Season Listing | Program | Biography
After winning a 1993 talent contest much like America’s or Britain’s Got Talent, Anthony Kearns began studying classical music in earnest in Dublin, Wales, and New York City. Thrust upon the international scene at the first 1999 U.S. PBS broadcast of the 1998 taping of The Irish Tenors in Dublin, Anthony and the trio achieved instant stardom. As they began performing on the world’s most prestigious stages, The Irish Tenors became over-night world-wide sensations as Ireland’s most famous touring musicians, second only to U2. As the founding member, Kearns has toured with the trio three times annually for well over a decade. The Irish Tenors have 10 CDs to their credit, always listed on Billboard’s Top Ten upon release, with three quickly going gold, platinum and double platinum.
Anthony is increasingly in demand as a solo performer world-wide. He performs concerts with a sole piano in the recital format, as guest soloist with some of the world’s finest symphony orchestras, and on opera stages. Fall of 2013 Kearns released his long-awaited solo CD: With a Song in My Heart (available in the lobby). It is an eclectic repertoire, focusing upon the broad spectrum of music presented on his solo tours.
Anthony was honored to sing “The Lord’s Prayer” for our Veterans at the 25th annual PBS Memorial Day Concert in Washington DC this past May. March 19, 2013 found him at the U.S. Capitol at the invitation of Speaker of the House Boehner, entertaining both President Obama and Ireland’s Prime Minister Kenny at The Friends Of Ireland Luncheon.
Kearns was involved in the U.S. Inaugural weekend celebrations during January of 2013. He was invited by Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Dempsey, to perform at a brunch for Medal of Honor recipients, performed at the inaugural ball hosted by Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley, and was then invited to attend the actual swearing-in ceremony as an honored VIP guest.
Anthony’s spring 2012 tour ended on the stage of the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library in Boston in the first joint effort between the JFK Library and UMass Boston: A celebration of Kennedy’s Irish Roots, in collaboration with The Wexford Institute’s 2 year tour with Anthony highlighting Autism and Childhood Trauma Awareness.
Kearns has many operatic roles to his credit, including: title role of Faust, in both Ireland and the U.S., Carmen’s Don Jose, Don Ottavio in Don Giovanni, all in Ireland; and Romeo in Romeo & Juliet: Then and Now, Edgardo in Lucia di Lammermoor, and Alfred in Die Fledermaus in the U.S. all receiving stunning reviews. Anthony completed a PBS Special in Prague called Halleluiah Broadway in February 2010, released to wide acclaim across the U.S. In 2010, The Irish Music Association named him “Best Irish Tenor in the U.S., U.K., and the European Union.”
Besides performing in his homeland and coast to coast in America’s Performing Arts Centers, cathedrals, and campuses, Anthony also lends his name and considerable talent to many charitable fund raising events annually. He has performed at the New Zealand Embassy on several occasions in support of the USO Wounded Warriors and continues his work on behalf of U.S. Veterans.
“Ireland’s foremost tenor, Anthony Kearns is a great ambassador for Ireland …”
The Honorable Michael Collins, Ireland’s Ambassador to the U.S.
“Voices like this don’t come along very often. It’s a voice-of-the-century voice.”
… Opera Naples General and Artistic Director, Steffanie Pearce
“Anthony Kearns is a superb singer, a confident, compelling performer.”
…. The Nashville Scene
