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Mentor to perform at Gordon Parks Celebration
Noted baritone Phillip Mentor will take part in two activities during the Sixth Annual Gordon Parks Celebration at Fort Scott Community College next week. He will sing at the Celebration of Faith service at 7 p.m. Wednesday in the FSCC Ellis Family Fine Arts Center, 2108 Horton, and he will give grade-level presentations to Fort Scott Middle School students from noon to 3 p.m. Oct. 8.
Mentor sings in a variety of languages and musical styles from French to German, Spanish and Latin, and even some Yiddish. His repertoire includes Negro spirituals, classical, baroque, classic Broadway, Irish and English folk songs, gospel, sacred concerts, and Christmas concerts, both sacred and popular.
Born in Belmont, Port of Spain on the island of Trinidad, Mentor is a trained opera singer and has performed in musical plays and theaters and with symphony orchestras. As a concert vocalist and baritone, Phillip has performed throughout most of the United States and Caribbean. Phillip's performances around the world have earned him rave reviews in such well known productions as: The Marriage of Figaro, The Barber of Seville, Porgy and Bess and the Magic Flute.
He has performed with the New Philharmonic of New Jersey, Montclair Chamber Orchestra and the Morristown Chamber Players. Phillip studied at Montclair State University as well as with teachers and coaches from the New York City Opera such as Edward Pierson, James Wilson and Jerry Brown, the Metropolitan Opera, the New York Philharmonic and the American Symphony.
Among his awards are first place in the North American Guild Voice Competition, African-American Singer of the Year in 1986, first runner-up in the Metropolitan Opera Regional and Outstanding Young Vocalist of New Jersey. Phillip has conducted several Master Classes and Workshops at several universities across the United States and for children as well.
For more information about any Gordon Parks Celebration event call (620) 223-2700, ext. 515 or see the website at gordonparkscenter.org. The Gordon Parks Center is presented in part by funding from the Kansas Arts Commission, a state agency, and the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency.