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When Quida Eppinette-Keck was growing up in Lepanto in the 1950's there was no band program in her school. Since she had few options for participating in music, her parents nudged her toward the piano.

My father was a Baptist minister, Keck said recently, and I think he also thought I'd be able to help with music in the church.

Little did her parents realize that their daughter, who actually enjoyed practicing, would eventually become a college professor of music and be chosen president of the National Federation of Music Clubs. And now she's taking friends and fans on a piano music cruise.

Departing on July 12, Keck will sail from Southampton, England to New York on the luxurious Oueen Elizabeth 2. Although she is not part of the onboard entertainment, her husband will be.

George Keck, professor of musicology at Ouachita Baptist University, will present lectures on piano music that will be heard during the cruise. Two solo recitals will be performed by David Allen Wehr. who is an artist-in-residence at OBU. Because Wehr was also the winner of the National Federation of Music Clubs Young Artist Award in 1983, "we thought it was perfect to include him in our program." Keck said

I asked Quida Keck how three professors from OBU came to be "singing for their supper" on the QE2, a ship noted for its themed cruises.

After Keck became president of the federation, she and Amy Nichols, director of travel services at OBU , decided to plan a music-related trip for the organization.
We wanted to do some sort of trip, though not necessarily, a cruise, Keck said.

Nichols checked a number of options, but Cunard Cruise Line's QE2 had the edge with a themed cruise focusing on piano music. Keck and Nichols decided to build the OBU/NFMC's progam around performances by Keck's husband and
Wehr, who frequently perform together.

In the course of booking the group on the cruise, Nichols contacted the shop's entertainment department and discovered that it was still working on performance contracts for several cruises.

I sent in bio information along with a CD and photos, Nichols said. Within a couple of days, Cunard contacted me with an offer for David to be a featured pianist on the cruise.

I explained to them that we had a group on board and that we would also need space for NFMC meetings. They liked our ideas so much that they asked if they could include them as activities for the entire ship.

One of the two solos that will be peformed by Wehr is "Babar the Elephant" by French composer Francis Poulenc. While Wehr "plays the story," George Keck will do a narrative.

Nichols is clearly excited about it. With a July cruise and families on board, I think it willbe a favorite.

The second Wehr recital will include Gershwin tunes.