KNOXVILLE — Daniel Berry, WUOT 91.9 FM program director and host of the station’s popular “Morning Concert,” will perform with pianist and WUOT weekend announcer Melony Maness at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, May 6, at the Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church in Oak Ridge.
Admission is free.
The concert is part of WUOT’s 60th anniversary celebration. It will feature a variety of music composed by J.S. Bach, Richard Strauss, Ludwig van Beethoven and Ralph Vaughan Williams, as well as traditional Irish songs.
“We’ve been celebrating WUOT’s 60th anniversary with a variety of events since last fall, and one of our goals is to reach out to listeners in different parts of the region,” WUOT Director Regina Dean said. “Daniel and Melony are accomplished musicians, and we’re thrilled to be able to showcase their talents in Oak Ridge to thank listeners in that community for supporting the station over the years.”
Berry joined WUOT in 1983. He has served as program director since 1995. A native of Dearborn, Mich., he comes from a family of musicians. He attended the University of Michigan, where he was a pupil of Metropolitan Opera baritone Ralph Herbert and conductors Josef Blatt and Maynard Klein. He made his professional operatic debut in 1975 as Dr. Bartolo in Mozart’s “Le Nozze di Figaro” with the Milwaukee Opera Company.
Berry initially combined a singing career with parallel vocations as voice teacher and conductor, including appearances with the Florentine Opera of Milwaukee, Skylight Comic Opera, Peoria Civic Opera, Northern Indiana Opera Association and Music Under the Stars. He has performed as soloist with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Minnesota Orchestra, Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, Peoria Civic Orchestra, Bach Chamber Orchestra, Knoxville Symphony Orchestra and many others, and he is an acclaimed recitalist.
Berry debuted with the Knoxville Opera Company in 1983 as Angelotti in “Tosca,” and has appeared with the company in 28 productions.
Maness received her master’s degree in music (collaborative piano) from UT in May 2008. While a student, she accompanied the Concert Choir and was a coach/accompanist for UT Opera Theatre, and she continues to fill these roles as a staff accompanist. Maness has served as music director for musicals with numerous theater organizations and collaborates and performs with musicians throughout East Tennessee. She is instructor of piano at Walters State Community College.
For more information about the free concert, please call (865) 974-6167.
Listener-supported WUOT is licensed to UT. WUOT is a member of National Public Radio and a Public Radio International affiliate. The station’s primary format is classical and jazz music, news and public affairs. WUOT serves listeners throughout East Tennessee and parts of Kentucky, North Carolina, Georgia and Virginia. The station broadcasts 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and streams on the Web at http://wuot.org. WUOT’s second audio channel, WUOT-2, is available on HD Radio™, Internet radio and on the Web.
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C O N T A C T :
Cindy Hassil (865-974-6167, chassil@utk.edu)