Howard Crosby, 63, spent a lot of time golfing with his famous uncle, Bing Crosby, but he never even thought about singing with the renowned crooner.

“Unfortunately, we never sang together,” he said. “I discovered I had a natural ability to sing while in college, but it was just for fun and that was about as far as it went. I have been told in the past that I sound a lot like my uncle when I sing and that makes me happy.” Instead of following in his uncle’s musical footsteps, Howard Crosby took off in a different direction, excelling in a wide range of business ventures including oil and gas mining, and titanium mining in Chile. He has been a consultant on boards of numerous corporations worldwide and has consulting offices in New York and London.

Crosby and his wife, Janice, have lived in Walla Walla since 1999. “We’ve lived in a lot of places but I love living here,” he said. “The winters aren’t as harsh as Idaho, which is where we lived before moving here, and there’s not much snow.” Though consulting is his stock and trade, singing is what he loves most. He’ll perform in the Tri-Cities on Dec. 9 at the Uptown Theater in Richland. Headlining the concert, titled Celtic Christmas, is the trio Affiniti from Dublin, Ireland.

[blockquote quote="He said it was keeping his composure when he sang White Christmas for American soldiers in France during World War II. I get emotional when I think about what Bing must have felt singing that song in December 1944 in front of 100,000 GIs in France, with most of them crying. Many of those boys in the crowd that day died in the Battle of the Bulge two weeks later." source="Howard Crosby"]

Crosby will sing a few songs at the event but he says the audience will not want to miss hearing the beautiful music performed by Mary McCage on violin, Aisling Ennis on harp and soprano Emer Barry. The trio has been performing together for eight years, starting out performing for weddings around Ireland. They formed Affiniti four years ago and have been touring the world ever since. "We realized very early on that we have a real connection. We inspire each other, I suppose,” Barry said, via email. “It is this bond that (inspired) the name, Affiniti.”

The trio met Crosby in 2012 when he performed at the National Concert Hall in Dublin, which was a celebration of the bicentennial of the Irish-based charity St. Vincent de Paul. The musical association didn’t falter. Crosby brought the women to Walla Walla last year for a Christmas concert at the Power House Theatre, which sold out, he said. The Richland concert will be their first visit to the Tri-Cities. “These young women have stage presence like you can’t believe,” Crosby said. “They will make the audience laugh as well as be moved by their music.” Barry said the group likes to chat on stage and there’s always a bit of banter happening. “So it’s definitely not a stuffy atmosphere,” she said. “We do have one member that’s a bit of a comedian, but you’ll have to come along to the show to find out which one it is.”

The audience will hear Crosby sing White Christmas with Affiniti at the event. Singing that particular song holds a memory of his uncle he holds dear. He asked his uncle once to describe the hardest thing he ever accomplished in his career and was surprised by his answer. “He said it was keeping his composure when he sang White Christmas for American soldiers in France during World War II,” Crosby said. “I get emotional when I think about what Bing must have felt singing that song in December 1944 in front of 100,000 GIs in France, with most of them crying. Many of those boys in the crowd that day died in the Battle of the Bulge two weeks later.”

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The concert is at 7 p.m. Dec. 9. Tickets are from $25 to $30 and only a limited number of tickets are available for the show, so early purchased is encouraged. Purchase tickets at www.acelticchristmas.brownpapertickets.com.