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4/152017 A Grand Homecoming: Piano Star Returns 10 Years After Centralia College Graduation I News I Ct Soo May A Grand Homecoming: Piano Star Returns 10 Years After Centralia College Graduation Sold Out Show: Charlie Albright Returns for His Fifth Benefit Show at Corbet Theater By Brian !Winne / For The Chronicle Apr 11. 2017 Pete Caster / Charlie Albright performs at the Corbel Theatre on Saturday evenly in Centralia. The concert. 'An Evenly With Charlie" was held to benefit Centralia College music scholarships and the Charlie Albright Piano Fund. At one pont during his sold-out concert Saturday evenly. Charlie Albright put hie hand up to shade his eyes from the stage lights and peered out over the capacity crowd in Centralia College's Corbet Theater. "I think I know most of the people in the audience." Albright said to laughter from the 500-some members of the audience. It was one of many easygoing conversational breaks during an electrifying two-hour piano concert by an Mernational musical sensation who seemed just as happy to be playing for a hometown audience as his old neighbors were to be listening to him. Albright. a Centralia College alumnus. has become a jet-setting musician since leaving Centralia for Harvard University 10 years ago. but on Saturday he was just Charlie as he played a mix of classical music. jazz. improvisations and a little rock 'n' rot. The show had a spontaneous and relaxed feel. Albright mentioned several times that he wanted to keep the concert fun. He seemed to be picking songs to perform that appealed to him at the moment. and he admitted early in the show that he wasn't even sure which songs the printed program actually listed. In keepng with that theme. he noted that for years he has played improvisations durng his shows. On the advice of several mentors. he has recently begun askig for a series of random notes from the audience that he could use as a inspiation for. he said. "a hopefully not-so-random piece of music." The audience called out fors notes — A. E flat. 0 sharp rob. the same one!" Charte said about the two different names for the same note) and G flat — which Albright played slowly at first. gradually adding chords and flourishes to create a grand never-before-heard theme ri minor. then major keys. A giant screen behind the piano. fed by cameras located around and above the stage. gave attendees a close-up view of Albright 's hands as they flew up and down the keyboard. CD Release Wearing a buttonless white jacket over a black shirt and pants. Albright took time between his songs to explain the pieces he was playng and why he chose them. He began the concert with two short pieces by the 19th century Austrian composer Franz Schubert. the impromptus 2 and 3 from Opus 90. Albright described these pieces as 'simple yet deep.' and noted that Saturday marked the global release date for his latest CO: "The Schubert Series — Live — Part 1.' It's the first in a three-disc series recorded live during a series of all-Schubert concerts n Boston. and marks his first commercial CD since 2011's "Vivace." I/2 EFTA00617134 4/15/2017 A Grand Homecoming: Piano Star Returns 10 Years After Centralia College Graduation I News I Albright. playing all the songs by memory. clearly felt the music deeply. He leaned his head down to within inches of the keyboard at times. After many of the pieces. he seemed to have to pull himself free from the keys. flingeg himself back onto the bench, drawing a deep breath and thiowing up his arms as the final notes rang through the hall. After one particuLsrly energetic performance, a solo version of °Blue Danube Waltz." he patted his forehead with a handkerchief. In introducing that song. Albright noted that he first heard that particular arrangement ri Australia — then joked that the first time he heard the famous tune itself was on a 'Term and Jerry' cartoon. A Donation of Talent The concert was a benefit hosted by the Centralia College Foundation. Albright deflated his time and talents to raise money for the college. The foundation netted about $14.500 from the show, said Juke Johnson. who organized the event. About $10.000 will go toward music scholarships in Albright% name that will be given out at Centralia College over the next few years. she said. The remaining $4.500 will go toward maintenance of the college% Charlie Albright Piano. on which the namesake performed cluing the show. This is the fifth benefit concert Albright has performed at Centralia Colege since he graduated in June 2007 as a Running Start student with both his Centralia High School diploma and Centraka College associate of science degree. Albright told the crowd that he was pleased to be back performing at his alma mater. 'This school is Ike a gem ri our community." Albright said. "It's wonderful there are so many people here helprig this gem shine." Albright kept the evenng light and conversational. He acknowledged his famay in the crowd. including his parents and his girlfriend. Stella. He also thanked the Centralia College Foundation's Johnson by name. 'When in Rome' Albright introduced "La Campanela." an Italian violin COMM," arranged for piano by Franz Liszt. by sayng parts of the song explode like target shooting. It's a challenge to play. he admitted. with nearly instantaneous jumps between octaves. 'There's a lot of hope rivolved in this piece. A lot of hope." he said as the audience laughed. 'It depends on how tired you are. how many notes you nrss.' While comparing Centralia College reversibly to the Leicoln Center ei New York. Albright announced that he would take advantage of an opportunity to play something he could never get away with when perforrneig at that famous venue. saw this on the Internet. and we al know you should try everything you see on the internee Albright said before playing a quick-tempo boogie by Liberec°. with frequent calls of "Hey' contributed by the audience. Before performing his final piece. "Turkish March" ('Which you also probably heard on 'Tom and Jen-y"). Albright described it as "Mozart on steroids." After a standing ovation and repeated calls for an encore. Albright retuned to the stage with one more quip alluding to the musical freedom he felt in his home town. When ei Rome. do as the Remains do.' he said. then paused dramatically. "Or at least what you can get away with. Here's Great Balls of Fire."' He sat down at the Sternvay and ripped through the 1957 Jerry Lee Lewis hit. ending "An Evenng Wth Charlie" in thrilling style. Brien Mittge is a columnist for The Chronicle. 212 EFTA00617135