Classically trained guitarist and operatic singer David Perry will be this week's feature for Wednesday Night Poetry at Kollective Coffee+Tea, 110 Central Ave.
The regular open mic session for all poets will begin at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday. Perry will begin his feature set at 7:15 p.m., followed by another round of open mic. Admission is free and open to all ages.
Perry was born into a musical family in Minneapolis and graduated from the North Carolina School of the Arts. After earning his degree, Perry moved to Washington, D.C., and joined the United States Army Band, Pershing's Own, the premier musical organization of the U.S. Army founded in 1922. As their guitarist, he performed with the U.S. Army Orchestra, the U.S. Army Strolling Strings, and the U.S. Army Chorale during his tour of duty.
After serving, Perry opened David Perry's Guitar and Lute Shop in Washington, D.C., in the famous Dupont Circle, and started a concert series at Georgetown University. He performed for many years with the Washington Opera, various orchestras, and gave solo recitals at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. He was also awarded a Solo Recitalist Grant from the National Endowment of the Arts. While performing in the Wolf Trap Orchestra, he met his future opera star wife. For the next 12 years, they traveled the world together.
After the terrorist attacks of 9/11, Perry was asked by the White House to perform "America the Beautiful" accompanying his wife, American operatic mezzo-soprano Denyce Graves, for the National Memorial Service and at Washington National Cathedral. "The night after the 9/11 attack on the Pentagon, I was at the Kennedy Center performing with Denyce. We received a call from the White House asking us to perform for the National Prayer Service. It was broadcast around the world and was the first time five living US Presidents had been together at an event. What memories it brings back," he said in a news release.
More recently, Perry started WINLife TV in Winchester, Va., and produced 400 shows of community interest on the Internet. He moved to Hot Springs Village one year ago and will publish Little Rock Lifestyle, a new magazine that will launch in December.
"We are honored and privileged to showcase a musician of such high caliber at Wednesday Night Poetry. When David popped in one week with his unique many-stringed guitar and asked to do something on the open mic, I didn't know what to expect. As soon as he started playing, a hush filled the room, and when his beautiful voice cracked the silence, we were mesmerized," WNP host Kai Coggin said in the release. This is Perry's first time as the featured performer.
This week marks 1,601 consecutive Wednesdays of open mic poetry in downtown Hot Springs since Feb. 1, 1989. Email [email protected] for more information.
Entertainment on 10/01/2019