An ISU alumnus who has performed in numerous operas and vocal concerts will return to campus this weekend.

Wayne Tigges, a bass baritone, will sing with the ISU choirs and ISU symphony Sunday at Stephens Auditorium as part of the groups’ annual Holiday Festival concert. He will receive the department’s Outstanding Alumni Award.

Tigges made his Metropolitan Opera debut during the 2006-2007 season in “Giulio Cesare” and performed with the Los Angeles Philharmonic for Mozart’s “Requiem Mass in C Minor.” He has performed in such operas as Bizet’s “Carmen,” Gounod’s “Romeo et Juliette,” Mozart’s “The Marriage of Figaro” and “Don Giovanni,” and Rossini’s “The Barber of Seville.” He has recently sung with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the Cleveland Orchestra, and Oregon’s Britt Music Festival.

Tigges, a Dubuque native, received his undergraduate degree from Iowa State and a graduate degree and artist diploma from the University of Cincinnati – College Conservatory of Music.

In the mid 1990s, while attending Iowa State, Tigges played Count Almaviva in “The Marriage of Figaro” and the Major General in “The Pirates of Penzance.”

At Sunday’s performance he will sing arias from Handel’s “Messiah.”

The rest of the holiday-themed concert — composed of the Iowa State Singers, the Statesmen, Cantamus, Lyrica and the ISU Symphony Orchestra — will include a Hanukkah piece and an African piece, said James Rodde, professor of music and director of choral activities.

ISU Holiday Festival

When: 3 – 5 p.m. Sunday

Where: Stephens Auditorium

Cost: $5 for ISU students and youth, $10 for adults

Notes: James Rodde, professor of music, will conduct the choirs and ISU Symphony Orchestra in the annual Holiday Festival. The performance features the vocal talents of the four ISU choirs —  The Iowa State Singers, the Statesmen, Cantamus and Lyrica — and the ISU Symphony Orchestra. All groups will each perform individually, presenting various holiday carols and other music befitting of the season. The concert will conclude with a mass choir performance of seasonal music with members of the ISU Symphony Orchestra. The audience will be invited to join in the singing of carols during the concert.