'A Walk Down Memory Lane'

Native Kinstonian and noted vocalist Joy Finch Reese will carry her audience on a walk down memory lane when she performs April 4 in the Grainger-Hill Performing Arts Center, 300 Park Ave.

Reese will sing numbers from high school productions in which she starred and others by artists she admires, bringing the 2008 OnStage season to a close. 

"I'm trying to include a wide variety of music, a bit of jazz, Broadway numbers, country and western, some songs from the '70s, '80s and several others," said Reese.

"I'm hoping it is the kind of music that will appeal to everyone. The important thing to me is that people leave with their spirits uplifted.

"When I sing, if the music touches their soul and makes them happy, then I will feel it has been a successful show." 

The evening begins at 6:30 p.m. with a pre-performance reception featuring heavy hors d'oeuvres and beverages. The concerts, in a nightclub-type atmosphere - all on the Grainger-Hill stage - follow at 7:30 p.m.

"I wanted to do the show to support the community's effort in keeping this wonderful facility open," Reese explained. "Grainger Hill has been the cultural center for Lenoir County for many years, and it holds so many wonderful memories for me personally as well. Also, I attended the OnStage series of performances last year and enjoyed them very much.

"When I was invited to perform this year, I knew this would be a real challenge, since I don't have the opportunity to sing as often in the community anymore. But the ‘juices' started flowing again, and I realized how much fun it would be to sing in this nightclub setting." 

Reese has always loved music. Her grandmother sang and played the piano and organ in church, and Reese loved to sit on the bench with her to watch and listen.

"I sang in the chorus at school for as long as I can remember," said Reese, who began nine years of voice lessons at age 13. "I listened to the radio a lot and played records of my favorite artists.

"Music has a way a reaching deep down into the soul where words alone cannot penetrate. Music speaks what cannot be expressed, soothes the mind and gives it rest, heals the heart and makes it whole, flows from heaven to the soul."

Born in Kinston as one of the three children of Lamar and Judy Finch, Reese enjoyed an early interest in singing and theater and was in two of Oran Perry's musicals while in elementary school."

Perry was director of drama productions and an English and journalism teacher at Kinston High School for more than 25 years until his untimely death in 1997.

"I was fortunate enough to meet Oran Perry when I was a fifth-grader, and performed in ‘Showboat' on the Grainger stage," Reese recalled. "I was a dance student at Jackie Howell's studio, and was chosen to be one of the children in the chorus. I later won the role of ‘Kim' and had a small speaking part."

A 1976 graduate of Kinston High School, she had the lead in several KHS and Summer Theater productions, including "Wizard of Oz," "Godspell," "South Pacific," "Sound of Music," "Brigadoon" and "Showboat."

"Perry had a way of getting the best out of everyone, and they (the shows) were so professional," she continued. "Even the sets done by the art students were unbelievable. I remember its being one of those moments in your life when you say, ‘This is what I want to do!' The next year I was in the high school production of ‘Hello Dolly,' and then went on to perform for the next few years in the summer theater productions."

Reese said her favorite roles at Grainger were Nellie Forbush in "South Pacific" and Maria in "The Sound of Music."

"I learned to love the stage and felt at home there (at Grainger)," she said. "I spent many hours in that building but also great times making great memories with Oran Perry, Sandy Croom and the drama club students. I wouldn't take anything for those great experiences." 

Reese was Lenoir County's and North Carolina's Junior Miss in 1976, winning interview, creative and performing arts, poise and appearance and fitness preliminaries. As N.C.'s representative in America's Junior Miss 1976, she won preliminaries in fitness and creative and performing arts. And in the 1978 Miss North Carolina Pageant, she was a top 10 finalist and the grand talent winner.

She said she enjoyed performing at Grainger while serving as junior miss.

"During this time, I met a great accompanist named Max Blizzard, who became a dear friend," Reese continued. "He and I performed all over the state, and it was so much fun! We felt every song the same way, and he even knew when I would breathe when I sang. He was so loyal and I miss him so much.

"A few years later, I sang many times on that stage as Miss Kinston. I loved representing our great community."

In 1977, Reese auditioned and was invited to sing and perform with the "Young Americans," a national performing group. She sang in a local band, "Showcase" (beach and top 40 tunes) for five years. She is her church's choir director.

Majoring in voice performance, she attended Meredith College in Raleigh for two years before transferring to Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah, graduating with a bachelor of science in elementary education and music performance. She taught school in Utah and Alabama.

Reese married her high school sweetheart, Bruce Reese, a Kinston optometrist. They lived in Birmingham, Ala., while he finished Optometry School, before moving back to Kinston to raise their children - Chad,Meredith, Tyler and Cameron.

Reese will be accompanied by OnStage musical directors Dr. Dennis Michels, on keyboards and Earle Abernethy, on drums; Dave Addudel on bass; and Bob Tyson on sax.