In London they called him “the black Pavarotti”, at Atlantic Union College in Boston his fellow Bermudians call him “The Godfather”, and friends here call him “Baby Luther”, but despite experiencing enraptured audiences and the adulation of fans, the young Bermudian still says, “I'm just Kion.”

Although he is still studying for his Bachelor's degree in vocal performance, Kion Simmons is already having a marked effect on everyone who hears him. A lyrical tenor with a very high range (C3 to F5), he made his first public appearance at the age of ten, when he sang ‘Silent Night' at the First Church of God on Angle Street. Next came the wedding of his aunt Michelle, when he and his brother Kemo surprised her with a duet.

As a student at Whitney Institute, Mr. Simmons used to go around singing, but it was the encouragement of two of his peers, Zahra Jabbar and Kendaree Gatton, that set him on his chosen career path.

“They kept telling me that Gina Spence was holding auditions for a show and saying, ‘Go on, audition',” Mr. Simmons says.

“I was about 14 or 15 and this girl went up and sang. She really intimidated me. I didn't know anything about the production so I thought everyone was auditioning for the same part, and I was about to leave, but my daddy (David “Heads” Simmons) said, ‘Go back, you can do it'.”

It proved to be a case of ‘Father knows best', for his son got the role, and has never looked back, although he does admit that he was so shy in the early days that he fixed his eyes firmly on the ceiling when performing.

Mr. Simmons' first major public performance was in ‘Visions', the first Gina Spence Production, with a cast of 100.

“After that, Jnica Brangman asked me to sing at a fashion show the Dynamic City Rockettes majorettes were having, and I asked Sjoniece Fox, the girl who had intimidated me at the audition, to sing with me,” Mr. Simmons says. “Just before we went on stage Jnica said to me, ‘You two need a name'.”

“His and Hers” was chosen, and word of how good the duo were spread so quickly that they called Ms Spence and said, “We need a manager.”

Thereafter the phone started ringing, and they fulfilled many engagements, including opening for the international artists, Special K and Charelle, as well as being special guests at the Apollo Theatre in Harlem.

“That went really, really well. It was a good experience and I want to go back there,” the tenor remembers.

He also loved competing as a soloist in the David Stout competition in Barbados, where he says the audience “went crazy” when they heard him.

Now enrolled in Atlantic Union College in Boston, the voice major is being taught by a fellow Bermudian, RuZelda Severin, whom he says is known as “the top soprano” in Worcester County, Massachusetts.

“I have learned so much,” Mr. Simmons says. “Your voice is a serious instrument, so I spent a semester learning how to breathe and how to talk. Before, I had a very raspy voice. It's just incredible. RuZelda has taught me nearly everything I know. She and I are taking over Massachusetts!”

Fellow Bermudians they might be, but at the outset that cut no ice with Ms Severine.

“When I first walked into her studio she said, ‘I don't know what those Bermudians have filled your head with but forget whatever you learned because you are going to learn something new with me. Leave that Bermudian attitude at the door'. In fact, I had to go out and come in again. I needed that,” Mr. Simmons admits.

Classes are from 10 a.m. to 8.30 p.m., and in addition to voice Mr. Simmons studies music theory, religion and history, and says he is thoroughly enjoying college life.

“AUC is a small college and very personal - it's one on one. The teachers make sure you get your money's worth.”

Mr. Simmons says that getting together with his fellow Bermudian students is a regular occurrence.

“They call me ‘The Godfather'. I've seen times when I have sat in the cafeteria for five hours just reminiscing about Bermuda. We just talk and talk.”

Even so, leisure time is at a premium because Mr. Simmons not only performs in concerts but also is a member of Midnight Express, a ‘Top 40' band which appears regularly at a big club, Town Line, in Boston.

“The band consists of piano, guitar, bass and drums, and there are two singers who back me up,” he says. “We do a lot of gigs in Boston, and it helps pay the bills. We opened with Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes, and also for Houdini and Curtis Blow.”

The band's repertoire is wide-ranging and includes the music of Whitney Houston, Alicia Keys, Luther Vandross, Nelly, as well as R&B and hip hop.

While of his own repertoire Mr. Simmons says he “sings everything”, the memories of a classical concert with the AUC chamber orchestra and singers in France and London last May will remain with him forever.

“In London we performed at Newbold College, and when I walked into the place all eyes were on me because I am a big guy, I am black, and it was an all-white audience. The first half was strictly classical - Bach's Requiem - but in the second half I did two Negro spirituals, and I closed out the concert with ‘Stand', the gospel song by Donnie McKlurkin,” he recalls.

“Before I went on stage I was telling my professor, ‘These people aren't going to understand what I am singing' but he just said, ‘Go out there and let the Lord use you'.”

And that's just what Mr.Simmons did. While singing he was aware of an old gentleman in the front row who burst into tears. Later his wife told the young Bermudian she had not seen her husband cry in over 50 years, and he admits he too had trouble holding back his own tears, so moved was he by the old man's reaction.

After the concert, Mr. Simmons found himself singing autographs for youngsters who swarmed around him, but could scarce believe his eyes when the tour bus drew up and a bunch of fans piled in.

“They were sitting on top of each other, and it was just overwhelming for me,” he says. “That was an experience I will never, ever forget. I don't care if I never get a Grammy, I will always remember that night. In fact, that's when I got the name, ‘The Black Pavarotti'.”

A Grammy, did he say? Yes, indeed, that too is part of his future dreams.

“I don't have a record deal yet but I want to be the first Bermudian to bring home a Grammy one of these days,” he smiles.

Having shared the stage with Patti LaBelle and Kirk Franklin in their Bermuda concerts, and also been flown home to perform in the tribute to the late tourism minister David Allen, the talented singer says his future dreams include bringing his band to Bermuda for a big showcase as a grand finale to a mini-tour of Boston and New York. He also has his sights on the band being on BET, and hopes that these events will inspire other young Bermudians to reach for the heights. Vocal productions and a voice school for youngsters are also goals he wants to achieve some day.

Meanwhile, there is his Bachelor of Vocal Performance degree to complete, and then a Master's degree, and hopefully a CD to make.

“I'm ready for that now,” Mr. Simmons says.

Although he has performed at the Juilliard School in New York, and has been invited to study there, he plans to stick with RuZelda, even as he also studies with another teacher.

“I am so in love with RuZelda that I don't want to leave AUC,” her gifted student says. “She is so wonderful.”

While retirement is but a distant vision at this time in his life, Mr. Simmons says Bermuda is definitely where he wants to end up, but because the opportunities are greater abroad, he plans to spend his working life overseas.