Concert tonight in Bangor a classy show

Somewhere in the first few minutes of hearing Leon Williams sing, you have a sense that time stops and the earth stands still. His baritone reaches out like a mighty invitation requesting your company for the evening. As if that weren’t powerful enough, Williams’ first song at an Arcady Music Festival concert Wednesday at the Alamo Theatre in Bucksport was a smooth rendition of “Wade in the Water.” Hear that, and you know you’re at the party.

The concert, a variation of which will be repeated tonight in Bangor, included familiar American songs performed by Williams who was joined by alto Sondra Bonitto and pianist John Haskell. Both Williams, formerly of The Boys Choir of Harlem, Juilliard and the Broadway cast of “Ragtime,” and Bonitto, who went to the Boston Conservatory and was also in “Ragtime,” have formidable voices of elastic range. They easily dip low and slide back up, and while there could be an undercurrent of rank showmanship, these two singers resist that temptation in favor of straightforward, classy delivery.

John Haskell, the local pianist and composer, makes the group a trio. Some pianists would not be able to strike the right balance between assertion and contribution. But Haskell makes his presence felt just as strongly and sensitively as do the singers, and his bold playing stops short of bullying the vocals. It didn’t get any more rousing than when the three musicians opened full pitch in “Wheels of a Dream” (from “Ragtime”), “Straighten Up and Fly Right!” and Duke Ellington’s “I’m Beginning to See the Light.”

The evening is divided into themes of “Water and Faith,” “Great Poets,” “Lost Men,” “Spinning Wheels,” “Menagerie,” and “Hot Notes” with scores by Aaron Copland, George Gershwin, Stephen Sondheim, Leonard Bernstein, Harold Arlen, Ellington and others. Each of the four previous concerts, which have been offered at venues throughout the state, has included selections from these categories, which span from the spiritual to the pensive, the jazzy to the whimsical. If lucky, Bangor audiences will be treated to Bonitto’s soulful “Lover Man” and the prayerful “Come Sunday” and “His Eye on the Sparrow.” In Bucksport, she and Williams united for “God Bless the Child,” and the dramatic combination revealed the other subtle gift each of these singers has. They are storytellers, and their narrative style is every bit as elegant as a poem.

Williams is clearly the headliner here, and whenever he was onstage, he was so friendly and engaging, that the evening felt less like a formal presentation than like a mix of upscale night club coolness and Williams’ own living room hospitality. Not every moment of the evening was as stunning as his opener, but every song was performed expertly. These two New York-based musicians showed off remarkable technique as singers and skill as both entertainers and artists.

The Bucksport event also featured Arcady Youth Competition winner Sarah Upton, a serious soprano who performed Copland’s “Long Time Ago” and “Simple Gifts.” She underscored one of the reigning principles of the night: Tis the gift to be simple. True talent, after all, doesn’t need embellishment. The Bangor concert will present pianist Kelsey Lutz, another award-winning youth.

Arcady Music Festival will present Leon Williams, Sondra Bonitto and John Haskell at 7 p.m. March 29 at the Unitarian Universalist Church in Bangor. For information, call 288-2141.