Secretary by day Chanteuse by night

Weekdays, Deborah Fox is a secretary in the main office of the English department, but evenings and weekends, she is an on-stage singer and performer.

Fox said she has been singing for an audience since she was 4 years old growing up in Springfield, Ohio, but in recent years, singing has grown into another whole vocation.

A freelance vocalist, Fox three years ago formed her own organization, Deborah Fox and Company, which includes other singers and instrumentalists. "We perform at private parties or give small concerts, and I can call on a variety of other musicians for different kinds of music--from country to classical, whatever is needed for the occasion," she said.

A versatile performer who can sing the blues, contemporary music, favorites from the big band era, opera, jazz, semiclassical selections, swing and religious music, Fox maintains a busy schedule. This summer, she performed with the Chester County Concert Band and toured with the Chesapeake Silver Cornet Brass Band at locations in Maryland, Pennsylvania, Delaware and New Jersey.

At UD, where she studied with Marie Robinson, associate professor of music, she has sung with the Collegium Musicum in Bayard Sharp Hall and also took part in an opera workshop, a Jerome Kern revue.

Fox also is involved in a project derived from a book by John Brockmann, professor of English, entitled Exploding Steamboats: Senate Debates and Technical Reports. Brockmann has original scores of music concerned with steamboats, such as "How the Little Brothers Perished" and "Steamboat Bill," and there is interest in making a film using the music. Fox was one of the singers who participated in presenting the music as part of the Bach's Lunch Series last semester at UD.

Fox also has sung in Tales of Hoffman and Othello for OperaDelaware and as soprano soloist for the Messiah with her frequent singing partner, bass John Dennison. In the future, she said she is performing in "La Traviata."

Recently Fox has made a commercial CD with the Chesapeake Silver Cornet Brass Band, entitled "Swinging Brass." During the recording, she sang such mellow, moonstruck songs, as "No Moon at All," "How High the Moon" and "Blue Moon." The recording can be purchased from Fox or at the University Bookstore.

SUE MONCURE