4 // COASTWEEKEND.COM
IVORY POWER
Concert with piano duo
kicks off Liberty Theatre
fundraiser on Nov. 10
By JONATHAN WILLIAMS
FOR COAST WEEKEND
W
hen the Liberty
Theatre celebrated its
last major renovation
in 2005, Pink Martini
pianist Thomas Lauderdale was
there to celebrate.
Lauderdale is back, but this time
he’s joined by his partner, pianist
Hunter Noack.
The duo kicks off the Liberty’s
Saturday, Nov. 10, “Once in a Blue
Moon” Gala fundraiser and concert
for $3.3 million improvements to
the stage and building that will
allow for more large-scale perfor-
mances of musical theater, opera
and dance. The event begins at 4:30
p.m.
The concert features Lauder-
dale and Noack’s four-hand piano
version of Gershwin’s “Rhapsody
in Blue.” Think Disney’s “Fantasia
2000” with its dramatic symphonic
sound performed on two pianos.
“We think of it so orchestrally
already, so we imagine what lines
sound like strings or what lines
sound like a clarinet,” Noack said.
Tickets are $150, and 350 will
be sold. The gala includes an
auction emceed by state Sen. Betsy
Johnson with auction items includ-
ing a private party with the band
Blind Pilot and a trip to Costa Rica.
MATTHEW ANDERSON/ENJOY THE WEATHER PHOTO
Pianist partners Hunter Noack, left, and Thomas Lauderdale.
Continued on Page 14