PORT LUDLOW — Port Ludlow Performing Arts will open its 2016/2017 concert season Saturday with a performance by Terry Barber — a former singer with Grammy-award winning a cappella choral group Chanticleer.
The performance, part of PLPA’s Opening Night Champagne Opener, begins at 7:30 p.m. at the Port Ludlow Bay Club, 120 Spinnaker Place.
Venue doors open at 6 p.m., with a complimentary champagne reception.
Tickets are $25 and are available online at www.portludlowperformingarts.com or at the Port Ludlow Bay Club. To check availability, call 360-437- 2208.
During his performance, Barber will present “The Many Voices of Terry Barber,” an exploration through light musical theater, classical and popular works, according to a news release.
Barber “possesses an unusually rich, versatile voice and sings both classical and popular music with natural fluency in many musical styles,” said Kathie Sharp, PLPA event booking co-chair.
Barber is a classically trained countertenor, a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range is equivalent to that of the female contralto or mezzo-soprano voice types, according to the news release.
With an extraordinarily broad vocal range and natural fluency in many musical styles, Barber has been featured on some of the world’s most storied stages and has worked with many of the music industry’s most prestigious figures, according to his biography.
A voting member of the Grammy Awards, and on the advisory committee for Nelly’s X’treme Recording Institute, Barber has sung on several major record labels with Grammy-winning artists such as Madonna, Jewel, Chaka Khan, Cyndi Lauper and Steve Smith, according to his biography.
A truly international artist, Barber has been a soloist for the Metropolitan Opera, Carnegie Hall, London’s Queen Elizabeth Hall and Moscow’s Svetlanov Hall.
Barber has worked under the baton of many of the world’s most accomplished conductors and joined the roster of the Metropolitan Opera for their staging of “Sly,” starring Placido Domingo, according to his biography.
In 2009, Barber founded Artist for a Cause Inc., a nonprofit organization that helps visual and performing artists use their talent for community improvement, according to his website. Visit www.a4ac.org for more information.
Barber’s personal work with the organization includes the “A Sacred Journey” tour program as well as “Classical for Schools” which will impact more than 10,000 students this year throughout the United States and Canada through a performance lecture.
Barber received his bachelor of music degree in vocal performance as well as a musical theater certificate and music technology certificate from Northwestern University.
He received his master of music degree in historically informed performance from London’s Trinity College of Music where he also received a post-graduate performance certificate with highest distinction.
Immediately following the completion of his degree, Barber was hired to teach advanced vocal ensembles at Trinity College, while simultaneously touring England with the Kent Opera.
In recent years, the focus of Barber’s career has been more than 150 international solo tour performances.
The next concert in the 2016/2017 PLPA concert series, set for Oct. 22, features Acoustic Eidolon with Joe Scott and Hannah Alkire, known throughout the world for their blend of celtic, Americana, world and flamenco music, according to the news release.
Scott plays both instrument necks simultaneously on his custom-designed 14-string-double neck guitjo, while classically trained cellist Alkire is recognized internationally for her stunning tone and emotional, impeccable playing, according to the release.
The series’ only matinee performance will be Dec. 11. This traditional holiday concert will feature a sibling vocal trio in the pop/folk genre, Derik Nelson &Family.
Fans of the television show Glee will recognize Nelson, who has appeared regularly on the show. A Wassail Reception, hosted traditionally by PLPA, will precede the concert.
After a short break, concerts will resume Feb. 25 with Duetto, a concert of duets sung by Victoria Robertson, soprano, and Bernardo Bermudez, baritone.
Performing together at San Diego Opera and in West Coast symphony concerts, they have now teamed up in a show of their favorite duets from musical theater, to classical crossover with popular standards and opera selections.
Joe Trio, last appearing in Ludlow a decade ago, will return March 25, with a repertoire consisting of the classics, new works by contemporary composers and their own arrangements of popular, jazz and rock tunes.
The series finale will be May 6 with the 2014 Harmony Sweepstakes National Champions, Women of the World.
Representing points across the globe, these four women have been featured at Carnegie Hall, Blue Note Jazz and Boston Symphony Hall, according to the release.
Their repertoire honors numerous global folk traditions in 29 languages and celebrates varied cultural ideologies.
All PLPA concerts are held at the Bay Club, 120 Spinnaker Place in Port Ludlow. All evening shows begin at 7:30 p.m. with the holiday matinee beginning at 4 p.m.
