James Blue Memorial Benefit Concert Set for Feb. 8

OBU's Alpha Eta chapter of Sigma Alpha Iota will present the James Blue Memorial Benefit Concert, featuring 11 OBU faculty and student performers, on Tuesday, Feb. 8, at 7:30 p.m. in Raley Chapel's Potter Auditorium. The public is invited to attend.

All donations from the concert will benefit Mission Shawnee in honor of James Blue.

The program will feature an introduction by Dr. Kristen Stauffer Todd, chair of the OBU Division of Music and associate professor of music, followed by an exploration of recital etiquette presented by the music faculty.

"The Rainy Day," written by OBU student Jonathan Hamrick, will be presented by Casey Flynt, a senior church music major from Turpin, Okla., and Hamrick, a senior composition major from Cedar Crest, N.M. OBU junior Kat Hunter, a voice major from Owasso, Okla., will perform to "Keep Breathing," by Ingrid Michaelson.

Dr. Andrew Armond, assistant professor of English, will be featured on the piano in "Intermezzo in A, Op. 118 No. 2," by Brahms. "How Great Thou Art," by Stuart K. Hine, will be performed by Stephanie Marchbanks, a junior voice major from Overland Park, Kan., and Dr. Louima Lilite, assistant professor of music.

Valerie Hunt, a senior instrumental major from Peoria, Ariz., will perform "Morceau des Concours," by Gabriel Faure, on the flute. Dr. Canaan Crane, assistant professor of psychology, and Dr. James Vernon, professor of music, will perform "For Being Jesus," by Sara Beth Geoghegan. Staci Wright, a freshman management major from Dewey, Okla., will present a monologue titled "When It's Over," by Christyna Beldon.

Dr. Michael Dean, assistant professor of music, will perform "St. François de Paule marchant sur les flots," by Franz Liszt on the piano. The program will close with Psalm 23 performed by members of Sigma Alpha Iota.

James R. Blue passed away April 28, 2010, at age 63 following a battle with bronchoalveolar carcinoma. Born on June 4, 1946, in Frederick, Okla., he was a graduate of East Central University. He was a teacher and coach in Piedmont, Okla., and Cordell, Okla., before moving to Shawnee to become the assistant vice principal at Shawnee Mid-High School and later Shawnee High School. He was principal at Seminole High School, then served in Shawnee and Wayne, Okla., before he found his long-term administrative home at Tecumseh High School as principal in 1984. He retired in June 2008.

His wife of 17 years, Dr. Deborah Blue, serves as senior vice president for academic services at OBU. A Shawnee native, she graduated from OBU in 1972.

For more information about the concert, contact the OBU Division of Music at (405) 878-2305 or e-mail music@okbu.edu.