By REBECCA WAGNER, Student Reporter
Northwest Oklahoma will be home to a nostalgic musical journey on March 8.
The Northwest Oklahoma Concert Series on Northwestern’s campus will feature vocalist Helen Welch, an international Broadway vocalist who started her career on television in the show “Romper Room.”
Welch will perform in Herod Hall at 7 p.m. Her repertoire includes music performed by the Carpenters, a brother/sister musical duo that rose to fame in the 1970s. Welch has sang their music for years, according to her website.
Professor Kimberly Weast, the Fine Arts Department chair, said the concert series started nearly 20 years ago.
Community members and university music faculty started it as a non-profit.
They started the series because they wanted to bring professional artists to the region, Weast said.
When choosing the performers for the series, Weast said she looks for variety. Costs also determines which artists are chosen.
“The university agreed to be a sponsor of the program, in the sense that they give the Northwest Oklahoma Concert Series Herod Hall for free,” Weast said. “They don’t charge the concert series the use, as well as faculty and staff hours.
It’s a gift from Northwestern to the concert series.”
Northwestern is not the only organization to contribute to the concert series, Weast said. It receives several grants, including from the Oklahoma Arts Commission, the Oklahoma Arts Council and the National Endowment of the Arts.
The Charles Morton Share Trust also gives a significant donation to the series, Weast said.
“Mostly what the success of the concert series is based on [is] contributor tickets, who buy season passes,” Weast said.
“That’s the only way we’ve really kept going.”
Patrons can purchase tickets at the door. General admission costs $20, and student admission costs $5.