William Joseph
While Ron Jewell doesn’t play the piano, he’s a fan — make
that a big fan — of piano music. As director of the
Bartlett Performing Arts and Conference Center (BPACC), he’s toyed with
the idea of highlighting the piano at the venue.
Last year, as he was planning BPACC’s 2009-’10 performance schedule,
he put the plan into motion. In August, there was the “Symphonic
All-Duke Ellington Night”; Freddy Cole, brother of Nat, performed
cabaret music in September; and Chuck Leavell, a keyboardist who’s
played with the Allman Brothers, the Rolling Stones, and Eric Clapton,
hit the stage last weekend.
Up next is “Pianoforte,” a two-day piano festival. The event kicks
off Friday at 7 p.m. with a jazz and R&B concert by Marvel Thomas,
son of Rufus and former pianist with Stax. Saturday’s events include a
free matinee concert at 2:30 p.m. featuring pianists from around the
region. The matinee, Jewell says, will be a mix of ages (the youngest
performer is 16) and sounds, from church music to Led Zeppelin. The
festival’s finale features an 8 p.m. concert Saturday by up-and-comer
William Joseph, a protégé of producer David Foster (he
discovered Michael Bublé), who will perform original
compositions as well as rock and classical songs.
The pianos for the festival are Yamahas provided by Lane Music. And,
yes, Jewell says, “We’ll probably have a piano tuner waiting in the
wings.”