Canada’s most versatile and entertaining tenor will perform at Max Cameron Theatre this month.
Chemainus-based singer Ken Lavigne will be joined on stage by his four-piece band to sing a broad range of tunes from classical to folk to show tunes and beyond with some surprises thrown in.
Lavigne sings in a classical crossover style of Andrea Bocelli and Josh Groban. One New York critic described him as having “a voice of liquid gold.”
Lavigne, who has performed a number of times in Powell River over the years, is excited to be returning. “Powell River’s been really great to me,” he said. “It’s great to be invited back.”
Lavigne draws on a wide variety of genres which highlight the virtues of the tenor voice combined with a small ensemble. “The audience will get an intimate vocal experience.”
Lavigne loves to pepper the concert with anecdotes and stories about his life on and off the stage leading up to his big Carnegie Hall debut in January 2009.
“It was a wonderful experience, like opening a bottle of champagne and spraying it everywhere,” he said. “But the real adventure was the year leading up to the concert.”
Lavigne decided to stage his own debut, so he fundraised the money to rent Carnegie Hall and hire the New York Pops Symphony Orchestra to accompany him. It cost $200,000, but according to Lavigne it was money well spent.
“It opened the door to a whole host of opportunities that wouldn’t have yielded themselves had it not been for that moment,” he said.
Since Carnegie Hall, he has performed with multi-grammy award winner David Foster and performed for Prince Charles when he visited Victoria. He has travelled across the country and the world, but he said that as a dedicated family man, he prefers staying closer to home to watch his three young children grow and be a part of their lives. “For me, that’s what it’s all about.”
Lavigne will perform at 7:30 pm, Tuesday, February 12, at Max Cameron Theatre. Tickets are $26 for adults, $24 for seniors and $12 for youth. They are available at Powell River Academy of Music, Breakwater Books and Coffee, by telephone at 604.485.9633 or at the theatre on the evening of the performance. For more information, readers can visit Lavigne's website.
