Twenty pushups! Concert pianist Phillip Fortenberry admits that backstage folks look perplexed when “he drops to the floor and gives ‘em twenty” as part of his pre-show preparation.
Whether it’s on stage at New York’s Carnegie Hall or in front of the massive audiences during his 14-city, one man concert tour of China, or a neighborhood cabaret, Fortenberry admits to pre-show anxiety. The pushups he says, “work the jitters out…get the blood flow and heart rate up.”
Multiple online sources insist that to achieve success on the piano, students must develop “technical proficiency.” There can be no question that Fortenberry has mastered “technical proficiency” evidenced in that he was chosen to be filmed as Liberace’s fingers sweeping across the keys in Michael Douglas’ film “Behind the Candelabra.”
A recent local show featured a cavalcade of the town’s top performers with Fortenberry relegated to one corner of the stage, his hands gliding across the keyboard nonstop for the entire 90 minutes.
Fortenberry’s preparation for the single-performance show began weeks earlier when he invited friends to his home for a run-through. “It helps me understand the (show’s) demand and work up to it,” he said. Those demands, he admits, can be profound.
“There’s not a moment that you can let go.” Arms, shoulders, back and arms, as well as his talented fingers require endurance. “My physical condition has always been important to me,” he said, explaining his stamina.
Performing before the intimate home audience allows him to define his “vulnerability, integrity (to the music), artistic approach, clarity to the audience and vision.”
For a man who has accomplished so much in the industry, one feels that Fortenberry prefers to remain in the background. “I get out of the way of it…let the music come through.”
His resume includes eight national Broadway tours (including Cats, Jesus Christ Superstar and The Lion King), performing for two Presidents and conducting for the Vegas Shows Hairspray, Mama Mia and Jersey Boys.
Fortenberry can be seen regularly at Composer’s Room, 953 E Sahara and accompanying vocalists at many venues around town.
