Tenor first flexed vocal cords at age 3
MOUNT DORA — Irish-born tenor Anthony Kearns is no stranger to celebrity.
Last year, he sang at a concert for Pope Francis when the pontiff visited Philadelphia. He has appeared with Gen. Colin Powell and actors Joe Mantegna and Gary Sinise at the National Memorial Day Concert in Washington, D.C. But his greatest thrill was appearing in “The Irish Tenors at Ellis Island” with Martin Sheen on PBS in 2001.
“That struck a chord,” Kearns said. “Ireland is a nation which has endured a lot, but through all that dismal, darkened time, we have written it down. We have exported a lot of literature, poetry and song, and there are 50 million people in the U.S. of Irish extraction.”
When he appears at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at the Mount Dora Community Building, he will sing what he calls “the evergreens” — traditional Irish songs, such as “Danny Boy” and “Whiskey in the Jar.” He also will sing inspirational songs such as “How Great Thou Art,” Broadway hits and classical arias.
“People are put off by the word ‘aria,’ ” he said. “But aria means song, and these were the popular songs of their day. And people recognize the tunes from TV ads.”
Kearns’ concert will be more intimate than his appearances with the Irish Tenors, a group that has had five TV specials on PBS and has recorded 10 CDs, including a Christmas album and the concert at Ellis Island.
He said he started “making noise” at age 3, and he always wanted people to listen to him.
Born in Kittealy, in county Wexford, Kearns said TV brought him the sounds of tenors Mario Lanza and Enrico Caruso.
“That was before I even knew what a tenor was,’” he said. “But I thought it was a wonderful sound, gorgeous.”
‘Learned like a sponge’
He studied hotel management, but sang as often as he could. He explored the country-and-western sound and mined Broadway classics, but it was when he auditioned for Ireland’s Search for a Tenor that he attracted the attention of Ireland’s premiere vocal coach, Veronica Dunne.
“I was lucky I found my way,” Kearns said. “I learned like a sponge.”
He auditioned for the Irish Tenors in 1998 and became one of three, with Finbar Wright and Ronan Tynan.
He now lives in Davenport, which he calls “my little nest.” He appreciates the Florida sunshine and drinks orange juice every morning.
Two years ago, he drove into Mount Dora and decided to perform there.
“I couldn’t get over this lovely little town,” he said. “It’s an artistic town, and I thought I’d give it a go. Coming from Ireland, I thought everything here looks the same. Then I saw Mount Dora and St. Augustine.”
Tickets are $25 and $35 and are available by calling 352-383-2165 or at mountdoralive.com. If available, tickets will be sold at the door of the Community Building, 520 N. Baker St.