Ouachita Stories

Ouachita Baptist University’s Division of Music will present Caitlin Secrest in her senior voice recital Wednesday, April 23, at 8 p.m. The recital, which is free and open to the public, will be held in Mabee Fine Arts Center’s McBeth Recital Hall.

“What excites me most about this recital is sharing the experience with my OBU and Arkadelphia families,” said Secrest, an Arkadelphia native. “I have worked so very hard to progress in these past four years and I could not have done it without the support of my wonderful friends of past and present. I look forward to sharing inspiring music and moving the audience to remember what a blessing we have in music.”

Secrest, a senior vocal performance major, is a sweetheart of Phi Mu Alpha international music fraternity. She is the student of both Dr. Glenda Secrest, professor of music, and Dr. Jon Secrest, professor of music and chair of the applied music department.

Following the theme “An Evening of Desire,” Secrest said her selections are “packed full of life's most raw emotions and tell awesome stories about desire in its purest forms.”

The pieces Secrest will perform include: Gaetano Donizetti’s “O luce di quest’anima” from Linda di Chamounix; “Bucking Bronco,” “Lift Me into Heaven Slowly” and “Billy the Kid” from Libby Larsen’s Cowboy Songs; “Sole e amore” by Giacomo Puccini; “Amore marinaro” by Gaetano Donizetti; “Ideale” by Paolo Tosti; Jacques Offenbach’s “Duo de la Mouche” from Orphée aux enfers; “Neue Liebe,” “Auf Flügeln des Gesanges” and   “Hexenlied” by Felix Mendelssohn; “Не пой, красавица!” by Sergei Rachmaninoff; Ambroise Thomas’ “Pâle et blonde, dort sous l’eau profonde” from Hamlet; David Shire’s “I Think I May Want to Remember Today” from Starting Here, Starting Now; and Marc Shaiman’s “Let Me Be Your Star” from Smash.

Secrest will be accompanied by Phyllis Walker, OBU staff accompanist, on piano and assisted by tenor Chad Burris, a junior musical theatre major from Van Buren, Ark.

For more information, contact OBU’s School of Fine Arts at (870) 245-5129.

By Taylor Tomlinson