 30 years and serves as contractor for orchestra players in the Hattiesburg area.
A native of Sterling, Colo., Lebsack is a Hattiesburg resident. She is professor of flute and harp in the music department of the University of Southern Mississippi. She also plays piano.
Her hobbies include reading and traveling.
Charles Gates is principal trumpet of the Meridian Symphony Orchestra. A native of New Orleans, Gates has been playing the trumpet since he was 10. He has been a member of the trumpet section of the MSO for 16 years, and has been principal trumpet since 1992.
Gates, his wife, Kathy, and two children, Sarah, 15, and Will, 12, live in Oxford. Employed by the University of Mississippi, Gates is professor of music, and director of the Academic Support Center.
Mahler is his favorite orchestral composer. Frank Sinatra and Chet Baker are his favorite entertainers. Exercise, reading and travel occupy his spare time.
The next time you can see and hear these two musicians will be April 3, at 8 p.m. when the orchestra, the MCC Chorus, the Meridian Community Chorus and the Meridian Children's Chorus perform Samuel Jones' oratorio "The Temptation of Jesus."