Beach United hosts final concert in series
Beach United Methodist Church at 155 Bay Rd. will be hosting its fifth and final concert in the second full season Hibiscus Series, on Monday, April 12. The concert, which begins at 7 p.m. and will run roughly 90 minutes including a brief intermission, is entitled “Doug and Friends” and features bass baritone Douglas Renfroe. A free will offering will be collected with a reception to follow the concert.
Renfroe, an internationally acclaimed bass baritone who made his Lincoln Center debut in Schumann’s Paradise and Peri, and his Carnegie Hall debut in Orff’s Carmina Burana, says this particular concert may prove to be the most anticipated of the year. He has appeared in Scotland, Varna, Sofia, Bulgaria, Prague, Budapest, Bratislava, Vienna, Bulgaria, Vienna throughout Israel.
“This concert will be the culmination of the first two years of this series,” said Renfroe. “The choices of music will appeal to a broad spectrum of listeners, ranging from Sacred to opera to Broadway. There have been special musical arrangements written for the evening, featuring not only me, but the other four singers as well.”
Doug’s friends include soprano Johanna Fincher, mezzo soprano Libby Hoyer-Booth, tenor Robert Beane to round out the quartet and accompanists Dr. Robert Reeves and Shirley Roe. Added to the ensemble is Steve Diklich, who has appeared on stages in Chicago, prior to coming to Florida. He was a mainstay for the Golden Apple Theatre in Sarasota, and is well known in the Naples area for his musical comedy ability.
Fincher was recently featured in the February performance which included Haydn’s Little Organ Mass and has appeared with the Sarasota Opera as well as danced with the Sarasota Ballet. She will be returning to Europe this summer as soloist in the Mozart Requiem. Hoyer-Booth, known throughout the Naples area, also toured as a featured soloist on a Scotland tour in 2007. Beane, a true friend of Renfroe, has been the tenor soloist for the Varna Music Festival (Bulgaria) and has toured Scotland and Israel with this ensemble in the past. Reeves, who has been Renfroe’s primary collaborator (accompanist) since 1999 and has toured with him throughout Europe as well as numerous U.S. concerts, is a former staff accompanist for the Chicago Lyric Opera and former Chairperson of the Organ and Harpsichord Department for Northern Illinois University. Roe, a well known solo pianist and accompanist, will be assisting on several numbers.
According to Renfroe, the program will range from Sacred Hebrew-based compositions to some of the most famous Operatic solos and duets known. The concert will also include a British Isles section as a precursor to next year’s tour. The last half will include Broadway selections, and the evening will conclude with a medley from Les Miserables, expected to be the true highlight of the evening and a powerful arrangement.
“Our attendance has grown substantially compared with our first year,” said Renfroe. “We have received numerous calls at Beach United Methodist Church inquiring specifically if we still have more concerts to offer. I believe we have averaged over 60 percent non-members at the previous four concerts, so the word is getting out to our visitors. We would love to offer more, but the costs are so high, and this is not a Church sponsored program. Everything comes from our free will offering and sponsorships. I am hoping for a full house so that we can build upon our year to present even more quality programs next year.”
For additional information, call the BUMC office at 463-9656.