Classical singing is one of the most respected forms of music making, mostly due to the incredible amount of skill and discipline it takes to acquire performance-level talents. Once you arrive at that level, you get to sing some of the most powerful and emotionally potent music there is, from opera arias to art songs.
Less often trodden by the classical singer but one she’s never shied away from, is the world of comedy, explained local singer Sarah Raines. Raines has sung with OperaSLO, Santa Barbara’s Quire of Voyces, and Opera Santa Barbara, dealing with high level art music and dramatic opera. But that doesn’t mean she’s a stranger to humor.
In fact, Raines has acted in cabaret, for the Lompoc Civic Theatre, and enjoys not just comedic acting, but comedic music as well.
“I really think that I have more to offer than just a pretty voice,” Raines said. “I’m interesting to talk to, I can be very funny and entertaining, and I like to use my acting skills.”
In the vein of fun and funny music, Raines has continued her solo concert series in October with a show made up entirely of the music of Tom Lehrer. The show is Oct. 14 at the Stone Pine Hall in Lompoc.
Lehrer is a pianist, singer, and songwriter who wrote satirical and comedic songs. Most of his creative output came in the 1950s and 1960s. Some of his songs include dark humor, like his iconic “Poisoning Pigeons in the Park.”
“I thought Tom Lehrer would be a good opportunity because I could use my classical style of singing but it could also be very funny,” she said. “And since it’s October I thought I wanted to have sort of a macabre, dark humor to kind of celebrate Halloween.”
Much like Raines, Lehrer was a skilled musician with classical training, so the piano parts for his songs aren’t simple. In order to provide the proper accompaniment, Raines called on collaborator and local pianist Yun Murphy.
Raines and Murphy have previously collaborated for concerts in Raines’ series, on classical music and more. Raines knows that Murphy is a like-minded musician she can count on.
“When you have someone who is a competent musician who is willing to work with you and be patient with you, it makes the whole performance all that much better, and it makes my job easier,” she said. “The accompanist doesn’t get the glory, but she does just as much work so I can get the glory.”
The concert will also include some harpsichord by Nick Curry, for a spooky effect. But the main collaborator is Murphy, Raines explained.
Raines moved to Lompoc relatively recently, and has enjoyed discovering the performing arts community and making connections. She has been in two Lompoc Civic Theatre productions now, she explained, including the comedic musical Nunsense.
“It was a really fun, small-cast dinner theater, so we got to be right up in the face of the audience, and they laughed a lot and reacted a lot to the things that we said and did,” she said. “That kind of experience—being able to interact with the audience, to sing, and to make them laugh—is the kind of performing experience that I enjoy and the kind of performing experience that I try to create when I do my solo concerts.”
Arts Editor Joe Payne is a longtime Lehrer fan. Contact him at jpayne@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Oct 6-13, 2016.