October 1, 2007
Contact: Paul K. Logsdon, Director of Public Relations and Publications, (417) 865-2815 ext. 7292
Springfield, Mo. — Mary and Ruthy Riley, daughters of Dan and Carla Riley, from Sacramento, Calif., have been singing and performing for their family since they were young. Now the Riley family will be traveling to Springfield, Mo., to hear their daughters perform at Evangel University.
Mary will perform her Senior Voice Recital at 7:30 p.m., Thursday, Oct. 4, in the Barnett Recital Hall.
Ruthy will be joined by Chris McLellan to perform in a Piano and Voice Junior Recital at 6 p.m., Friday, Oct. 5, in the Barnett Recital Hall.
“Singing has been one of my favorite activities since I was a little girl,” Mary said. “My sisters and I would give our parents concerts and then have family sing-alongs.”
Mary, a church music major, will be graduating in December. Her recital includes pieces by Schubert, Hahn, Bizet and Hammerstein, as well as the celebrated “Summertime” by Gershwin. Another Riley sister, Bethany Speir, who graduated from Evangel in 2005, will be featured in a duet titled “Habanera” by Pauline Viardot. There will be a reception following her performance.
Ruthy and Chris, both music majors, will be performing Bach, Brahms, Scriabin and Beethoven. Ruthy plans to graduate from Evangel in May 2009 and said she chose to major in music because “I love it and want to dedicate my life to teaching others.”
Chris, son of Steve and Charlene McLellan, Altoona, Iowa, plans to graduate in 2009.