The Valley Concert Society brings tenor Colin Balzer back to Abbotsford to sing for his hometown on Friday, Nov. 18.
The performance takes place in Matsqui Centennial Auditorium (32315 South Fraser Way) at 7:30 p.m.
Balzer is at the height of an outstanding international career. Making his home in Germany, he is in high demand across Europe and North America.
He has performed under the baton of such conductors as Simon Preston, Phillipe Herreweghe and Canada’s own Bernard Labadie.
His career has taken him to many of the world’s great concert halls, including New York’s Carnegie Hall and London’s Wigmore Hall.
Balzer’s roles in opera include singing Don Ottavio in Mozart’s Don Giovanni at the famed Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow and at the international festival in Aix-en-Provence, France.
He has sung in several operas with Boston Early Music and appears with them in two highly regarded recordings.
Balzer received his formal music training at UBC, where he studied voice with David Meek. He continued his studies in Germany with Edith Wiens.
A highlight among his prizes at competitions was winning the gold medal at the Robert Schumann Competition in Zwickau with the highest score in 25 years.
Balzer opens his recital with songs by classical greats Mozart and Haydn. The program continues with songs by Benjamin Britten and Romantic-era composers Schubert and Brahms, and concludes with five of the Gambler songs by American composer John Jacob Niles.
Balzer will be accompanied on the piano Erika Switzer, who is on the faculty of Bard College in New York state.
She is the co-creator and co-editor of the e-zine Sparks and Wiry Cries. Switzer and Balzer have often collaborated, including a performance of Schubert’s Winterreise at UBC’s Roy Barnett Hall a few years ago.
Tickets are $28 for adults and $15 for students. They are available on the website valleyconcertsociety.com, or call 604-289-3377.
