(COLUMBIA, Tenn. - Feb. 27, 2014) - - - Columbia State Community College welcomes Christine Poythress to the Cherry Theater stage Monday, March 3 at 6 p.m. for a classical vocal recital that includes arias by George Frederic Handel, art songs by Robert Schumann and Claude Debussy, and cabaret songs by William Bolcom.

"We are fortunate to have very talented adjunct music faculty at Columbia State," said Emily Gaskill, associate professor of music. "Christine is a new addition to our music department, and we all look forward to an entertaining and enlightening vocal music performance."

Poythress also serves as an adjunct faculty member at Middle Tennessee State University and Chicago City Colleges. She studied classical voice at California State University at Northridge, and she studied voice with Seth Riggs while in Los Angeles and Keith Davis while in New York.

While earning her Bachelor of Arts degree in music from Armstrong Atlantic State University in Savannah, Ga., Poythress was a soloist with regional symphonies and a guest vocalist at First Lutheran, Wesley Monumental United Methodist Church, and Unity Church of Savannah.

Poythress also earned a Master of Music degree in vocal performance from Belmont University where she studied with Marjorie Halbert. Since moving to Tennessee she has presented a recital at The Renaissance Center in Dickson and is a frequent vocalist at MTSU.

Joining Poythress is Joseph Walker, an adjunct faculty member at MTSU where he received his Master of Arts degree in collaborative piano. He also earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in music from AASU. Having studied under Dr. Kevin Vogelsang, Dr. Kevin Hampton, Dr. Caleb Harris, and Dr. Leopoldo Erice, Walker has gone on to have an active career as a collaborative pianist and a vocal coach to the vocal performance majors at MTSU. He has also performed for numerous faculty and student recitals.

The recital is free and open to the public and is co-sponsored by the Lyceum Committee and the Department of Music. The Cherry Theater is in the Waymon L. Hickman building on the Columbia campus located at 1665 Hampshire Pike.

Columbia State is a two-year college, serving a nine-county area in southern Middle Tennessee with locations in Columbia, Franklin, Lawrenceburg, Lewisburg and Clifton. As Tennessee's first community college, Columbia State is committed to increasing access and enhancing diversity at all five campuses. Columbia State is a member of the Tennessee Board of Regents, one of the largest higher education systems in the nation. For more information, please visit www.columbiastate.edu.

Tennessee's Community Colleges is a system of 13 colleges offering a high-quality, affordable, convenient and personal education to prepare students to achieve their educational and career goals in two years or less. We offer associate degree and certificate programs, workforce development programs and transfer pathways to four-year degrees. For more information, please visit us online at tncommunitycolleges.org.