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A perfect Mother's Day gift
Baritone Thomas Jones to perform in Arts Council's last concert in winter series
BY MARY LANCASTER INDEPENDENT WRITER
It is easy to tell when someone loves what they do by their enthusiastic, animated conversation. Such is the case with versatile baritone Thomas Jones, who will perform on May 11 in the last in a series of four winter concerts presented by the Nantucket Arts Council.
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Jones will take the stage in the Congregational Church Old North Vestry at 62 Centre St. at 4 p.m. that Sunday, offering his audience a rich display of his talent ranging from light and little-known Handel operas to exciting operatic arias by Mozart, Leoncavallo and Bizet to six selections from Schumann's "Liederkreis" and three pieces from musicals including "Camelot," "Mame" and the 1929 production of "Great Day." Jones will be accompanied by pianist Ben Green, which makes the upcoming concert even more exciting for him.
Jones, a Boston resident, was just a child when his fine soprano voice was discovered through his participation in a choir. Though he continued to sing in similar venues, until he was in high school he thought his life was headed in a very different direction.
"I actually thought I was going to be an architect when I was in high school, but when I was a junior I attended my first district chorus festival in Pennsylvania," he said. "That was the festival that led me to think I have a life as a singer."
After earning a master's degree in voice from Mansfield University, the music school of Pennsylvania State University, he moved to Boston and began working on his doctorate at Boston University and the New England Conservatory of Music. His mentor at Boston University suggested that he stay active with his singing because if he was to have a career it would be due to experience rather than a piece of paper.
"Which is exactly what happened," said Jones.
Over time, Jones partook in multiple private lessons with teachers at the Metropolitan Opera Company in New York City and, among others, with Patricia Stedry in Boston, whom he considers one of his major voice coaches. Now, Jones is scheduled for several weekend concerts a month depending on the time of year, and teaches voice at Harvard University through its Office of the Arts providing many master classes for choral organizations as well as for individual singers.
Jones has been sought out for appearances throughout the U.S., Europe and the West Indies, and has given solos with a number of prestigious symphonies and orchestras as well as being featured in opera companies and at music festivals and performing with more than 150 choruses nationwide. Some of those presentations have included The Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, The Apollo Chorus of Chicago, The Handel and Haydn Society in Boston, the Philharmonica Baroque Orchestra in San Francisco, Tivoli Gardens in Copenhagen and at the Nordic Museum in Stockholm.
Though Jones enjoys almost all forms of music, he has one reservation.
"I like it all as long as it's not country and western," he explained. "Beyond that, I'm open to most everything. I certainly love concert work, but I enjoy it all."
Jones' pianist will be Ben Green, a young and gifted man he respects. Green was Jones' student at Harvard and accompanied many of Jones' student's college recitals. A recent graduate of Harvard College, Green composed the scores for two Hasty Pudding Theatricals and is associate music director of the Harvard Pops Orchestra.
"It is time to give him his shot," Jones said of Green. "I'm very excited to be working with someone who was my former student."
The May 11 "Opera to Broadway" concert on Nantucket will be Jones' fourth performance on the island and one he looks forward to presenting.
"I feel Nantucket audiences are very sophisticated and they expect the quality to be good," he said. "There is no such thing as a small performance for me, but when I'm there I want it to be a quality of repertoire that is correct. Most of the repertoire I'm using points to a celebration and a renewal of life. It kind of sparkles with happiness. I want it to be light
and enjoyable - an afternoon of happiness." I
Tickets for the Thomas Jones concert at 4 p.m. May 11 cost $25 for non-members of the NAC and $20 for members. High school and younger students will be admitted at no charge. Tickets are on sale at Bookworks, Mitchell's Book Corner, Dan's Pharmacy and at the door, or call 325-8588.
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