Professional male vocalist George Humphrey is flying from Germany to perform at two cities in the United States: Chicago and Pueblo.
Humphrey, a former CSU-Pueblo student, will perform at 7:30 p.m., Monday, Oct. 25 in the Hoag Recital Hall at CSU-Pueblo.
The Music Department is thrilled to have the renowned tenor perform at the university, said Tamra Axworthy, administrative assistant to the music department.
“It’s not very often that we get to showcase someone like this in Pueblo,” Axworthy said. “It’s a great honor to have him come here and will be a wonderful learning opportunity for our students.”
Known mostly for his performances in Germany, Humphrey has performed as Don Ottavio in “Don Giovanni,” Count Almaviva in “The Barber of Seville,” and Don José in “Carmen,” the role that he performed for his European debut, his biography states, singing with the Lyrisches Opern Ensemble Dachau.
In addition to his vocal work in Europe, Humphrey has earned four finalist positions for voice competitions in the U.S.
In 2007, Humphrey won second place in both the Wagner Division of the Liederkrantz Competition and the Barry Alexander International Voice Competition held in New York City, according to his biography. The same year, he won first place in the National Association of Teachers of Singing West Central Regional Audition.
Humphrey has also performed with the opera houses in Denver; Midland-Odessa, Texas; Fort Collins, Colo.; Durham, N.C.; Boulder, Colo.; Austin, Texas; and Savannah, Ga. Outside of the U.S., he has performed in the Arena di Verona in Italy and the Austrian-American Mozart Academy in Salzburg, Austria.
He will perform in Germany, Ireland, and South Africa in 2010.
Barbara Beck, an Artist in Residence of the Music Department, was the person whom Humphrey contacted about performing at the university. He performed a small concert in Pueblo during April last year at Centennial High School, she said, but wanted to perform at CSU-Pueblo.
Beck, who will play the piano as she accompanies Humphrey throughout his performance, said the concert is something the campus community should look forward to.
“I think he’s a very dynamic performer,” Beck said. “I think the students will enjoy him.”
Described as a “heldentenor” or “heroic tenor,” Humphrey has a big voice, Beck said.
“He has a very powerful, robust voice,” she said. “He doesn’t like to sing very low. It’s a high voice. He’ll go up to the high C’s and sing that, but he’s just very powerful.”
The Süddeutsche Zeitung, a Munich-based newspaper and the largest national subscription daily newspaper in Germany, praised Humphrey saying that he “inspired enthusiasm in the audience … through his fabulous tonal qualities.”
A native of Trinidad, Colo., Humphrey attended CSU-Pueblo for less than two years before moving on to the University of Colorado at Boulder, where he earned both a bachelor and master’s degree in music. He also earned a master’s degree in music education from the Vandercook College of Music in Chicago.
Currently, Humphrey resides in Munich, Germany, and studies singing with Sir Donald McIntyre in London.
To learn more about the concert contact Axworthy at 719-549-2552.
