Secrest Artist Series patron passes away

Marion Secrest, who endowed the Secrest Artists Series, passed away on Sept. 20 at the age of 107.

Mrs. Secrest began going to the Artist Series in the 1960s, said Wake Forest Professor Emeritus of History James Barefield. “She loved any kind of classical music, particularly the piano music of Shubert and Chopin.”

She decided to financially support the Series in the late 1980s in honor of her late husband Willis Secrest and because of her love of music.

“The Secrest Artists Series is a jewel in Wake Forest’s crown,” said Scott Klein, artistic director of the Secrest Artists Series. “I’m glad that her commitment to the arts and the University mean that students, faculty, and staff at Wake Forest will be able to enjoy world-class performing arts well into the future.”

The Secrest Artists Series has a long and distinguished history of presenting, to the campus of Wake Forest and to the surrounding community, performing artists of national and international reputation. Such celebrated performers as Itzhak Perlman, Christopher Parkening, Ravi Shankar, Doc Severinsen and his Big Band, Denyce Graves, and the National Symphony with Leonard Slatkin, have appeared on the Secrest Series.

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