Charlie Sorto

Legendary saxophonist Charlie Parker once said, “Don’t play the saxophone, let it play you.” For Pontotoc senior Charles E. “Charlie” Sorto, that famous quote could be a dead-on description of his young life so far. Now completing music education/instrumental studies at Mississippi State, Sorto came to the university after being a selection every year during high school for the prestigious Mississippi All-State Band. For three of those years, he also qualified for the highly competitive Mississippi Lions All-State Band that has won top international performance awards for more than 30 years. Since arriving on campus in 2012, Sorto has been a member of the Famous Maroon Band. As such, he has been able to travel throughout the Southeast as the 114-year-old musical assemblage accompanied Bulldog athletic teams to regional games. While he calls football his favorite spectator sport, powerlifting is his personal athletic activity. His dedication is such that fellow members of the recreational sports club elected him president. Sorto is proud to tell everyone he was born a Bulldog since both of parents are graduates of the land-grant institution and he grew up following Maroon and White teams on television and in person. “I love Mississippi State; I can’t imagine myself going to school anywhere else,” he said. “It really is like a family here with all the organizations with which I’m involved. There’s activities here for everyone, and this definitely is home.” Asked about plans beyond May graduation, the Dean’s List Scholar replied: “I want to travel the world and play music. I feel like music and Mississippi State are the avenues to get me there.”