Verve recording artist Joshua Payne to perform at Wilbraham & Monson Academy
Nashville-based singer/songwriter Joshua Payne will be performing at Founders Theatre at Wilbraham & Monson Academy on April 18, 2012, at 7:00 p.m.
The public is welcome to attend; general seating, first-come first-served. There is a suggested donation of $10 at the door. Proceeds from the event will support the Francis Michael Casey Fund for the Fine & Performing Arts, which brings artists to WMA and the greater community.
Often compared to Josh Grobin or Andrea Boccelli, Payne is not only an accomplished singer with experience in every musical genre from opera to rock, but also a lyricist and composer of uncommon sensitivity and power, whose work is informed by the depth of his life experience.
For more information contact WMA Marketing Director Meghan Rothschild, 413.596.9109.
About Joshua Payne
Payne was born almost completely deaf, although an operation while he was still a toddler managed to restore most of his hearing, and music became a big factor in his rehabilitation to a world full of sounds. Payne's early childhood was spent in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area, but when he was eight, he moved with his family to rural Arkansas. Both his parents had strong musical backgrounds – his mother as a classical singer, his father as a preacher and choir director – and the home was full of music, from James Taylor to Prokofiev, but Payne preferred sports, although his strong singing voice was already apparent. He graduated high school in 1991, attending Ouchita College on a football scholarship, but a serious knee injury turned his attention back to music; he began studying voice and was soon winning opera competitions. Payne enrolled in the Master of Fine Arts program in vocal music at the University of Memphis, and began touring with Opera Memphis, where his strong baritone won him several title roles.
Following graduation, he relocated to Nashville, which was where pianist Jim Brickman heard Payne sing in 2002, quickly offering him a spot on his package tour. At tour's end, Payne was introduced to noted producer Michael Omartian, who was impressed by this kid from Arkansas with the big booming baritone and a trunk full of songs. The two put together a demo and were shopping it to labels when Ron Goldstein at Verve Music Group heard it and signed Payne to a deal. Payne's debut album on Verve, Your Love, My Home was produced by Omartian and released in 2004. The independently released Same Shoes Second Verse followed in 2007.
About the Francis Michael Casey Fund for the Fine & Performing Arts at Wilbraham & Monson Academy
Joshua Payne’s performance has been made possible through the generosity of Arthur Zalkan and his three children, Brett '83, Marilyn '84 and Ira '89, all alumni of Wilbraham & Monson Academy. In 1994, together with their mother Barbara, who passed away in 2000, the Zalkans created the Francis Michael Casey Fund. They established the fund to honor the former headmaster for his devotion to and support of the fine and performing arts, and as a way of expressing their gratitude to Mr. Casey and the Academy for the educational experience the school provided. Among other purposes, they intend the fund to support annual performances for the enjoyment of the Academy and the larger community. The Academy is grateful to the Zalkan family for their continued loyalty to the Academy, and for establishing this fund during Mr. Casey's lifetime so that he could see its benefits.
