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An Evening with Anthony Kearns
A Night to Remember
By Tommy Usrey, President & CEO, Northeast Louisiana Arts Council

What began as An Evening with Anthony Kearns turned out to be A Night to Remember! The March 5th concert with Anthony Kearns, his accompanist Patrick Healy and the Monroe Symphony Orchestra will be one that is talked about for years in this area. As the Artist Circle and Orchestra Circle sponsors began arriving at 6:00 p.m. at the Monroe Civic Center’s Jack Howard Theatre, responding to an invitation to join the boards of the Monroe Symphony Orchestra and the Northeast Louisiana Arts Council for cocktails prior to the concert, they found the West Hall transformed into The Opera Club centered with buffet tables laden with taste tempting hors d’oeuvres created by Canards Executive Chef Cory Bahr. Greeting our guests as they entered the curtained doorway, MSO President Michael Echols and I could feel the excitement in the air. As Artistic Director and Conductor Dr. Clay Couturiaux and his wife Desirée moved through the “black tie” crowd accepting their best wishes for a successful concert, you could see the adrenaline flowing because he knew that this was an event to remember in the making!

And what an event it was! From the moment the orchestra opened with Rossini’s Overture to Il Barbiere di Siviglia until Kearns and Healy closed with the first encore of Danny Boy to a shouting audience and a final encore of ’O sole mio the evening was pure magic. The audience sat mesmerized as the concert moved seamlessly from one orchestra-accompanied selection to the other, many set up by Kearns, which endeared him even more to the audience. His easy manner on stage coupled with an amazing voice prompted one audience member to comment, “He just opens his mouth and a glorious sound comes out so effortlessly.” The arrangements were perfectly suited to his voice and included The Gentle Maiden, Love Thee Dearest, She is Far from the Land, Macushla, and probably one of the most beautiful performed selections of the evening, Ireland, Mother Ireland, which brought tears to the eyes of several audience members of Irish descent.

I must say that the orchestra never sounded better. It was obvious from the players expressions and their applause after each number that they were certainly enjoying themselves and were having fun accompanying such a gifted artist. Kearns is one of those rare artists who strike an instant rapport with his fellow performers, which was evident in the rehearsal Saturday morning prior to the concert. As one orchestra member commented, “The thing was that Kearns was really personable, not this “singer with a huge attitude” kind of guy.” Couturiaux agreed that he was such a pleasure to work with, making his job conducting that much easier since the orchestra had only one rehearsal with Kearns.

Pianist Patrick Healy, as expected from those of us who had seen him perform in New York with Kearns, stole the show more than once that evening! His wit and charm on stage provided some of the lighter moments of the evening and during his sets accompanying Kearns, the audience got a glimpse of his virtuosity as a world class pianist. While the orchestral-arranged selections provided those subtle nuances that can only be accomplished through the use of strings and woodwinds, some of the most memorable moments of the evening occurred with just Healey accompanying. This recital format gave audience members the opportunity to hear lyric tenor Kearns at his best, enabling us to concentrate on the crystal clarity of his voice. One of the most enjoyable selections of the evening was a last minute substitution, With a Song in My Heart, which happens to be my all-time favorite. Having made the comment to Kearns on the way to the concert hall that when MSO Executive Director Naomi Cordill and I heard him sing the song last year in New York, we knew that he was exactly the right performer around whom to build the 2004/05 Windows on Ireland thematic season. What a thrill to get to hear it again!

Kearns and Healy had already become familiar faces in our community having traveled to Monroe in October 2004 on a publicity trip, only the second time in his career that he had traveled to a host city to meet the presenters prior to his concert date. When Kearns left in October, he even said “Coming back to Monroe in March will be like coming to visit old friends.” While here last year, he had an informal “chat” with voice students from the University of Louisiana at Monroe after the President’s Gala at which he, Patrick and Vincent Mitchell were special guests, made a round of media interviews and luncheons and cocktail parties with prospective underwriters - both corporate and individual. One of the corporate sponsors was so impressed with our mounting a project with this potential impact that he purchased an entire row of fifth-row center orchestra Patron seats to enable selected vocal performance majors from the School of Visual and Performing Arts at ULM to attend. Needless to say, the students, who arrived at the concert hall in black tie and cocktail attire to join the sponsors’ pre-concert party at The Opera Club and then on to meet Kearns and Healy at the cocktail party following the concert at beautiful bayou-front home of one of Monroe’s premier hostesses, had a glamorous evening to remember. Selected based on their desires to pursue a performance career, they were given not only the experience of the concert itself and visiting with one of the world’s most famous and gifted tenors, but also that of “mingling” with the CEO’s of major corporations and individual arts patrons who could one day have a major influence on their careers.

Kearns and Healy charmed everyone at the cocktail party after the concert that evening, accepting compliments graciously and enjoying Monroe’s special brand of Southern hospitality. The comment that struck me most during the party was that “he’s not one of those big names with an attitude.” Moving through the rooms Anthony made time for autographs and photos with people already commenting, “he’s so easy to know.” I think that’s part of the draw and why the pair leave a concert venue with new fans. As they made their exit, everyone was telling them that they hoped we’d be seeing them again soon, reminding me at the same time that Kearns had slyly said from the stage “Tommy, the ball’s in your court now,” referring to his comment when Grace was requested by the cheering crowd for a third encore that “I’ll have to get the score for the orchestra next time!” As the evening ended with our guests leaving as they congratulated Echols, Cordill and me for “the most successful event ever,” we all looked at each other and grinned - without saying a word. That grin said it all. “We did it!” And, if the phone calls we’ve all been receiving are any indication from the audience and sponsors, we’ll be doing it again!