Besides blending with musical partner David Anderson, longtime Columbus vocalist Camilla Gehring will harmonize with nostalgia this weekend.
That includes a tune “If He Walked Into My Life” from her first musical ever attended — “Mame,” presented at Memorial Gym in Columbus.
“That was before we even had auditoriums here,” she said.
Gehring and Anderson’s free 7 p.m. Saturday recital, billed as “Better With Age,” will highlight an evening of Oscar and Tony Award-winning songs and duets at St. Bartholomew Catholic Church, 1306 27th St. Works from late Hoosier composers Hoagy Carmichael and Cole Porter will be part of the program.
The event is part of the church’s preseason of its annual concert series of performances that have attracted about 200 to 300 people per date, featuring choirs to instrumentalists.
Other upcoming concerts will feature Columbus North High School senior singer Molly Hotek on June 3 and later vocalist Grant Jackson on June 17, now a DePauw University student. Both grew up singing in choirs at St. Bartholomew.
Donations are being accepted at each of the concerts.
Bogdan Minut, the church’s director of music ministry, plans for the official season, which normally includes out-of-town performers, to begin in September. He’s unsure how many people to expect for this presentation, and for good reason.
“This is our first concert since the pandemic,” Minut said.
The first half of the recital will include movie soundtrack numbers, including the duet from “Gigi” titled “I Remember It Well.” Plus, Gehring will croon solos such as “Que Sera, Sera” and “Born Free.”
The second half of the performance will include Broadway tunes such as the duet “Yours, Yours, Yours” from “1776” and “You’re the Top” from “Anything Goes.” Also, Anderson will solo on songs including “How Long Has This Been Going On?” from “Rosalie,” and “The Road You Didn’t Take” from “Follies.”
Gehring smiled when asked about rehearsals recently.
“Oh, there still are a few words we’re chasing,” she said. “Memorizing isn’t quite what it used to be just yet. I haven’t done any music since before the pandemic.”
Anderson came up with the idea for the recital. Gehring was his voice teacher in the past. He also has trained with opera singer Donata Cucinotta, who has been a soloist in recent years with the Columbus Indiana Philharmonic. Trained as a pianist, he sang as a youngster but gave up vocals until about 10 years ago.
“I just want people to know that live music is back again,” Anderson said, “and people can get out now and comfortably enjoy it.”
