Opera soprano sings at Mendelssohn By Jennifer Gates For the Daily It began in a high school and church choir in Stephens, Arkansas and started to soar under the care of mentor Jenni Tourel during a summer program at Aspen Music School. "Singing," said Barbara Hendricks, "was not something I thought about pursuing as a career until that summer - then I began to give it some thought and consider it as my life. It was a chance I took when I went to New York." A chance, that as time would prove, was an excellent one to take. After receiving her Bachelor of Music from New York's Julliard School of Music, Hendricks debuted in 1974 with the San Francisco Opera. She has since performed more than 20 operatic roles for various companies and festivals, was recently seen in a broadcast of Stravinsky's "The Rake's Progress" on PBS and was the only classical musician invited to perform at Clinton's Inaugural Gala. This Saturday Hendricks brings her soprano voice, famous in the opera world, to the Mendelssohn Theatre for her first University Musical Society performance. Opera, according to Hendricks, was the type of music that was pre-destined for her. "I sang the music my voice was suited for, and it was much more suited for opera. I couldn't have really sung like Aretha Franklin - I would if I could - but it was not really a choice." A worldwide performer, Hendricks travels not only where her voice leads her, but also where her heart leads her. Hendricks has served as the Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) since 1987. Her deep passion for human rights has driven her to visit refugee camps in Cambodia, Malaysia, Tanzania, Thailand and Zambia. "Humanitarian work is based on the belief that you need all be active to promote human rights in our own communities, families, work," Hendricks said. "In order for us to live in harmony, we must learn to respect the rights of each other." Her most unforgettable experience was during a visit to Sarajevo in early 1993. It included a brave concert Hendricks performed in a helmet while the city was being shelled. The act was done for the benefit of Sarajevo's people - so that they might have "a small flame of hope that they have not been totally forgotten." "The Sarajevo conflict was brought home to us through communications, the media - but to witness that kind of barbarism so close, the fact that we allow it to go on - these are events that most touched and marked me," she continued. "Being in Rwanda after the genocide, (I went to talk about forgiveness), hearing their own stories, was very humbling for me." Hendricks' current efforts are being directed towards Bosnia for an open city project to "help cities with their problems of unemployment and infrastructure. Reconciliation is very slow and very, very tough work, once the fighting has gone and these people have witnessed some of the worst things that can be seen. It's not impossible, but it's very, very difficult because of money and human life to try and put lives back together." Understandably, Hendricks prefers performing in old, traditional concert halls as opposed to outside concerts amid raining bullets. "The most important thing about place is acoustics," she said. "Better acoustics means better freedom - there is a much larger range of dynamics, you can sing something softly. I like the atmospheres of old theaters, I like to know if there have been people that have come before me, I like to know of their energy and spirit so it becomes a part of my performance." Hendricks, one of the best-selling classical music artists in the world, chose to perform in Ann Arbor for reasons besides the theater's atmosphere. "When I was asked, I agreed because the University of Michigan has a very strong musical tradition - its music school is known to be very good. I was very happy to come because of the very strong reputation and tradition of music. And I always love the atmosphere on college campuses. I like students' openness and curiosity, I enjoy the learning atmosphere." This openness and curiosity is the only requirement Hendricks asks of her audience "to come equipped with" when they attend her concert. Her choice of Brahms, Wolf, Faure and Richard Strauss for her UMS debut is intended to provide a journey for the audience not unlike Hendricks' own career. The concert will "take the listener on a journey - not intentionally a storyline - but through a program with a variety of motion and color, constantly moving through the whole range of emotions that the listener can hear throughout the performance." There will be a free pre-performance lecture with Naomi Andre, professor of music history and musicology, Saturday at 7 p.m. in the League's Koessler Library. Tickets are $40 and $25 and can be purchased by calling UMS at 764-2538. Rush tickets for $10 are available Friday at the Union's Ticket Office. Courtesy of UMS Soprano Barbara Hendricks will be accompanied by pianist Staffan Sheja. Originally on page 5A in the 1-26-2000 issue of the Daily.