TIFTON—Weather delayed Dr. Susan Roe’s final First Tuesday concert at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College but not even a rainy day can take the sunshine-tinted smile off her face as she prepares for retirement.
“The Songs of Broadway” First Tuesday concert was delayed until May 3 at 7 p.m. in ABAC’s Howard Auditorium because of tornado warnings in South Georgia on the original date of April 5.
The upcoming concert will include famous tunes from Broadway shows ranging from “Cats” to “Beauty and The Beast.” The concert is open to the public at no charge as the ABAC music program’s gift to the community.
Roe herself has been quite the gift to ABAC since she joined the ABAC faculty as an adjunct professor in 1999. She secured a tenure track role in 2002 and earned the rank of full professor in 2012. In 2015, she was named the Department Head for Fine Arts at ABAC. She plans to retire June 30.
“I love ABAC, and I love the people here,” Roe said. “When we moved to Tifton, I always wanted to teach here, and I am so glad I got that opportunity.”
Dr. Matthew Anderson, Dean of the ABAC School of Arts and Sciences, said ABAC will miss the leadership and energy that Roe gives to the Department of Fine Arts.
“Students affectionately refer to her as ‘Momma Roe,’ given her obvious love and care for them and her efforts on their behalf,” Anderson said. “Her tremendous impact on strengthening the arts at ABAC and in the broader region cannot be understated, and this was on full display during her excellent final choral concert performance a few days ago.”
Roe created the First Tuesday series 19 years ago. It has been a huge success with concerts in the Chapel of All Faiths and in Howard Auditorium. All the concerts are free to the public and feature ABAC voices and instrumentalists as well as talented artists from around the state.
Roe, who has already lined up the First Tuesday performers for the 2022-23 season, promises to be one of ABAC’s biggest supporters in the future.
“I cannot put into words the beauty ABAC possesses and the future I see for it,” Roe said.
A drop-in reception for Roe will be held from 3-5 p.m. on April 25 in the lobby of Ernest Edwards Hall on the ABAC campus.
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