A former ensemble member of both the Broadway and National Touring company
of Les Miserables, he made his stage debut as the Celebrant in
Leonard Bernstein's Mass for the composer's 70th birthday celebration
at Tanglewood. Now considered the leading interpreter of the role, he has
performed the work with the Oregon, Colorado, and Eugene symphony orchestras
(under Marin Alsop) as well as for the Aspen Festival, Illinois Philharmonic
and for the National Public Radio. In 1999, he reprised his role in Mass
for the Cabrillo Music Festival, and directs the production for the first
time.
Special appearances have been a constant in his career ranging from the 1989
live International broadcast of Mass on NPR (400 million listeners)
to his latest, sharing the stage with CeCe Winons and Julius LaRosa and
honorees, Paul Simon, Diana Ross, and Barry Gordy at the Songwriter's Hall
of Fame induction in New York. Most recently, he took part in the Indiana
University "Bernstein Festival" singing the "politically
incorrect" songs of Leonard Bernstein.
An active chamber musician and recitalist, he is a prize winner of the
Concert Artists Guild International Competition and made his New York
recital debut as first-prize winner of the Joy In Singing competition. His
chamber music festival appearances include those in Santa Fe, Breckenridge,
Aspen, Rockport, Fredericksburg and Juneau. As a member of the Community
Concerts roster of artists, he presently has over 60 recitals scheduled for
the 1999-2000 season with pianist, Lincoln Mayorga.
Growing in popularity with his teaching, Douglas Webster will give master
classes this season in conjunction with recital appearances across the
country. He gives yearly master classes at the Royal Conservatory in
Toronto. This summer, he will lead a week-long master class series in
Musical Theater singing for the Breckenridge Music Festival (Colorado). In
addition, as part of a personal commitment to music education in public
schools, Webster makes numerous school appearances (K-12) while on the road.
These pro-bono services are presented under the auspices of the local
presenting organization.
A regular performer with the trio, "Bravo Broadway!", he has
appeared with the National Symphony in Washington, D.C. and the orchestras
of Saint Louis, Utah, Colorado, North Carolina, Syracuse, San Jose, among
others, as well as the summer festival in Flagstaff (Arizona), Pueblo
(Colorado), BRAVO!, Colorado in Vail and Varna, Bulgaria.
As the voice of Prince Charming, he appears on the Grammy nominated, "A
Disney Spectacular" (Telarc) and is the Yiddish singer on the original
recording of Klezmer Rondos (New World) by Paul Schoenfield.
Releases for 1999 include a solo CD, "Love Walked In" (Channel
Classics), a recording of 20th-century chamber music with the Muir String
Quartet(Eco-Classics) and the title role in John Philip Sousa's El
Capitan with Sinfonia deCamera (Zyphyr).
Upcoming releases include the role of "Top" in Copland's A Tender
Land with the Third Angle Ensemble conducted by Murry Sidlin.
