A concert on Southeast Missouri State University's River Campus Saturday afternoon is the grand finale to a daylong celebration of horns, organized by Nick Kenney, professor of applied horn and assistant director of bands at Southeast.

Kenney said "Horn Day" will be "a really compact day of a lot of stuff."

Participants will check in early, starting at 9 a.m., and at 10, Kenney will give a concert with faculty, alumni, current horn students, and the day's special guest, Lanette Compton.

Compton, associate professor of horn at Oklahoma State University, said she's excited about the event. This is the fifth year Kenney has organized a day to celebrate horns and the players, and, he said, "We started with about 20 participants and it's grown every year."

So far, they're at about 60 participants, and people can sign up even until that morning, he said.

Master classes, performances, a mass horn ensemble -- by the end of the day, Kenney said, he and the other performers will have been playing, teaching or performing for six to seven hours, nonstop, save for a 45-minute lunch break.

Kenney said his mission is twofold: obviously, recruitment for the university is a big consideration, but even more than that, he strives to educate the general population on what he and the department do.

"The things that are possible with the instruments," Kenney said. "When I was younger, I didn't even really know. Along the way, I figured out so much, was shown so much that I like to do. It changed my life completely." He cleared his throat and went on. "You never know where you can be, where you can go. My mission is to do that for other people."

Compton and several of Kenney's former and current students will be on hand to help him do just that.

Compton said she's "very honored and surprised he asked me. I've been watching from afar every year, and I'm really excited to be on this campus again and see all the work he's done here."

"This is the part of our job that we get super excited about," Kenney said of himself and Compton. "It's almost unexplainable until you experience it. We get to do amazing things."

No admission fees will be charged to attend either concert, Kenney said.

Registration to participate in all of Saturday is $22 at www.semo.edu/hornday.

The latest scoop

American Ice Cream in Jackson is open for the season, as of Wednesday.

Find them at 221 S. Hope St.

Free Spirit Studio opening

Formerly in The Indie House, Free Spirit Studio will hold an open house from 3 to 9 p.m. Saturday at the new location, 13150 Highway 72 in Millersville.

Mosaic artist Marti Hartle has been creating her signature tile pieces for 19 years, and teaching classes for about four years, she said.

She'll partner with artist Caroline Thompson to hold open houses four times a year, on the first Saturday of the corresponding month, as they're a bit off the beaten path for First Friday, she said.

"Our next open house will be the first Saturday in June, then September and December," she said.

"I'll invite others to set up during these open houses. When the weather's nice, we'll have tents outside. It'll be lots of fun."

In addition to her own mosaic classes, Hartle will invite other artists to teach classes in different styles and materials.

Classes will be offered by appointment only -- Hartle isn't planning regular business hours, she said, but the gallery space will showcase work by herself and other local artists and artisans.

Saturday's open house was a play on twos, since it's Free Spirit Studio's second space, Hartle said: the 22nd day of the second month of the year 2020.

She's been working on the space since June, Hartle said, and is excited to get started.

More info: www.facebook.com/FreeSpiritStudio

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HORN DAY

Schedule for Saturday

at 518 S. Fountain St. in Cape Girardeau

• 9 a.m. Registration, River Campus Center Atrium
• 10 a.m. Artist Recital
• 10:45 a.m. Drop the Beat!
• 11:45 a.m. lunch on your own
• 12:45 p.m. Mass Horn Ensemble
• 2 p.m. Joint Artist Master Class
• 3:30 p.m. Final Concert of Participants Horn Choir