Lakeport >> Come Sunday afternoon the Soper Reese stage will be outfitted with couches, a coffee table, reading lamps and a beautiful grand piano for the Fourth Annual Pianists Benefit Concert. The show will feature seven pianists: David Neft, Paul Kemp, Tom Ganoung, Spencer Brewer, Elena Casanova, Elizabeth MacDougall and Ed Reinhart, all pros at their trade. The pianists gather on the sofas while they chat with one another and take turns at the piano.
“It’s very spontaneous,” said David Neft, “There’s no real order.”
Tom Ganoung explained that the setting is somewhat information, with a conversational feel. “It’s like a talk show,” he said. “We’re all out on stage all the time and we enjoy the humorous comments, especially from Ed Reinhart.”
The Pianists Benefit Concert is a fundraiser for both the Soper Reese Theatre and The Lake County Friends of Mendocino College, with the proceeds being split evenly down the middle between the two organizations. For the theatre, their portion of funds from Sunday’s show will go towards the expansion of the lobby, new restrooms and the renovation of the theater’s facade.
The Lake County Friends of Mendocino College is the affiliate organization of the Mendocino College Foundation and they oversee all the fundraising for the college’s Lake Center campus in Lakeport. This year, the benefit will help to fund the recently constructed chemistry lab, a vital new part of the Lake Center, especially for nursing students. “This a big advantage to be able to get their classes at the Lake Center,” said Wilda Shock, chairperson of Lake County Friends of Mendocino College. “It really provides a critical need for Lake County students to be able to take their classes … There’s time and money involved in traveling to Ukiah.”
The Pianists Benefit Concert not only raises money for the Lake Center, but also increases awareness of the center’s many benefits. The Mendocino College Lake Center campus opened at it’s current location two years ago thanks to the passage of Bond Measure W which allowed Mendocino College to purchase 31 acres and construct the facility. “It’s a very collegial environment which was not existent prior to this being built,” said Shock. “It’s becoming more of a place to gather and work together in study groups. Previously [students] would come and take their classes and leave because there was no place to hang out or meet in small groups.”
Every year proceeds from the benefit help generate interest in attending Mendocino College. “Each year we’ve given a $1,000 scholarship to a Lake County resident that is attending Mendocino College full time,” Shock said. The Lake County Friends of Mendocino College also gives a fifth grader $25 and when that student graduates high school they receive $500 plus they’re given another $500 if they choose to attended Mendocino College. Other programs receiving funds include the county’s mock trial and decathlon teams, adopt a fifth grader and student tutors at the Lake Center. They’re clearly working hard “to create that greater awareness of educational opportunities here in the county.”
A single benefit for both the Soper Reese Theatre and Lake County Friends of Mendocino College may seem like an odd pairing, but the idea came up organically according to both Shock and Mike Adams, the executive director of the Lake County Arts Council. Considering Adams used to work for Mendocino College and Shock is involved with the Soper Reese, it’s not such a strange combination. “When we formed the Lake County Friends of Mendocino College with the construction of the new Lake Center here … we were looking for a way to raise some funds locally that would benefit students in Lake County,” Shock explained. “Mike and my mutual connections with Mendocino College and involvement with the theatre kind of brought it into being.”
The Pianists Benefit Concert is modeled after a long-standing Ukiah concert benefiting Mendocino College. “Wilda Shock approached me about the Friends having some kind of fundraising event for them,” recalled Adams. “It occurred to me that the pianist concert … was the kind of event that would do well. So I proposed to her that we do a joint fundraiser for both the theatre and The Friends.”
The collaboration has been mutually beneficial for many reasons. “We have some people who are specifically supporters of the theater, but there are new people that kind of combine to come together for this particular program,” said Adams. He also explained that The Lake County Friends of Mendocino College has a whole team dedicated to fundraising, while the theatre doesn’t have enough staff to fill the house for the concert. “We wouldn’t have had the manpower to do the marketing and outreach to get people in the seats.”
Many of Sunday’s musicians performed at the previous three Pianists Benefit Concerts and two have even played at the Ukiah concerts over the years. “This year in January we did the 23rd year of this concert series at Mendocino College,” revealed Ganoung. “I’ve been in every concert in the series for the last 23 years.”
Four years ago Ganoung happily joined the benefit concert at the Soper Reese. “For me it’s excellent because I’m up there with the top players in this area and it’s always a very entertaining experience for me musically as well as a great joy,” he said. “It’s just a great concert. It’s my favorite event all year. I enjoy this concert because of the music and because of the opportunity to hear all these great players and because I get to be amongst them.”
Neft, who participates in the Pianists Benefit Concert every year, also enjoys spending time among fellow talented players. “It’s really entertaining for us as pianists to listen to each other,” he said. “I’m friends with all the pianists so there’s a little camaraderie that happens. I’m sure that we have every bit as much fun as the audience. All of us enjoy hearing each other play.”
Though there is conversation during the show, both Ganoung and Neft enjoy the formal concert setting. “When you’re playing for dinner that’s one kind of an event but in a concert context the attention is focused on the performer and not on other things,” said Ganoung.
“It’s probably the most formal thing I play all year,” Neft said. “The people are there to hear us in concert … The nice part about this is, it is a concert, we’re trying to present what we do best. Lake County is kind of a formal affair.”
Neft gravitates toward playing a lot of popular songs through the 80s, including The Beatles, Billy Joel and Elton John. “I like old styles, great melody and chords,” he said. “I play by ear as well as by music. I’m mostly known for playing off the top of my head. It makes it very spontaneous … I really don’t plan on exactly what I’m going to play until I’m on the spot, in front of the piano.”
Though the Pianists Benefit Concert doesn’t sell out, it does come close each year, which is evidence of the event’s appeal. “They always tell me they really look forward to it every year,” said Neft.
The many pianists also guarantee a wide variety of tunes. “The nice thing is it’s seven pianos with completely different styles,” said Neft. “The things people will hear are popular songs, new age, jazz, boogie woogie … It’s like a piano variety show.”
Ganoung expressed similar thoughts about the concert and added that the nature of the show is sure to be a treat for the audience. “They will have the best possible time they could have Sunday afternoon if they come to this concert,” he said. “It’s very entertaining and there’s a wide variety of styles. It’s a smorgasbord of musical delight.”
The Fourth Annual Pianists Benefit Concert is Sunday, March 8. At 2 p.m. there is a no-host reception where Lake County Wines will be served as well as the opportunity to speak with the pianists. The concert begins at 3 p.m. Tickets are $25 for regular reserved seating and $30 for premium reserved seating and can be purchased at www.soperreesetheatre.com, at the Theatre Box Office or at The Travel Center in Lakeport.
Jennifer Gruenke can be reached at 900-2019.
