This past Saturday, September 26th, I got to take part in an annual event held here at George Mason University. I attended the Arts by George! concert and was, overall, very impressed by the musicianship and professionalism of the program. Though pops and broadway music are not my favorite genres, I figured this show would be perfect to go to since it would force me into witnessing a piano player master the pops and broadway craft, and hopefully, create a deep appreciation for the difficulties in those kinds of music. Brian Stokes Mitchell was the featured singer of the program but I really found that his band members were the key to making him shine. I made of point of trying to meet the piano player to pick his brain about the experience of performing with the Tony Award winning singer and was very pleased when I did speak with him. His name was Ted Firth, a graduate of the Manhattan School of Music in Jazz Piano, and he told me how fulfilling it was to accompany a singer while still being a part of a large ensemble production. I thought his playing was delicate but surprisingly well heard (considering he was playing with an orchestra!) and that he made me think differently about pops and broadway all together from the second the concert opened with "Some Enchanted Evening." It was an interesting experience all together.
Posted by ttyrer at 11:44 PM 0 comments
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