IMMEDIATE JANUARY 21, 2004

FIRST TUESDAY PERFORMANCE SERIES CONCERT FEBRUARY 3 AT ABAC

TIFTON--The next event in the First Tuesday Performance Series will take place Feb. 3 at 7 p.m. at Abraham Baldwin College. Featured performers will include Blane Jacobs, baritone; Susan Spivey, piano; Brian Marchant, baritone; Gina Lawhon, piano; Rev. Ron Lawhon, tenor; and Stan Smith, baritone.

As part of the Arts and Entertainment Series, sponsored by the Abraham Baldwin Arts Connection, regional professional artists will be featured on the first Tuesday of every month in the Chapel of All Faiths on the ABAC campus. The concerts, which last one hour, are designed to be light, entertaining, and informative.

Individual tickets for the concert may be purchased at the door. The cost is $3 for adults and $1 for students. ABAC students are admitted free with ID.

For more information about the First Tuesday Performance Series, contact Dr. Susan Roe, First Tuesday Program Coordinator, at (229) 386-3097.

Jacobs began his career in church music in 1983 at the Ocilla Baptist Church. He is currently the Minister of Music and Youth at the First Baptist Church of Fitzgerald, where he has served for the past nine years. His duties include conducting the Church Orchestra, Handbell Choir, and Sanctuary Choir. He is also the co-coordinator of the Children’s Choir Ministry.

Spivey has served for the past eight years as pianist for the First Baptist Church of Fitzgerald. She has also been the accompanist for the Fitzgerald High School and Ben Hill Middle School Choral Programs, accompanying in festivals, competitions, and literary events. She has taught music education in the public schools as well as private piano. Spivey recently joined the ABAC music faculty as a part–time instructor of piano.

Marchant is a music teacher for the Worth County School System and has taught for the past six years at Holley Elementary. He is also an instructor of voice and piano for ABAC Kids’ College. Marchant served as church music director from 1997-98 at College Hill Baptist Church in Mount Vernon and as interim church music director at Brighton Road Baptist Church from 2002-03.

Gina Lawhon is a local piano/organ instructor and elementary school music teacher in Irwin County. She has accompanied and played for a wide variety of musical events, both local and statewide, including a concert with the Brandenburg String Quartet. She has also performed with the Albany Symphony Orchestra. Lawhon teaches general music for the Tift County Public School System.

Ron Lawhon served First Baptist Church in Tifton as Minister of Music for 24 years. He has produced numerous seasonal musical and drama productions and concerts as well as several recordings. He has also led groups on choir tours and mission trips, domestically and internationally. Lawhon currently serves as Minister of Media at the First Baptist Church of Tifton.

Smith has been the Director of Music Ministries at the First United Methodist Church of Tifton for over nine years. He has also worked as a Georgia public school music teacher and as a radio announcer. Smith plays the guitar and trumpet and is a published songwriter.

In conjunction with the First Tuesday Performance Series concert, there will be an art exhibit in the Music Building, adjacent to the Chapel of All Faiths. The exhibit will feature paintings, drawings, and two-dimensional designs by ABAC art students. Donna Hatcher, assistant professor of art, will feature works by her students. The exhibit will be open for viewing before and after the concert.

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