Vinson Cole & Friends’ is a benefit concert for Lyric Opera of Kansas City

University of Missouri-Kansas City Conservatory of Music and Dance Professor of Voice Vinson Cole, an internationally renowned tenor and treasured Kansas City native, will perform in a benefit concert for the Lyric Opera of Kansas City in January.

Vinson Cole & Friends pays tribute to Cole for his contributions to the world of opera. Cole, along with friends including Christine Brewer and Danny Belcher, will perform a concert of opera classics. Afterward, a reception with cocktails and hors d’oeuvres will be held for sponsors and ticket holders at the $125 level. The event is scheduled for 4 p.m., Sunday, Jan. 11, 2015, at the Folly Theater, 1020 Central St., Kansas City, Mo.

“Kansas City has many boasting rights,” said Deborah Sandler, general director and CEO of the Lyric Opera. “Among them is counting some of opera’s most distinguished musical and operatic talents as its citizens. Vinson Cole, having grown up in KC, is foremost among international leading operatic tenors. He is held in universally high esteem by his colleagues and we at Lyric Opera of Kansas City want to celebrate his achievements. Helping to honor him are two other operatic stars, Christine Brewer and Daniel Belcher,” Sandler said.

Cole is a veteran tenor who has worked with some of the world’s premier conductors, opera companies and orchestras. He has performed classics from Beethoven to Verdi all over the world. Vinson teaches at the UMKC Conservatory of Music and Dance, the Cleveland Institute of Music and Aspen Music Festival and School.

Tickets are available at the Lyric Opera website.