Whidbey Island Center Presents Walt Wagner 1/21

Whidbey Island Center for the Arts, under the leadership of Executive Director Stacie Burgua, is proud to welcome pianist Walt Wagner to Whidbey Island.

Pianist Walt Wagner has performed with Jay Leno, Bill Cosby, Bob Hope, George Burns, Lily Tomlin, Roberta Flack, Sammy Davis, Jr., Bob Newhart, and as pianist/conductor with Peggy Lee.

Walt Wagner will be performing at two Whidbey Island venues:

Benefit House Concert at Robbie Cribbs' Sound Trap Studios, on Friday, January 21, 2011 @ 7.00pm.
Tickets are $150 and are available from www.WICAonline.com or 360.221.8268 - 800/638.7631.

An Evening with Walt Wagner at WICA, on Saturday, January 22, 2011 @ 7.30pm
Tickets are $30 (Premium Seats) and $20 (Standard Seats) are available through www.BrownPaperTickets.com

"There are not many pianists with whom he can be compared. There are touches of wizardry that remind of jazz and rock, yet he has the technical fluidity of a classical craftsman. There is a charisma about him that generated a standing ovation with the audience yelling for more." -- Portland Oregonian

An Evening with Peter Morton is sponsored by Peter and Anna Marie Morton.

WHIDBEY ISLAND CENTER FOR THE ARTS - FACT SHEET

WHAT: Whidbey Island Center for the Arts presents piano great Walt Wagner in two concerts.

Benefit House Concert
Sound Trap Studios, Freeland, Washington (please contact WICA for directions)
January 21, 2011 @ 7.00pm
Tickets are $150 and are available from www.WICAonline.com or 360.221.8268 - 800/638.7631.

An Evening with Walt Wagner at WICA
Whidbey Island Center for the Arts, 565 Camano Avenue, Langley, Washington.
January 22, 2011 @ 7.30pm
Tickets are $30 (Premium Seats) and $20 (Standard Seats) are available through www.BrownPaperTickets.com

ABOUT WALT WAGNER

Walt Wagner was born in Seattle, beginning classical piano study at age six. He joined a rock band while in high school, continuing his classical training at the University of Washington with Bertha Ponce Jacobsen. Wagner's first professional work, playing rock music, led to a full-time music career and an increasing interest in jazz. In fact, his involvement in rock had been an introduction to basic jazz harmony, rhythm and improvisation. His jazz playing and composing developed into a personal style as he emulated the pianists he admired: Fats Waller, Art Tatum, Oscar Peterson, André Previn, Chick Corea and others. Gradually, Walt applied this multifaceted style, and his full sound, to the music of such composers as George Gershwin, Jerome Kern, Rodgers and Hart, and Irving Berlin, as well as to his own compositions.

For the last two years, Walt Wagner has been featured in concert at the Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival. He has performed with Jay Leno, Bill Cosby, Bob Hope, George Burns, Lily Tomlin, Roberta Flack, Sammy Davis, Jr., Bob Newhart, and as pianist-conductor with Peggy Lee.

Wagner's guest appearances include The Tonight Show, Merv Griffin, and an Andy Williams & Peggy Fleming special from Madison Square Garden. Wagner's own TV special, "The Walt Wagner Show", aired worldwide.

A prolific composer, Walt writes much of the music for his concert and club appearances, and increasingly is writing works in the classical category. In May, 1997, he premiered a new piece, "Rhythms - for Piano, Winds & Percussion", performing as soloist with the Washington Wind Symphony, conducted by Gene Aitken. Another commission was a piano concerto, "The Miracle - for Piano & Orchestra", which was premiered in June, 1996 with R. Joseph Scott conducting the Bellevue Philharmonic Orchestra, again with Wagner as soloist. He also writes all his own big-band arrangements for jazz performances as well as orchestrations for "pops"-style concerts with symphony orchestras.

"An outstanding talent, Wagner earned enthusiastic encores with brilliant improvising." -- Variety

"There are not many pianists with whom he can be compared. There are touches of wizardry that remind of jazz and rock, yet he has the technical fluidity of a classical craftsman. There is a charisma about him that generated a standing ovation with the audience yelling for more." -- Portland Oregonian

"Not only is Wagner an extraordinary player, but the easygoing wit and confident delivery of his spoken introductions make him the antithesis of the rotten-brat style of many performers. It's a pleasure to hear him play and watch him work." -- Spokane Spokesman-Review

"One fine performer who knows his keyboard and displays a formidable technique." -- St. Louis Globe-Democrat

ABOUT WHIDBEY ISLAND CENTER FOR THE ARTS

WICA opened its doors in May 1996, culminating a 10-year grassroots effort to build a community performing arts center on rural South Whidbey Island. Serving Whidbey and outlying areas, the 246-seat theater hosts a year-round season of diverse offerings. A staff of five full-time and seven part-time employees, with input and assistance from over 400 volunteers, offers patrons a consistent, quality experience and a wide range of arts programs including performances, workshops, and lectures. We have an active 15-member board of directors made up of artists, business people, and other community leaders.

For more information about events at WICA, please visit www.WICAonline.com

2010/2011 SEASON SPONSORS: City of Langley / 2010 Producers Circle / Friends of WICA / Intermec Foundation / Washington State Arts Commission / The NEA / US Bank / Inn at Langley / Whidbey Marketplace and News / Whidbey Coffee / Parallax Consulting, Inc. / Whidbey-SeaTac Shuttle /The Star Store / The Law Offices of Kelly and Harvey / Catherine DeWitt Framing / Boomerang Korner / Island Asphalt and Sitework / Whidbey Telecom

Whidbey Island Center for the Arts' mission is to provide and maintain a community arts facility, and to promote, develop and present diverse programs of entertainment, education, and cultural enrichment to the Whidbey Island community and its visitors.

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