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Debra Greschner, instructor of voice for the Mary Morgan Moore Department of Music and a founding faculty member of the Vocology Certificate program in the Department of Speech and Hearing Sciences, has been selected by the National Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi to receive the Love of Learning Award. This award helps fund post-baccalaureate professional development for active Phi Kappa Phi members to include graduate or professional studies, doctoral dissertations, continuing education, career development, travel related to teaching, research and learning, among other developmental activities. Two hundred Love of Learning awards, at $500 each, are distributed each year.

Greschner will use the grant to continue her research into the art songs of French composer Félix Fourdrain (1880-1923). Fourdrain, who studied and taught at the Paris Conservatoire, received recognition during his short life for his operas and was a prolific composer of songs. Greschner, who has written articles about Fourdrain for the Oxford Grove Music Online and the Journal of Singing, is compiling a performance guide for the complete catalogue of his songs.

“Fourdrain lived and wrote during a period in which French song flourished, so both the songs and their place in French music history impel thorough exploration of this literature,” said Greschner.  “The goal of my research is to locate all his songs and create a performance guide for the oeuvre, including translations and phonetic transcriptions of the pieces.”

Phi Kappa Phi, which was founded in 1897, is the nation's oldest and most selective multidisciplinary collegiate honor society. The Lamar Chapter of Phi Kappa Phi was founded in 1965.

“I am grateful that, as an all-discipline honor society, Phi Kappa Phi encourages academic excellence and the love of learning in all fields of study,” said Greschner.  “Merci beaucoup!”

For more information about Greschner or the Mary Morgan Moore Department of Music, please visit lamar.edu/music.