Album Notes

Vern Sutton, tenor
Keith Weber, piano

In the words of Garrison Keillor, "Vern Sutton is a gifted and big-hearted singer and performer, the guy you'd want to sing "Abide With Me" at your grandma's funeral and also the guy who, if you'd composed an opera in which Max, a World War I aviator with Tourette's, roller-skates onstage and rassles a bison while singing a twelve-tone aria in German, you'd want to play Max."

When taking your first glance at the program of one of our song recitals, you might think that the typist had made a mistake or that some malfunctioning software combined the programs of several different singers or that we've simply lost our minds. It's actually the result of the happy coming-together of our odd, unusual, rich performing backgrounds; our sense of mission in reviving, for both the new and the seasoned concert-goer, the vitality of our favorite medium, the song recital; our deep belief that there is great music in every style; and the gratifying discovery that it is possible for us together to express and even make sense of all the things mixed together in our backgrounds.

For thirteen years, Vern Sutton was a regular guest on Garrison Keillor's original "A Prairie Home Companion" on American Public radio. As s singer and actor, he has sung over 60 different roles, and for thirty years has been producer of the opera program at the University of Minnesota.

Keith Weber is known throughout the nation for his unique musical versatility as organist, pianist, harpsichordist, collaborator, conductor, coach, and choral clinician.