Mrs. Jon and Glenda Secrest, a husband-and-wife team of music professors, will host and perform in a free recital on October 6.
The recital will feature duets from musical theater productions, including “Kiss Me Kate,” “Titanic” and “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.” Both of the doctors Secrest say the performance is a sort of culmination of their research from last semester.
“We were on sabbatical last semester and did a project researching musical theatre duets,” said Dr. Glenda, a professor of music. “We looked at over 500 duets.”
Dr. Jon, the Addie Mae Maddox Professor of Music, said attendees should expect the duets to go through a variety of emotions while still remaining lighthearted.
“We go through a lot of different moods and emotions in the recital,” said Dr. Jon. “Some are really positive and happy and others, maybe not so.”
Dr. Glenda emphasized that the recital will be comedic, even with the seemingly unhappy songs.
“We start off with a piece, then we move into our students saying goodbye to us before we leave on sabbatical, and they’re all like ‘Please don’t go!’. Then we’re celebrating after that,” said Dr. Glenda. “We’ve got some great songs.”
The Secrests also developed a small script with Fine Arts administrator and Box Office Manager Adam Wheat. They will also be accompanied by staff pianist Susan Monroe.
The recital will be held on Tuesday, October 6 at 7:30 p.m. in the McBeth Recital Hall. Attendance is free and is also part of the Arts Engagement Series, meaning students can earn their arts credit. For more information, contact Jon Secrest at secrestj@obu.edu.
