Barry, Jerome
Barry, Jerome
Barry, Jerome, American baritone; b. Boston, Nov. 16, 1939. He was educated at Northeastern Univ. (B.A. in modern languages, 1961), Tufts Univ. (M.A. in German, 1963), and the Goethe Institut in Germany (certificate, 1962). He pursued vocal training with David Blair McClosky in Boston (1961–64), Romeo Arduini (1966–69), Luigi Ricci (1967–69), and Paolo Silveri (1969–71) in Rome, Jennie Tourel in Jersusalem (1971–74), and Pierre Bernac (1977–79) and Gérard Souzay (1986–97) in Paris. In 1967 he made his operatic debut as Sharpless in Rome, and returned there in 1969 to make his recital debut. In 1972 he made his debut as a soloist with orch. with the Jerusalem Sym. Orch. under Lukas Foss’s direction. Thereafter he toured widely as a concert artist. In 1981 he co-founded the Washington (D.C.) Music Ensemble, which he served as director until 1996. He became a senior assoc. in the Voice Treatment Center at the George Washington Univ. Medical Center in 1989. From 1994 he also was director of the Embassy Series of chamber and vocal concerts presented in various embassies in Washington, D.C. Barry’s repertoire is particularly notable for its breadth and diversity, enhanced by his command of some 25 languages.
—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire