Vocal Arts

Peter Barber

Hi everyone, and welcome to Vocal Arts, the podcast that explores the world of professional voice artists. My name is Peter Barber, and I’ll be your guide along this path of vocal performance. I’m primarily a professional opera singer, music producer, and bass vocalist. Over the course of my career, I’ve trained and performed with world-class singers. I’ve learned all about the physiology and function of the human voice from leading voice scientists. I started a successful group of four bass singers called The Bass Gang, and I’ve grown my YouTube audience from 0 to over 250,000 subscribers via musical analysis videos. Beyond that, I currently sing opera professionally as a Studio Artist with Arizona Opera. I’ve performed in basically every genre from EDM to chamber choir, and with an undergrad major in audio engineering, I can comfortably bridge the gap between live performance and studio recordings, from the grandiose space of a 3000-seat opera house to the intimate, sound-proof booths used in voiceover. But perhaps most importantly, I’m an artist, fascinated by the various careers in vocal performance, and inspired to learn more about them from the best and brightest vocal talent the world has to offer. Thank you so much for joining me on this journey, and no matter what your involvement is within the world of vocal arts, I hope that here, on this podcast, you can both learn something and enjoy. This is Peter Barber, and I’ll see you next time on Vocal Arts.

  1. 08/10/2025

    Andi Deris: The Voice of Helloween

    Andi Deris is singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist, best known through his work with German power metal band, Helloween. Helloween is formed in 1984 in Hamburg by guitarist Michael Weikath, bassist Markus Grosskopf, drummer Ingo Schwichtenberg, and guitarist/vocalist Kai Hansen. The band’s early Keeper of the Seven Keys albums helped define the European power-metal sound with soaring melodies, dual guitar harmonies, and anthemic choruses. Over time, Helloween navigated personnel changes, stylistic shifts, internal tensions, and even tragedy with the loss of Schwichtenberg, yet they remained one of the most enduring and influential names in metal. In 2016, the group reunited its classic and modern lineups under the banner Pumpkins United, bringing together former vocalists Michael Kiske and Kai Hansen alongside the current members for a world tour and a self-titled album celebrating their decades-long legacy. Andi Deris joined Helloween in 1994, following the departure of Michael Kiske. Before that, he co-founded the melodic metal band Pink Cream 69, earning recognition for his vocal power, range, and songwriting skill. Deris ushered Helloween into a new creative era with albums such as Master of the Rings, The Time of the Oath, Better Than Raw, The Dark Ride, and the modern Pumpkins United projects. His warm yet commanding vocal tone and dynamic stage presence helped stabilize the band through the shifting tides of the metal scene, and his compositional contributions have been central to Helloween’s continued evolution as one of the genre’s defining forces.

    1h 1m
  2. 20/07/2025

    Big Brev: Bass Singer Academy (with Special Cameo from Tim Foust!)

    Join Bass Singer Academy! https://basssingeracademy.com/ American bass-baritone and social media influencer, Daniel Brevik, is praised for having "a massive, focused, rich, warm timbre." Boasting an impressive following of over 500,000 monthly listeners on Spotify and 488,000 followers on TikTok. Brevik's singing and teaching channel extends even further, with a staggering 930,000 followers on Instagram with over 60 million views which have amassed over 15 years of total stream time, effectively captivating audiences on a global scale. A recipient of Opera Theatre of Saint Louis‘ Richard Gaddes Career Grant, and the Wendy Shattuck Presidential Scholarship from the New England Conservatory, Brevik was hailed by The Washington Post for having “an impressive, sonorous voice" while Opera Today claimed he could "rattle the rafters one moment and be lullingly conversational the next." Brevik was featured on the cover of Opera News for creating the role of Ernest Hemingway in the world premiere of Ricky Ian Gordon's Twenty-Seven. The album recorded with the Opera Theatre of Saint Louis and Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra is available on all major music platforms. Brevik later reprised his role with the orchestra of St. Luke’s in his New York debut at City Center Theatre, and then again at Intermountain Opera in Bozeman, Montana. Notable venues Brevik has performed in include Boston’s Symphony Hall, St. Louis’ Powell Hall, Lyric Opera of Chicago’s Civic Opera House, Amarillo Texas’ Globe-News Center, Venice Italy’s St. Marks Cathedral, and the Vietnam Opera and ballet in Hanoi Vietnam. In a recent collaboration with Bobby Bass, their cover of “Hoist The Colours” garnered over 13 billion streams on TikTok, 12 million streams on Spotify, and 7 million views on YouTube. In 2022, Brevik was showcased on stage in concert with Pentatonix legend Avi Kaplan in Boston, MA. Brev opened for Dustin Lynch in winter of 2024 to help fundraise for St. Jude's Children's Hospital for iHeart Radio's Unwrapped and Unplugged fundraiser. He looks forward to performing alongside his good friend Tim Foust at his “9th quasi annual birthday” bash at City Winery in Nashville this July. As a teacher and vocal coach, he's guided vocalists of all ages in multiple styles to free up their voice and hone their unique instrument for over ten years. In 2024, Brev was one of three selected to judge at the VanderLaan competition through Opera Grand Rapids. Brev co-runs a world-wide online vocal studio, StudioBrev, with his lovely and musical wife and vocal coach: Jen. Outside of singing, Brev loves weight lifting and spending time training his golden retriever, Wyatt.

    1h 5m

About

Hi everyone, and welcome to Vocal Arts, the podcast that explores the world of professional voice artists. My name is Peter Barber, and I’ll be your guide along this path of vocal performance. I’m primarily a professional opera singer, music producer, and bass vocalist. Over the course of my career, I’ve trained and performed with world-class singers. I’ve learned all about the physiology and function of the human voice from leading voice scientists. I started a successful group of four bass singers called The Bass Gang, and I’ve grown my YouTube audience from 0 to over 250,000 subscribers via musical analysis videos. Beyond that, I currently sing opera professionally as a Studio Artist with Arizona Opera. I’ve performed in basically every genre from EDM to chamber choir, and with an undergrad major in audio engineering, I can comfortably bridge the gap between live performance and studio recordings, from the grandiose space of a 3000-seat opera house to the intimate, sound-proof booths used in voiceover. But perhaps most importantly, I’m an artist, fascinated by the various careers in vocal performance, and inspired to learn more about them from the best and brightest vocal talent the world has to offer. Thank you so much for joining me on this journey, and no matter what your involvement is within the world of vocal arts, I hope that here, on this podcast, you can both learn something and enjoy. This is Peter Barber, and I’ll see you next time on Vocal Arts.