Feature: Philip Fortenberry to Perform Sixty Years on the Bench on Nov 15.

Lead photo by Jesse Johnson

Renowned pianist, composer, and musician Philip Fortenberry will bring his masterful piano playing, exciting storytelling, and beautiful music in Sixty Years on the Bench. The one-night-only solo concert will be held in the space in Community Lutheran Church on Nov 15.

The Columbia, Mississippi native is a versatile pianist whose styles encompass various musical genres spanning an expansive career.

Philip began playing the piano at the age of four. He became the accompanist for his church when he was seven and performed his first solo concert at twelve. Philip obtained his Bachelor of Arts degree from William Carey University in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. Philip would earn his Master of Music degree in classical piano performance from New Jersey City University. He would serve as an adjunct faculty member in the Steinhardt School of Education at New York University and pursued private piano studies at The Juilliard School.

“The interesting thing was that as soon as I announced that I was playing this concert, calling it Sixty Years on the Bench, I got birthday wishes because people thought I had just turned 60. I had to tell them it was not my birthday. While I've been playing professionally for 60 years, my first job was when I was seven years old, and I'm not quite 67. So I decided to perform this concert before 67,” explains Philip.

There was an opportunity at Community Lutheran Church, where Philip performs. The series Spotlight Cabaret showcases different artists, and his show will be the last Spotlight Cabaret of the year.

“This concert is more retrospective of my life. Many people through the years have never heard my story, being a kid growing up in the South playing piano spontaneously at four years old and beginning my career playing for church at seven. It is appropriate that I perform this show at my church because that's been such a part of my life,” said Philip.

Philip will share stories of his beginnings, moving to New York City, and some of the influences in his life along the way.

Early in his career, Philip became the musical director and on-stage pianist for the hit off-Broadway revue Forbidden Broadway. Philip played for 10 Broadway shows and eight national tours, including Jesus Christ Superstar, Cats, Saturday Night Fever, Ragtime, The Lion King, and Seussical The Musical. He was the pianist for the Roundabout Theatre's Broadway revue, The Look Of Love, showcasing the music of Burt Bacharach and Hal David, and associate music director for Barry Manilow and Bruce Sussman's pre-Broadway workshop production of Harmony.

Philip would move to Las Vegas in 2004 to work as the associate conductor for the North American premiere of the rock music extravaganza We Will Rock You. He would play and conduct for Hairspray and Mamma Mia! For almost a decade, Philip was the associate conductor for the Las Vegas production of Jersey Boys. He was invited to be an artist-in-residence at the famed Liberace Museum, where he performed 300 concerts of his solo show, Liberace And Me. In 2013, Philip was the piano/body double for Michael Douglas’ award-winning performance as Liberace in the HBO biopic Behind The Candelabra.

As a concert artist, Philip has toured the U.S. with solo performances. In 2018, he completed a three-week tour of China, performing concerts for thousands of Chinese citizens in 14 cities. Philip is a recording artist for Watchfire Music and has produced eight solo collections. He is represented internationally by his management company, KMP Artists.

The show has come full circle for Philip. In 2020, during the height of the pandemic, Philip performed 55 Years on the Bench for a live stream.

“I'm sitting at the piano playing my closing piece. Usually, with an audience, you stand up, bow, leave, and greet people. But the room was totally empty. I got up from the piano, took a bow, and the camera followed me, walking out of the church. Outside, I just burst into tears because the stark reality was heartbreaking. I hit this milestone and wanted to redo it, but playing to an audience.”

Philip Fortenberry will perform Sixty Years on the Bench at Community Lutheran Church, 3720 E. Tropicana Ave., starting at 7 p.m. on Nov 15. For more info, visit pfortenberrypiano.com.

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