Basso profundo

Retired dentist fills time with choral groups, animal shelter

One of the first things a person notices about Brad Seaman is his voice. It's rich, resonant and as low as it gets.

"I'm a true bass," he said, "which they tell me is rather rare. I can sing the low stuff, which is kind of fun."

Seaman, a Renaissance man who has plied his various talents since moving to the Flathead Valley in 2000, has become a local musical mainstay as a member of both the Glacier Chorale and Glacier Chamber Singers (formerly the Montanaires).

He's also the featured baritone for the Just Us Girls women's ensemble, a role people good-naturedly tease him about. Seaman likes how one emcee referred to the group a few years ago, as Just Us Girls "and one lucky guy."

Seaman has been singing most of his life, participating in various choral groups, but he didn't get into solo work until he began taking voice lessons while working as a dentist in Roswell, Ga. There he learned to sing opera.

"I took voice lessons to see if I could get better," he said. "I'd had several directors who said, ÔYou have a powerful voice; you ought to train it.'"

And train it he has.

Seaman still takes voice lessons from Glacier Chorale Director Jim Stanard.

"He's helped me get the high end back," he said, noting that he can sing well into the tenor range.

MUSIC IS just one of Seaman's many interests.

Not long after his move to Whitefish, he was invited to breakfast with the ROMEOs, an acronym for Retired Old Men Eating Out. The group, civic-minded and philanthropic in nature, wanted some younger blood and Seaman, 53, fit the bill. He also had some skills they could put to good use.

During his 20-year stint as a dentist, Seaman did his own marketing for his dental practice and worked in "dental journalism," writing stories for publications such as Dental Economics and serving as editor of The New Dentist.

"They found out I could write and that I was comfortable talking to media people," he said about his association with the ROMEOs.

Whitefish philanthropist John Kramer quickly recruited Season to head up public relations for the Wave aquatic and fitness center.

After Seaman saw that project through to completion, he continued finding things to occupy his time in the volunteer world. He became the quintessential board member, serving terms on the boards of the Glacier Institute, Glacier Symphony and Chorale, Glacier Performing Arts Center and his neighborhood homeowners association.

About two and a half years ago, someone told him about the development director opening at the Humane Society's animal adoption center north of Kalispell. It was a perfect fit for Seaman.

His work for the animal adoption center focuses largely on donor development and fundraising, with a good dose of public relations in the mix.

"It's not real hard to sell the idea of taking care of unwanted cats and dogs," he said. "My job is about keeping [the shelter] in the public eye, to let people know why what we do is important. People like to support an organization they can identify with.

"I feel privileged to do this job because we're actually saving lives," he said.

Being a lifelong dog lover helps.

Seaman fondly remembers the pet Schnauzer, Henry, he and his brother had growing up, and throughout his adult life he's always had dogs. In fact, he had worked for the shelter only five days when he adopted Lily, a yellow Labrador retriever.

SEAMAN supposes he gets some of his passion for volunteering from his father.

"Dad also was a tremendously active volunteer," he said.

Seaman also may get some of his vigor for whatever he tackles from the example his father set.

"Dad was a big Dale Carnegie buff and he'd run through the house saying, ÔIf you act enthusiastically, then you will be enthusiastic.'"

Seaman was born in Kentucky but was raised throughout the Midwest and East Coast. His father worked for J.C. Penney and was transferred to a different store every six months or so. The family moved 14 times before Seaman graduated from high school in Chatham, N.J.

"I never met a military brat who could beat me" for the number of times they moved, he said. "We got really good at moving. You learn to deal with always being the new kid in school."

After high school he headed to Emory University in Atlanta for a biology degree and then dental school. Ironically, his parents moved to Atlanta in 1975 while he was still in college, and they stopped moving. They've been there ever since. His brother, a certified public accountant, also lives in Atlanta.

"We're a tight-knit family," Seaman said. "When you move that much, you rely on one another."

IN 1999, Seaman and his wife, Susan, set out to find the perfect retirement spot. They liked the Lake Louise area in Alberta, Canada, but didn't want to live in a different country.

"Besides," Seaman joked, "I can't do the Canadian accent very well."

They kept looking for a place to accommodate their outdoor interests and picked Whitefish.

"We came to look around and by the end of the week we had bought property on Lion Mountain," he said.

They since have sold that home and plan to move to 10 acres off Whitefish Stage Road, where the dogs have room to run.

Seaman is an avid skier and served as an ambassador for two years at Whitefish Mountain Resort.

He also spent a fair amount of time collecting and restoring old cars, but sold his last one - a 1967 Jaguar XKE convertible - a while back.

"It was a guy thing," he said about his car hobby. "You want to get your hands greasy and get in there and do the work. I got over that eventually."

The Humane Society shelter work and music occupy most of Seaman's time these days. He's especially excited about a dinner-theater production April 6 at the O'Shaughnessy Center, in which he'll portray renowned composer Cole Porter. The stage will be set as Porter's 1930s penthouse.

"The stars of the day like Ethel Merman would sing his pieces," he said. "This will be an actual party."

Porter's parties were elaborate, involving people of wealthy and political classes.

Does the blue-eyed Seaman look anything like Porter?

"Not at all," he said. "He was 5 feet and kind of weird-looking."

Features editor Lynnette Hintze may be reached at 758-4421 or by e-mail at lhintze@dailyinterlake.com