Graceland University Hosts Vocal Recital, Vocal Day

Graceland Vocal Day draws two very talented singers to campus, baritone Keith Harris and Lamoni native Leah McIntire-Barnett. Harris will present a vocal recital in Shaw Center at 4 p.m. on Monday afternoon, Feb. 22. The recital is free and open to the public.

Harris’s career has included leading roles with the Metropolitan Opera, the New York City Opera and the Boston Youth Symphony Orchestra. He also sang in the Distinguished Concerts International at Avery Fisher Hall in the Lincoln Center in New York and as the baritone soloist in Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony with the Lancaster (PA) Symphony. Harris is a brother-in-law of Graceland’s choral director, Sara Blessing.

The recital is a prelude to a day of instruction for area high school singers. Vocal Day will open on Tuesday, Feb. 23, with a lecture at 9 a.m. by Graceland’s new adjunct vocal instructor Megan Ihnen entitled “Music Tells a Story.”

From 10–11:30 a.m., Lamoni native Leah McIntire-Barnett will lead the first master class. McIntire-Barnett performed at Graceland earlier this season with Simon Estes as part of Estes’ “Roots and Wings” concert series. She is currently rehearsing as the Governess for Turn of the Screw by Benjamin Britten at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, where she is pursuing a master’s degree in vocal performance.

Afternoon sessions begin at 1:30 p.m. (from 1:30-3:00) with a master class taught by Keith Harris. While the lectures and classes are in session, high school students will be offered the option of a half-hour private lesson with one of the visiting artists or a Graceland vocal faculty member.

The lecture and master classes are open to the public at no charge.