Pamela Barr was born in Washington, D.C. She began her study of the cello at age eight, and her study of French at age seven. She earned the B.M., graduating with honors, from the Benjamin Rome School of Music of the Catholic University of America in Washington D.C., where she also minored in French. She also graduated from the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston, Massachusetts, earning the M.M. She has studied the cello with Robert Newkirk, Donovan Schumacher, Laurence Lesser, Stephen Kates, and Aldo Parisot. Among the comments made by her cello instructors are these: Pamela Barr is "highly talented" and "she truly has a flair for cello playing."
Ms. Barr performed as a professional musician and teacher in the greater Washington, D.C. area from 1977 until 1995. A member of the Washington, D.C. Federation of Musicians, Local 161-710, she has performed as cellist in orchestras at the Kennedy Center, Wolf Trap, and the National Theater. She has also performed in churches, art galleries, and museums in Washington, D.C. She has performed in Lincoln Center in New York as recitalist, chamber musician, and orchestral cellist. She performed hundreds of concerts for children from 1977 to 1995, under the auspices of the Washington Performing Arts Society. She was cited by that organization as Outstanding Performer for that work in 1984. It must also be noted that Ms. Barr was a section cellist under contract with the Richmond Symphony Orchestra, Virginia’s leading professional orchestra, for six years.
As well, Ms. Barr earned the M.A. in French at George Mason University, in avid pursuit of growth and expansion of knowledge and versatility. Her studies in pursuit of the master’s degree in French have given her keener insight in delving into the French language, translation, French history, music, literature, and the French civilization as a whole. As well, Ms. Barr has worked with uncommon diligence to develop her musical art.
It must be noted that she discovered her soprano voice in Cleveland, Ohio, where she won a scholarship at the Cleveland Music School Settlement. Her first voice instructor stated this to her: "In your voice, you have a stupendous instrument." She also studied voice for two years at the Oberlin Conservatory with Gerald Crawford, Chairman of the Voice Department, and with Keith Brautigam, a star with the Cleveland Opera, and Chairman of the Voice Department of Baldwin Wallace Conservatory in Berea, Ohio. Mr. Crawford stated to her that she has "a very fine instrument" in her voice. Dr. Brautigam stated that in her soprano voice is a "truly beautiful instrument." In an audition as cellist, soprano, and composer, Ms. Barr was told this by Zubin Mehta, world-renowned conductor: "Obviously, you are very talented."
Ms. Barr’s repertory, as cellist and soprano, spans from the Baroque through the present day. She continues to compose works for a variety of media, and particularly prefers concert music with sacred themes. Samples of her performance as cellist, soprano, composer, and global communicator, are heard in her website. Performances of rare versatility and remarkable potential may be heard in her music for cello and soprano. She is particularly inspired by the comment of Johann Sebastian Bach who stated that “the aim and final reason of all music should be nothing else, but the glory of God and the refreshment of the human spirit. Soli Deo Gloria.”
She performs with pianist Charles Arnette in the duo called Espressivo in the music of this website. Their repertory includes arrangements of a wide range of styles, including classical, Broadway musicals, popular ballads, and much more. Ms. Barr performs on the electric cello in this duo. She may be contacted by email and at the message center at 443/602-7655. Her fax number is 443/602- 7658. She looks forward to hearing from artistic managers, producers, filmmakers, agents, and music specialists, as she seeks auditions and a variety of excellent engagements and professional opportunities.