Singer Amelia DePiero has always loved the music of Broadway.
In high school, at Huron Heights Secondary School in Newmarket, she studied both music and drama, and performed in musicals with local theatre groups.
She said she has always loved the emotion, the light-hearted fun, and the inspiration of songs from Hairspray, Phantom of the Opera, and Beauty and the Beast.
But for the past nine months, she has set Broadway aside to study the classics at the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Music.
On May 26, DePiero brought Broadway back with A Little Night of Broadway Music at the Bradford Arts Centre.
Always an impressive talent, her previous appearances at the centre include the solo concert Amelia DePiero and Friends.
But on Saturday, her voice was richer, more controlled, and more fluid as she worked her way through a repertoire of songs about love, longing and loss, accompanied by pianist Vlad Soloviev on the centre’s baby grand piano.
DePiero is just the kind of emerging artist that the Bradford Arts Centre was designed to support, said founder Jim Keenan.
The Bradford United Church at 66 Barrie St. has been renovated to include a performance space with seating for 200 and astounding acoustics.
The inaugural subscription series at the centre wraps up June 9 at 7 p.m. with All Things Light and Bright, a celebration of emerging artists.
Performers include a classical trio with Sara Barak of Heartstrings Studio, poetry readings by Deirdre Tomlinson and Patricia Miller, and an appearance by singer-songwriter Dickson Reid. Tickets are $20, or $10 for students. Visit bradfordartscentre.org for more information.
