The College of Southern Maryland welcomes singer and theatrical artist Marian Murphy Powell who is performing at the Ward Virts Concert Series at 3 p.m., April 7 at the Prince Frederick Campus, Room 119. The performance is the fifth of six in the concert series, which is held at CSM’s Prince Frederick Campus, 115 J.W. Williams Road, Prince Frederick.

Powell combines dynamic signing and compelling acting in her various cabaret shows and other guest appearances. She has performed professionally in many major theatrical productions, including roles as Cosette in “Les Miserables,” Christine in “Phantom of the Opera,” Mother in “Bright Lights, Big City,” Marian in “The Music Man,” Fleur in the premiere of “Esmeralda,” Mary Jane Wilkes in “Big River,” and Fiona in “Brigadoon.”

Powell has two solo recordings: “This Must Be Love,” which pays tribute to love songs from many genres, and a jazz album, “Live at the Saturday Club,” with renowned jazz pianist Bill Schmearer. She has been featured with several orchestras around the world including the Shanghai Symphony and the Concordia Orchestra at New York’s Lincoln Center, along with solo performances on cruise lines and in theme parks and dinner theatres.

Powell earned her bachelor’s degree and certificate of merit in music training at the Music School of the State University of New York at Fredonia and has a private voice studio in the Philadelphia area where she also teaches at the Hill School in Pottstown, Pa. She is a member of the Actor’s Equity Association and National Association of Teachers of Singing. During the summer months she teaches at the New England Music Camp, a residential camp for 11 to 18-year-olds on scenic Lake Messalonskee in Sidney, Maine.

Concluding the 2012-13 season on May 5 will be pianist Brian Ganz, who will return for an eighth consecutive season.

The Ward Virts Concert Series is sponsored by Edward and Patricia Mehosky, St. Clair and Mary Tweedie, Gerry Van De Velde and Rene Cunningham, and CSM. The centerpiece of the concert series is a world-class Boesendorfer Grand Piano, which was gifted to CSM by the Ward Virts Piano Project (WVPP) for the enjoyment the Southern Maryland community.

The WVPP was formed by friends and classmates of pianist Ward Virts, whose sudden death in 1993 inspired them to purchase this hand-made piano and dedicate the piano in Virts’ memory. Inspired by Virts’

life and spirit, his friends and classmates conceived the project in order to bring the love of life, beauty and music that Virts embodied to a new generation of Southern Maryland students, performers and appreciative audiences.

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