Vocalist, Sandra Agans Krueger, will present a program featuring art songs and arias in a compelling story of love at 2 p.m. on Sunday,  Feb. 17, in the First Presbyterian Church Sanctuary, 2330 South Main St., Findlay. 

The performance, part of the 33rd Season of the First Presbyterian Church Artist Series, is free and open to the public; a free-will offering will be received.

Mezzo soprano  Krueger is a recent addition to Findlay, and has quickly been embraced by the musical community.

Most recently, she was the alto soloist for Messiah at Bluffton University under the baton of Dr. Jon C. Peterson.

Onstage, she was most recently seen as Alice in Titanic: The Musical, and as Lady Thiang in The King and I, both with the Fort Findlay Playhouse.

Other roles include Mama Lucia in Cavallaria Rusticana with Winter Opera St. Louis and Berta in Il Barbiere di Siviglia with the Southern Illinois Music Festival. She was a featured performer at Opera in the Ozarks, portraying La Zia Principessa from Suor Angelica, Zita from Gianni Schicchi, and Rosina from Il Barbiere di Siviglia in a single season.

She has also been a featured soloist with the American Kantorei in St. Louis and the Caritas Chorale in Sun Valley Idaho.

Locally, she is active in the community theatre. She is the vice president of the Findlay Light Opera Company and created and directed a musical review for the upcoming production, A Dating Game:  The Musical Persuit of Love, in which she is also a featured performer.

Krueger has a vocal studio in Findlay and is an active performer and recitalist. She was a featured recitalist for both Findlay’s Symposium Club and William Shakespeare club this past year, and most recently performed for the Arcadia Garden Club.

She received her Master’s in Music from Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, and a Bachelor's of Music from Whitworth University in Spokane, Washington.

Appropriate for Valentine’s Day, the music featured on Ms. Krueger’s recital describes in first person the journey of a young woman, suddenly and completely awakening to the beauty of love (Awakening), lying underneath a tree in a field with her lover (Love).

Suddenly, she awakens to find herself alone, and abandons any future hope of love (Loss). Then, perhaps a few years later, she hesitantly dares to trust in love's power once more (Renewal), and, strengthened by true love's power (Triumph), reflects on the ups and downs of her past experience (Reflection).

Altogether, it's a beautiful collection of music, and a compelling story. It features art songs and arias by Faure, Brahms, Strauss, Handel, Barber, Bizet, Rorem, Argento, Quilter, Wolf, Duke, and Williams.  The music is performed in their original languages flanked by songs in English that echo the sentiment. English translations will be provided.

Krueger will be accompanied by Dr. Vivian Robles Dettbarn-Slaughter who is on the music faculty at the University of Findlay and is a recipient of the Elizabeth Gupta Award for Excellence in Teaching in the Fine Arts. 

Dr. Dettbarn-Slaughter holds a Bachelor’s degree in piano from the University of California at Santa Barbara, a master’s degree in Music Education with vocal emphasis from the Appalachian State University, and earned her Doctor of Sacred Music degree from the Graduate Theological Foundation in 2001. 

The First Presbyterian Church 2012-2013 Artist Series concludes with a performance by the Westhuizen Piano Duo at 2 p.m. on April 28 at First Presbyterian Church.

For additional information regarding The First Presbyterian Church Artist Series, contact the Church at [email protected].