The Episcopal Church of St. John in the Wilderness will host a Friends of Music concert featuring Bass- Baritone Adrian Smith on Sunday, November 13, 2022 at 4:00 p.m. in the Parish Hall across from the church. He will be accompanied by pianist Dewitt Tipton. The public is invited to attend. Contributions will be gratefully accepted.
Hailed for his “big bronze voice,” Smith has been heard in numerous opera and concert roles. Appearances include roles in Rigoletto, Jennifer Higdon’s Cold Mountain, La Cenerentola, Carmen, L’elisir d’amore,The Magic Flute, La fanciulla del West, and Capriccio. Concert performances include Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, Brahms’ and Mozart’s Requiem, Berlioz’ Roméo et Juliette, Mendelssohn’s Elijah, Vaughan Williams’ Songs of Travel, Handel’s Messiah and Dettingen Te Deum, and major works by J. S. Bach. A native of Hickory, NC, Smith holds degrees from Lenoir-Rhyne University and Boston University, and was a prize winner in competitions in Lincolnton, NC, Shreveport, LA, Birmingham, AL, and the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions.
“Adrian is one of the most gifted young singers with whom I have had the privilege of making music. He has a commanding presence, a rich and full bass-baritone voice, a high degree of musicality and intelligence and is quite natural and engaging in performance,” said Dewitt Tipton, Organist, Director of Music for St. John in the Wilderness and creator of Friends of Music. Future concerts include flutist Kate Steinbeck on December 4 and folk musicians Laura Boosinger and Josh Goforth on February 19. In the early spring, Storyteller Becky Stone will entertain with African American history and later in the spring a benefit will be scheduled for the WNC Foundation Eric Anderson Weigel Memorial Fund. The concert will feature his brother David Weigel performing baritone selections with Tipton accompanying on the piano.
St. John in the Wilderness is located in Flat Rock, NC at 1905 Greenville Highway. Queries may be directed to the church office, (828) 693-9783 or visit www.stjohnflatrock.org.
