Columbia native Shana Farr on the Great American Songbook, her evolving voice and more

Shana Farr doesn't know a false note.

The Columbia native routinely accesses the best of her instrument, singing from the front to the back — and reaching all points between — of New York supper clubs and concert halls and venues as hallowed as London's Westminster Abbey. She has given life to characters within shows such as "Blithe Spirit," "The Music Man" and "A Midsummer Night's Dream" and voices the specific yet universal feelings within Broadway and jazz standards. We hear ourselves when we hear her sing the Great American Songbook.

Farr will do just that upon traveling from one hometown, her adopted New York City, to another for an April 6 engagement at Boone County History and Cultural Center with longtime pianist and peer Jon Weber. She'll also meet with Columbia Public Schools middle-school students while here, offering thoughtful and technical tips.

Off stage, Farr draws on the performer's sacred trinity of grace, generosity and guts to discuss her craft with openness. She traded emails with the Tribune to talk about her Columbia days, ever-evolving voice and the repertoire she'll carry with her.

The Great American Songbook is, well, just that — great. As you prepare for a program like the one you'll give in Columbia, what criteria do you draw upon in shaping the set? How much does your musical interplay with Jon Weber impact those choices?

Farr: Jon Weber and I have been working together for over 10 years, and our musical partnership is really solid. By the time we get a show up on its feet, he knows the music inside and out, and he’s barely looking at it during the show. I know he’s watching me, and breathing with me, and he follows the little nuances I add in as I feel them throughout each performance — because no performance is ever the same.

By the way, he also inserts different musical colors and phrasing if the moment beckons, and when I hear his spontaneous musical interpretations, I will use that as inspiration for the next phrase I sing, and that is a true musical conversation happening — that back and forth — it’s really special.

So regarding the show for Columbia, I have put together a list of our favorite songs from our different shows that help me tell the stories I want to share about my time in New York (and in other great cities). I have some great stories — funny, jaw-dropping, encouraging, honest, and more — and the song list came together after I knew the shape of my storytelling. It’s almost like writing a book of short stories or poetry first that then uses songs to help carry the message or the emotions even further.

I always love the audiences in CoMo because it’s a lot of people I know, some who watched me grow up; but even those who don’t know me will enjoy the music and the stories, and if students attend, I hope they will walk away thinking they can do anything if they set their minds to it.

You've sung in some truly great halls both in the U.S. and in London. How much does setting impact your performance? Do you, at this point, have a favorite type of venue?

Farr: I love all of them, and I give the same energy and focus to audiences in the 1200-seat halls as I do in the small, intimate supper clubs. In fact, in the big halls, I have to remind myself to keep it honest and to not “over perform” just because it’s a big space.

Performers are more effective when they’re able to bring that large audience right into the palm of their hand, creating a small, intimate space, and making them feel like they are the only person in the room. When I’m sharing the lyrics and music and stories from an honest place, then it doesn’t matter where I am.

All of this, of course, came from experience, and trial and error, and this is one of the main points I try to get through to students in both masterclasses and in private coachings: whatever you do as a performer, it must come from an honest place. I have a story about this in my show when I performed recently at Westminster Abbey in front of Judi Dench, Ian McKellen, and other London luminaries staring up at me from just eight feet away. Boy, did I need to rely on that honest place to keep my nerves in check.

You'll be coaching some middle school students while you're in Columbia. What do you remember about yourself as a middle-school singer? Each student is different, but are there certain ideas you always hope to impart in a setting like this?

Farr: Oh, this is funny. There wasn’t a middle school when I went through the Columbia Public Schools system. I went from elementary school to West Junior High to Hickman High. But yes, I will be speaking with some middle-schoolers at Lange Middle School (which I’ve never been to), and I’ll tell them a little bit about my experiences, commitment, dedication, and passions. But above all, if I can leave them with the feeling that they can do anything they set their minds to — whether it be in arts or sports or science or anything — then their life is there’s to make of it what they want.

I was lucky enough to have parents who always told me to follow my dreams … but be smart about it. When I told my parents I wanted to leave Columbia and go to Boston University, and then surprise, New York City, I can only imagine the tears that may have been shed behind closed doors — but I never saw it.

I’m sure the same thing will happen when my little boy (now 8) comes to me and says he wants to go explore Mars or something. But I love working with kids, because they are so open-minded and curious, and sometimes, I learn from them.

I'm always fascinated to know how well-practiced artists keep learning about their instruments. Singers are an especially interesting case, bearing a natural instrument that's ever-evolving. What's something you feel you've learned about your voice — or something you're growing and coming into — at this point in your career?

Farr: When I started out in voice lessons with Michael Straw, I was a small coloratura soprano voice — meaning it wasn’t a big sound, but I could sing all those fast notes — probably because I also played the flute. Over time, the voice grew and new timbres and colors developed, but not really until after I was in my 30s — which is when the female voice naturally matures.

After I graduated from Boston University, I quickly moved to Manhattan, but I didn’t really have a big enough voice yet to chase an opera career, and after attending enough cattle call auditions asking for rock 'n' roll songs, I gave up for a bit and took about three years off from singing until I found an audition posting for The Village Light Opera Group’s production of Gilbert & Sullivan’s "Patience."

Well I had been in "The Pirates of Penzance" at Mizzou, so I thought “I’ll go!” I’m so glad I did, because I was cast, and from there I began performing in many operettas and in the golden age musicals such as "The Music Man" and more. And it was during my time with them that I matured even more as an actress and a singer, and because of them, I was able to build my resume with some great roles and eventually joined the professional Actors Equity Union.

But when you ask about the changes in the ever-evolving voice, after having a child, the richness and fullness grew even more. My lower range really opened up, allowing darker colors to come into my sound influencing deeper emotions. I was also older … so that might have something to do with it!

But the voice is still changing, and I have a lot of fun with it — especially in concerts and supper club shows because as a performer in those atmospheres, you really have to make a song your own and bring your own sound and colors and interpretations to the stage.

To end with something that will either be quite easy or quite hard to answer, are you able to pinpoint a favorite Columbia performance of yours to date?

Farr: I always love coming home to CoMo because I’m sharing with people I know. My first big performance was with the Missouri Symphony Orchestra at the Missouri Theatre and that whole experience was amazing — the atmosphere, the stage, the audience, the orchestra — just amazing! I would do it again in a heartbeat.

But I also came back several times and performed at Jack’s Gourmet before they closed down. I approached Melissa about 15 years ago and asked if she’d be willing to do some supper club evenings with me. She was both willing and able, and I created and performed about five different shows there. But ever since Jack’s closed down, I haven’t really had a go-to venue in the city.

A few years ago, I performed a concert for the Boone County History and Culture Museum, so I’m happy to be there again this time around. And Jon Weber, my music director and one of the top jazz pianists in the world, is very much looking forward to playing on old “Blind” Boone’s piano.

Thursday's show begins at 7 p.m.; tickets are $10-$20. Visit https://boonehistory.org/ or https://www.shanafarr.com/ to learn more.

Aarik Danielsen is the features and culture editor for the Tribune. Contact him at adanielsen@columbiatribune.com or by calling 573-815-1731. Find him on Twitter @aarikdanielsen.

This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: From Columbia to NYC and back again, Shana Farr performs with grace