Opera singer performs at Wallenstein Friday

MOSES LAKE - Mezzo-soprano Laurie Rubin will perform in concert at 7:30 p.m. Friday at the Wallenstein Theater on the Big Bend Community College campus, 7662 Chanute St. It's the second concert in the annual Central Basin Community Concert Association season.

A mezzo-soprano's voice is in between a soprano, on the high end, and a contralto, on the low end, according to the Merriam Webster Online dictionary. Mezzo-sopranos can sing high notes, just not as high as a soprano.

Rubin's concert will include a mix of operatic arias, art songs (in the style of folk songs, but written and sung by professionals) and pop music.

Rubin overcame blindness (she's been blind since birth) to pursue a singing career. She's performed in operas with the New York City Opera company and at the Greenwich Music Festival in New York. She's performed solo at Carnegie Hall with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center and at Wigmore Hall in London, and in duets during a series of benefit concerts with fellow mezzo-soprano Frederica von Stade.

Rubin founded the Ohana Arts festival and school in Hawaii to help kids who want a career in music but who face physical or economic challenges. Rubin is also co-founder of the Musique a la Mode Chamber Music Ensemble, based in Manhattan.

This is the second in the four-concert series sponsored by the association. The remaining concerts are sisters Greta, Willow and Solana Gothard, Celtic musicians and dancers who will appear Feb. 13, and Jesse Lynch's Jazz 101, which features classic jazz, on May 1.

The association is a subscription series, where participants buy a season ticket and can allow other people to use the ticket when they don't attend the concert. Season tickets are $50.

Many association members make their tickets available to the public if they can't attend the concert. Anderson said that was how she learned about the concert association and the annual concert series. "We're bringing music to the community," she said in an earlier interview.

Some season tickets may still be available and can be purchased from association members.