free admission
In this striking recital of soaring arias and beloved musical theater selections, two professional opera performers with East Texas roots share the repertoire of the opera house in the stunning and sacred acoustics of the Sanctuary at FPC.
Arias and Duets from Operas by Donizetti, von Flotow, Verdi, and Menotti, Art Songs by Schubert, Brahms, Liszt, Chevalier, Strauss and Debussy and selections from the musicals Evita and Carousel.
Featured Musicians: Dana Pundt-Barbosa and Pedro Willis-Barbosa
Dana Pundt-Barbosa is a lyric coloratura soprano sang in the children’s choirs at First Presbyterian Church and discovered her love of classical voice in the Opera East Texas. She holds Bachelors and Masters Degrees in Vocal Performance from Cincinnati Conservatory of Music. She has performed with prestigious opera companies, including Glimmerglass Opera, Opera Iowa, and Seattle Opera and will perform in a Verdi concert with Opera Project Columbus in January and Lucia with Boheme Opera (NJ) in April.
Pedro Willis-Barbosa is a tenor that was born in Bahia, Brazil, and raised in the United States. Since studying music at Northern Illinois University and Louisiana State University, Mr. Willis-Barbosa has sung with Opera for the Young, Opera Louisiane, Opera East Texas, and the Tulsa Opera, among others. He met his wife, Dana Pundt-Barbosa, while the two were young opera students with the Des Moines Metro Opera.
Pianist Kerry Baham, a native of Hammond, Louisiana, holds advanced degrees in piano performance from the University of North Texas and Southeastern Louisiana University. As an artist on the Eroica classical recordings label, Baham is currently involved in recording the complete piano sonatas of Mozart. He has presented numerous solo recitals at colleges and universities in the United States and Europe and concerts with the Monroe, Louisiana and Jackson, Mississippi Symphony Orchestras. Along with his solo work, Baham is an accomplished accompanist, collaborating with winners of the Metropolitan Opera Auditions on concerts in the United States as well as Europe. After spending almost twenty years of successful teaching at the college level, Baham is now concentrating his efforts on teaching pre-college age students in his private studio. He currently resides in Texas with his wife, Kim, and their two daughters, Samantha and Alex.