WINDHAM – The Windham Chamber Singers will join Grammy-nominated singer Judy Pancoast, who is originally from Maine but lives in New Hampshire, in “Closer To You – A Live Tribute to the Carpenters” on Friday, April 5, at 7:30 p.m. in the Windham Performing Arts Center at Windham High School.

Pancoast, a lifelong Carpenters fan, was nominated for a Grammy for her 2011 children’s album, “Weird Things are Everywhere.” The Windham Chamber Singers will provide the backing vocals to help re-create the signature Carpenters sound.

“Closer to You: A Live Tribute to The Carpenters,” premiered at the Regent Theatre in Arlington, Mass. on Valentine’s Day weekend in 2012 and was well received. It is the only Carpenters tribute concert endorsed by Karen Carpenter’s biographer, Randy Schmidt.

The Lakes Region Weekly recently caught up with Pancoast, who’s a longtime friend of the Windham Chamber Singers director Dr. Rick Nickerson.

Q: How did your love of Carpenters’ music morph into performing tribute concerts?

A: I was performing a children’s concert at the Regent Theatre in Arlington, Mass., a little over a year ago when the theater owner asked me if I’d ever considered doing a Carpenters show because he thought I sounded like Karen Carpenter. It was something I’d thought about before and that seemed like a sign that I should put a show together so I contacted a friend, a very talented musician named Michael Pierce, and asked him to be the musical director.

Q: What is it about the Carpenters’ music that moves you?

A: I’ve loved their music since I was 11 years old and first heard “Close to You” on the radio. Karen’s range was similar to mine, so it was easy to sing along with, and I’ve just always loved melodic pop music. My favorite song is “Rainy Days and Mondays.” The music, the lyrics, the arrangement and Karen’s vocals, it’s just a perfect piece of music.

Q: How do audiences react to your performances?

A: I have had wonderful, enthusiastic and very emotional responses from fans after shows. They know what I’m trying to do here is a real tribute, not an imitation. It stems from my passion as a lifelong fan.

Q: Describe meeting the Carpenters, and how did that make you feel?

A: I was 14 and managed to get backstage and have a private meeting with them in their dressing room. You’ll have to come to the concert to hear how I did that, but I can tell you that it was one of the most exciting things that ever happened to me.

Q: Are you employed full-time as an entertainer? What are your goals in the singing/songwriting business?

A: I am a full-time musician. My goal is to have one song that will be remembered long after I’m gone. It looks like that wish may come true as I do have a Christmas song called “The House on Christmas Street” that is making some waves.

Q: How did this performance in Windham come about?

A: Michael Pierce and I were both members of the University Singers at the University of Maine in Orono. After I graduated, Michael was still there, and he met Rick Nickerson, who joined the group after I left. The Singers were performing a song I’d written and arranged called “A Voyager’s Promise,” and that was Rick’s first introduction to me. Fast forward all these years later, and Rick, Michael and I are all friends on Facebook. Rick saw us posting information about the show and invited us to come up and do the show with his Windham High School Chamber Singers. We are very excited to be performing the show in our home state.

Judy Pancoast
Judy Pancoast, as a 14-year-old, with Karen and Richard Carpenter after a Carpenters concert that changed Pancoast’s life. Pancoast, originally from Maine, is performing a Carpenters tribute concert in Windham on April 5. Courtesy photo