With a smile on his face and a heart full of song, tenor Richard Valdez, along with Ted Horsburgh, performed in front of 80 eager listeners titled An Evening of Inspirational Music as part of a fundraiser for the Knights of Columbus Council 4499.
Concert goers flocked into Our Lady of Fatima parish on Feb. 11 to hear songs such as Ave Maria, The Prayer, Morning Has Broken and I Believe, Valdez and Horsburgh had crowd members emotional throughout the performance.
According to Knights of Columbus Council 4499 resident Roger Hachey, Valdez approached him about a fundraising performance.
”Richard and Ted have generously donated their time for the fundraiser,” he explained before the performance. “All proceeds are for the Knights of Columbus to do their community deeds.”
A new resident to Elliot Lake, Valdez is a veteran of the stage in concert, opera, oratorio and musical theatre and made his Canadian debut at Walter Hall, Edward Johnson Building in Toronto. He made his European debut in Prien, Germany and made his American debut in New York at Carnegie Hall.
Valdez has studied voice in New York with Samuel Margolis; Timothy Corcoran of County Cord, Ireland; Hryhory Shwedchenko of Kiev Opera, Ukraine and Helmut Shonder in Pforzheim, Germany. His concert repertoire incorporates seven languages, including Swedish, Russian and Ukraine. He has dedicated much of his performing career to a variety of local and international charities, including the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, Victims of 911, Ethiopian Famine Relief and other charities.
Performing inspirational music along with Valdez, Horsburgh is also a new Elliot Lake resident. He received a Bachelor’s degree in music from McMaster University, a Bachelor’s of Education from the University of Toronto and also a Masters of Education from Brock University. He teaches instrumental music for band and orchestra for the Lincoln County and Algoma District School Boards.