She's only 18 years old, but Hayley Westenra's star already
is on a trajectory toward fame.
Westenra, who comes from New Zealand
and whose music is evocative of that of Enya, performs
Friday at the King Center. Steve Janicki, King Center
executive director, said booking her was a little difficult
because she has become such a "hot ticket" among
presenters.
In fact, Janicki expects Westenra to be as popular a performer
as Michael Buble or Josh Groban, both of whom appeared
at the King Center before they, too, became ultra popular.
"She's got one of the purest voices," Janicki
said. "It's phenomenal. I think it's even better,
in a lot of ways, than Enya.
Although she's not at the Buble/Groban orbit yet, she's
on her way, said Janicki, who has almost 30 years presenting
show business performers.
"She's still got some work to do at getting her name
out there," he said. "Probably in another year,
she'll get to that point."
Westenra came to Janicki's attention through television
and a presenters' showcase in New York City. He booked
her for last year, but because of scheduling conflicts,
she had to postpone her appearance until this season.
"You work on these things for a year and a half to
two years out," Janicki said.
Westenra will perform without a
warm-up act. Janicki described her style of music as "kind
of operatic, new agey."
