NATCHEZ — The soulful wailing of saxophones, cheery tinkling of pianos and robust delivery of baritone vocals are just beginning their annual spring stay as part of the 2011 Natchez Festival of Music.

In its 21st season, the festival continues to be a draw for opera lovers, jazz newbies and Broadway fans alike from Natchez and beyond.

With the Songs of the Civil War event, educational outreach programs like “Little Red Riding Hood,” private concerts and piano recitals complete, Rena Jean Schmieg, guild president and board of directors member of the Natchez Festival of Music, said festival organizers are looking forward to the litany of events scheduled through the end of the month.

The next event will be the Alcorn State University Spring Concert at 7 tonight at the Margaret Martin Performing Arts Center. Entrance to the event is free and donations will be accepted.

“The spring concert will be a combination of individual events, like the jazz combo, outstanding students and faculty,” Schmieg said.

The Larry Panella Jazz Quartet will feature The Magical moves of Jazz at 8 p.m. Saturday at The Vue at The Grand Soleil. Panella serves on the faculty of The University of Southern Mississippi as an associate professor of music and director of the jazz studies program and is the founder and leader of the USM Jazz Quartet. Admission is $15.

Schmieg said guests can order from a limited menu and enjoy great jazz music.

The Songs of Mississippi recital will follow at 4 p.m. on Sunday, May 8, at Holly Hedges, highlighting songs of Mississippi composers. Mezzo-soprano Sarah Mabary will perform. Admission is $15.

The next weekend’s events will open with “Sondheim and the City,” starring Maryann Kyle, lyric soprano

and associate professor of voice at USM. Kyle will perform songs by Stephen Sondheim, multiple-award-winning American composer and lyricist for stage and film.

The event will be 8 p.m. Saturday, May 17 at the Margaret Martin Performing Arts Center for $20.

Sunday’s musical presentation, called Voices of Mississippi, will feature 12 of Mississippi’s up-and-coming opera singers, chosen by festival director Jay Dean. Dean serves as the director of orchestral activities and professor of music at USM, has been the music director and conductor of the Southern Mississippi Symphony Orchestra since 1988.

“Jay hand-picked these singers,” Schmieg said. “They are really wonderful.”

Schmieg said while many of the festival’s singers and musicians are young people, none of them are amateur.

Voices of Mississippi will be at 4 p.m. Sunday, May 15 at Elms Court. Admission is $15.

A mid-week treat is in store for festival goers, with the Brown Bag Concert by the River scheduled at noon Tuesday, May 17 at the Vidalia open air amphitheater on the Vidalia Riverfront.

The event is free and guests are encouraged to bring a bag lunch.

Schmieg said the talent at the river concert will feature “main stage stars” of the festival — tenor Victor Khodadad, soprano Laura Pedersen, mezzo-soprano Hilerie Klein Rensi and baritone Will Earl Spanheimer.

For those who can’t help but move their feet to music, Tango Rendezvous will be the ideal event.

The concert and dance affair will be at 8 p.m. Friday, May 20 at the Prentiss Club, featuring the International Tango Rendezvous Sextet. Admission is $30.

Guests of the festival have an opportunity to relive their favorite Broadway shows through the music of composers Richard Rogers and Oscar Hammerstein.

The event, It’s a Grand Night for Singing!, will be 8 p.m. Saturday, May 21 at the Margaret Martin Performing Arts Center.

“Rogers and Hammerstein are the most outstanding people in musical theater,” Schmieg said.

Schmieg said the audience will gain an education behind their familiar tunes including “Oklahoma!,” “Carousel,” “South Pacific,” “The King and I” and “The Sound of Music.” The singers, Khodadad, Penderson, Rensi and Spanheimer will also read narrations on the history of Roger and Hammerstein’s music and about the impact of the musicals’ characters, who are fixtures in the American consciousness.

Admission to It’s a Grand Night for Singing! Will be $20, $30 or $40.

The weekend will continue with Sunday Afternoon Favorites, Opera and More, at Dunleith Plantation at 4 p.m., Sunday, May 22.

“These are top opera singers,” Schmieg said. “It’s a miracle to have people like this in Natchez who sing internationally on big stages.”

Dramatic soprano Kimberley Bentley will join singers Khodadad, Penderson, Rensi and Spanheimer for the event. Admission is $15.

The festival will resume at 5:30 p.m. Monday, May 23 with After Hours at the Eola.

Schmieg said the event in the Eola Hotel’s lobby will be a freebie and a thrill, featuring Bentley and dramatic mezzo Erin Murphy.

“They are both redheads with great personalities and big, strong voices,” Schmieg said. “Kim is a high mezzo and Erin has a deep voice.”

The duo will also perform the following Friday, May 27 in Drop Dead Gorgeous (Arias, That Is!) at 8 p.m. at the Margaret Martin Performing Arts Center.

The festival will conclude with three events featuring the music of Amadeus Mozart.

The Amadeus Luncheon will be at noon, Saturday, May 28 at 200 State Street, No. E2. Admission is $20.

That evening, the Mozart on the Mississippi concert will feature Mozart’s greatest hits with the Natchez Festival Orchestra. The concert begins at 8 p.m. at the Margaret Martin Performing Arts Center.

The Natchez Festival of Music will close with the Mozart Gala that night from 10 p.m. until midnight at Linden.

Schmieg said perhaps internationally acclaimed artists return to Natchez because of the people here.

“We take care of them, love them and keep them entertained,” Schmieg said. “People invite them to church and over for dinner, local doctors help with medical needs and people in the community do what they can for them. I think that’s why they want to come back.”

Schmieg said the festival has a good reputation as musical festivals go.

“What we’re doing is important,” Schmieg said. “It makes Natchez a cultural center, and you can’t put a dollar amount on that.”

For ticket information, call 601-446-6631 or 1-800-647-6742, visit Natchez Pilgrimage Tours at the Natchez Visitor’s and Reception Center or go to www.natchezfestivalofmusic.com.