Former church organist to perform piano recital

All kinds of birds will fill St. Andrew Lutheran Church on Sunday.

Not live ones, but in the form of a musical tribute to feathered flocks everywhere by former church organist Dr. Janet Bass Smith.

Smith's solo piano recital "All Kinds of Birds" will begin at 5 p.m. Sunday. The recital combines visual stimuli -- photographs of birds -- with music.

"Through the years I have played many compositions with birds in the title. Some composers have recorded the actual songs of birds, while others have written music that is their impression of a particular kind of bird," said Smith. "I thought it would be interesting to collect some of these into one performance."

The recital will feature traditional and contemporary works from composers such as Rameau, Griffes, Ravel and Liszt. Bird-related poetry will also be read.

Smith, who formerly taught piano at Southeast Missouri State University, has studied at Julliard School of Music and Eastman School of Music. She has served on the faculty of four universities and helped establish the Bowling Green String Academy in Bowling Green, Ky., in 2003.

Smith has performed throughout the UnitedStates and Europe. She and her husband Charles, a flutist, have performed together for more than 50 years.