Ouachita Stories

Ouachita Baptist University’s Division of Music will present a faculty recital featuring Dr. Glenda Secrest, soprano, and Dr. Jon Secrest, tenor. The recital will be held Tuesday, Oct. 6, at 7:30 p.m. in Mabee Fine Arts Center’s McBeth Recital Hall on Ouachita’s campus. The recital is free and open to the public.

Dubbing the recital “Secrest Sabbatical: The Mini-Musical,” the Secrests will present favorite pieces from their 2015 sabbatical research project.

“We hoped to present something unique to the public,” said Dr. Jon Secrest, Addie Mae Maddox Professor of Music at Ouachita. “It is simply a recital of music theatre duets that have been linked together with a series of creative/thoughtful dialogue passages highlighting a few of the memorable moments from our sabbatical.”

“We have worked together on recitals for many years,” said Dr. Glenda Secrest, professor of music at Ouachita. “We feel blessed to be able to sing together and share the gift God has given us.”

Adam Wheat, fine arts administrator at Ouachita, created the script for the performance. The Secrests also will collaborate with Susan Monroe, OBU staff accompanist, on piano.

“The Mini-Musical” will open with “Invocation and Instructions to the Audience” from “The Frogs” by Stephen Sondheim; “Wunderbar” from “Kiss Me, Kate” by Cole Porter; “Tear Jerk” from “I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change” by Jimmy Roberts; “You Are Music” from “Phantom” by Maury Yeston; and “Shimmy Like They Do in Paree” from “Death Takes a Holiday” by Maury Yeston.

The recital will continue with “Therapy” from “tick, tick…BOOM!” by Jonathan Larson; “Chu-Chi Face” from “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang” by Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman; “Still” from “Titanic” by Maury Yeston; “This Is Not Over Yet” from “Parade” by Jason Robert Brown and “I’d Give It All For You” from “Songs for a New World” by Jason Robert Brown.

“My favorite song is ‘Chu-Chi Face’ from ‘Chitty Chitty Bang Bang’ because it is just so much fun,” said Dr. Jon Secrest.

“I like all of the songs we will be doing, but if I had to pick one it would be ‘Therapy,’” said Dr. Glenda Secrest.

Dr. Jon Secrest teaches applied voice lessons, rep prep intensive, vocal pedagogy and Concert Choir. He also serves as musical director for Ouachita’s annual musical theatre productions each spring, including “Footloose” in the spring of 2016. He is coordinator for Ouachita’s Vocal Studies program and formerly directed OBU Opera Theatre. Secrest earned his doctorate in vocal performance from the Arizona State University, his master’s degree in vocal performance from Kansas State University and his bachelor’s degree in vocal performance from Friends University. He joined Ouachita’s voice faculty in 1994.

Dr. Glenda Secrest teaches applied voice lessons, rep prep intensive and Vocal Diction 1 and 2 at Ouachita. She also has directed Ouachita Sounds and OBU Opera Theatre. She earned her doctorate in vocal performance from the University of Memphis and her master’s and bachelor’s degrees in vocal performance from Arizona State University. She joined Ouachita’s voice faculty in 1995.

Susan Monroe serves as staff accompanist at Ouachita. She has collaborated with many faculty and student performers from the vocal and instrumental areas at Ouachita. Monroe earned her Bachelor of Music Education and Master of Music Education degrees from Ouachita. She also is the pianist at Park Hill Baptist Church in Arkadelphia.

Adam Wheat coordinates such fine arts programs at Ouachita as the Arts Engagement Series and Friends of the Fine Arts. He coordinates all ticket sales for events in Jones Performing Arts Center and Verser Theatre on Ouachita’s campus. He also teaches Publication Design in Ouachita’s Rogers Department of Communications.

For more information, contact Dr. Jon Secrest at [email protected] or (870) 245-5134.

 

By Katie Smith