Philip Fortenberry, a virtuoso pianist, composer, recording artist, and associate conductor of “Jersey boys” on the Las Vegas Strip, will debut “The Man at the Piano,” his new, intimate acoustic 75-minute cabaret-style concert at The Smith Center’s elegant 250-seat Cabaret Jazz showroom on Sunday, June 23, at 2:30 p.m.
Fortenberry will showcase his signature playing style with the music surrounding his own life story as a pianist from rural Mississippi, to becoming a sought-after Broadway pianist, a concert artist at Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center, The White House, giving command performances for royals and dignitaries such as President Bush, Mikhail Gorbachev, the late Margaret Thatcher, then on to his journey to Las Vegas on the famous Strip with Broadway-Vegas shows, as the featured musical artist in residence at the Liberace Museum with his critically-acclaimed one-man show, “Liberace and Me,” eight solo CD releases, and performing numerous concerts around the U.S.
During the concert, he will share his insights into the music and the special meaning it has for him by performing solo offerings of popular classical and Broadway show music he loves, including “Memory” from “Cats,” “Getting’ Ready Rag” from “Ragtime,” “Malaguena,” Chopin’s “Aeolian Harp” Etude, and Liberace’s famous arrangements of “Nola” and “Chopsticks,” all presented with his own brand of southern charm.
Tickets are $35 and $25 and can be purchased at The Smith Center Box Office, by phone 702-749-2000, or online www.thesmithcenter.com.
For more information about Fortenberry’s prestigious career or to purchase his solo CDs, go online www.philipfortenberry.com.
