The orchestra performed with internationally known artists such as tenor Plácido Domingo, violinist Itzhak Perlman, cellist Yo-Yo Ma, flutist Sir James Galway, bassist Edgar Meyer; trumpeter/conductor Doc Severinsen, singer Ray Charles, pianist John Browning, flutist Jean-Pierre Rampal, and soprano Denyce Graves.
[citation needed] During the academic year, the orchestra rehearses four times a week and presents an average of eight public performances each season.
As Director of Orchestral Activities, Dr. Dean selects works for each program with the aim that they be educationally and technically purposeful for the musicians and aesthetically pleasing and interesting for audiences.
This groundbreaking effort allowed over 1,600 secondary school Mississippi students to perform with the university orchestra and study orchestral music.
Internationally renowned artists such as Itzhak Perlman, Yo-Yo Ma, Doc Severinsen, Ray Charles, John Browning, Jean-Pierre Rampal, Denyce Graves, Christopher Parkening, Edgar Meyer, Roberta Peters, Sir James Galway, Joshua Bell, and Plácido Domingo have performed with the orchestra.
In 2002, The Night of 1000 Trumpets with Doc Severinsen, realized almost 1,000 guests from 32 states and 3 foreign countries, not including the 4,000 local residents who attended.