The Franklin County Arts Council will host its annual Young Performing Artist Scholarship Benefit Concert Saturday at 2:00 p.m. at Faith Baptist Church in Hampton.
The concert will feature performances by soprano Isabel Blakewell and tenor Zachary Dean Smith, along with the combined high school choirs from Hampton-Dumont-CAL and West Fork.
Smith, a central Iowa native, has studied at both Iowa State University and Carnegie Mellon University. Smith, known for blending opera and musical theatre, shares why this concert is special to him.
“It’s really wonderful because I got to pick out some very specific literature that I’m really happy to be doing for this community. And as much as I am a performer that’s about me, I also just am the kind of person who really loves to entertain as much as you can. I am an entertainer through and through, so any time I get a chance to go on stage and make people laugh, that’s going to be the stuff that fulfills me.”
Blakewell, a Minnesota native, has performed leading operatic roles and recently completed her master’s degree in opera performance. Blakewell talks about connecting with audiences through this weekend’s concert.
“This is one of the first kind of like half performances that I’ve given like this, but I do love doing recitals and stuff and like any kind of performances that I can do, like any operas or chorus, anything like that. I performed, you know, in Minnesota, Iowa, and I’ve also performed across like internationally. I’ve performed in Italy, I’ve performed in Austria. And so yeah, as much as I can,, I love to do these, you know, on big stages, on small stages, anywhere I can to do this kind of stuff.”
Accompanying the performers will be Jodi Goble, a composer and Iowa State University professor whose work has been recognized nationally. Goble says opportunities to perform in smaller communities can have a big impact.
“I grew up in a really small town in Indiana. And I remember that when I was about the age of four or five and asked for piano lessons, my parents had to take me out of town to find them. And I studied piano and violin starting at age four and went all the way through college with both instruments and then discovered singers. And I really love working with singers and bringing text to music. I think it’s just really powerful. I’ve been doing this a long time. I love this concert every year. look forward to it every year. I like the idea of bringing something like this into a town that doesn’t see it every weekend. And getting to go into the schools is probably my favorite part of it.”
The event is open to the public. A freewill offering will be taken to support $1,000 scholarships for graduating seniors pursuing fine arts education.
Pictured left to right: Zachary Dean Smith, Jodi Goble, Isabel Blakewell and Leon Kuehner
Full interview below
More information on the performers below
