A retired voice professor will be honored by local organizations during a recital in Weigel Hall this Friday.Helen Swank retired from her position as voice professor and chair of the voice department in 1991 but her influence is still felt, said Eileen Davis, a voice professor at Ohio State. “She was an important figure in the school of music, well loved and well remembered,” Davis said.Davis will present a preconcert lecture on the music from the recital, which will be in the form of art song.Art song is a form of classical music with very intricate accompaniment that is a duo for voice and piano, Davis said.The recital, called “Une Soiree de Melodie,” which means “an evening of art song,” is sponsored by the Vocal Arts Resource Network (VARN), National Association of Teachers of Singing Buckeye Chapter and OSU.Swank was chosen by the honorees from previous years, Carol Notestine said. Notestine, executive director for VARN, said the nominees selected for the honor must have encouraged or performed art song literature.Notestine said the recital will feature Alex Hurd and Jason Hardink, two musicians from Oberlin who were chosen from about 40 ensembles in VARN’s art song competition in November. Hurd will sing baritone and Hardink will play the piano.The competition is statewide and stresses the ability to communicate text and music as a single unit, Notestine said. Contestants had to submit a tape, proposal and resume, as well as three letters of recommendation, she said.This is the third competition sponsored by VARN, which was founded in the summer of 1994 to support vocal arts in Ohio, Notestine said. The objective of the organization is to stimulate communication between educators, supporters and performers of vocal arts, she said.The contest and recital bring together people who have paved the way in the field and those who are working in it now, Notestine said.”Helen is an extremely well-recognized clinician and teacher of voice,” Notestine said.Swank said she was surprised to learn of the honor.”I thought, ‘Oh, I don’t believe it, you’ve got to be kidding,'” she said.Swank started teaching music education at OSU in 1965 and retired from the performance division in June of 1991, she said. For the last 13 years of her career, she served as chair of the voice department.”College teaching is wonderful because the students want to be challenged,” Swank said. “As long as you can challenge them, it’s great.”Swank said she enjoys keeping in contact with her graduates, many of whom are teachers at colleges across Ohio. Two of her students perform opera in New York City, she said. “It’s great to see them and catch up on them,” she said. She said it is fun to watch their careers and lives develop.Her nomination for the honor is proof of the great friends and associates she has, Swank said.The concert begins with a poetry lecture by Eileen Davis and Ohio University’s Sue Glander at 7:15 p.m. The concert starts at 8 p.m. and will include music by the French composers Gabriel Faure, Francis Poulenc and Claude Debussy. Tickets will be available at the door for $10.