Payson Roundup | Payson, AZ

The Tonto Community Concert Association is bringing Mac Frampton to the Payson High School Auditorium at 7 p.m., Friday, Oct. 9.

Mac Frampton’s resume includes such things as The Van Cliburn Competition, The Boston Pops, 22 albums, 10 original revues, reams of critical raves, unprecedented return engagements. Accolades abound, but the most revealing accomplishment of Mac Frampton’s career is the bond he has created and continues to sustain with thousands of audiences the world over.

Born in South Carolina, the son of a Presbyterian minister and a mother who sang her way through college during the Depression, Frampton started playing the piano at the age of three. His formal training began at five and he was eight years old when he made his professional debut. After his musical studies at Erskine College, he did graduate work at the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music, where he received the Degree of Doctor of Musical Arts. While a student, Frampton gained national prominence as a medal-winning semifinalists in the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition.

It was at the Cliburn Competition that Mac began to seriously consider an alternative to a classical career. “I was at a farewell reception and some of the contestants who knew I improvised pop and jazz asked me to play a few tunes. I had just started when Van Cliburn himself walked in. He told me he was impressed with my arrangements and that I should consider doing them professionally. With that kind of endorsement, I had to think seriously about going into the pop arena. I went home and started booking myself with a backup group and found I really loved it.”

The unique style Frampton evolved during that period has proved extremely durable. Based on classical technique, drawing liberally from jazz and rock idioms, the “rock-alternative” sound of Mac Frampton continues to build a wider audience with every concert.

Over the past 24 years, Frampton and his group have played more than 3,000 concerts in the U.S., Canada, South America, Europe and the Mideast. He holds the record for return engagements at many locations, having appeared as many as 12 times on a single stage. He has teamed with Bill Cosby, Roberta Flack, Victor Borge, Louis Nye, The Fifth Dimension and Metropolitan Opera star Roberta Peters, among others. He is also a successful producer of revues. Over the years he has mounted productions on the music of Cole Porter and George Gershwin, as well as several Broadway shows. In 1995 he founded The Hollywood Hills Orchestra, a 16-piece ensemble dedicated to the performance of great cinematic music. He has recorded 22 albums and a motion picture soundtrack.

Every Frampton performance is unique; he builds the program to appeal to the tastes of a specific audience. Much of the music will be drawn from this list.

Pops

At The Piano Bar

Bach-Classical Gas

Chariots Of Fire

Disney On Parade

Embraceable You

Everybody’s Favorite

Evergreen

Fantastic Fats

For The Piano

How Do You Keep The Music Playing

I Love A Piano

I Only Have Eyes For You

It’s A Musical World

James Bond Suite

Joplin Medley

Just The Way You Look Tonight

Memory

Sacred

America The Beautiful

Amazing Grace

Brother James Air

Carol Of The Bells

Feast Of English Carols

God Bless America

Going Home

Great Is Thy Faithfulness

Greensleeves

His Eye Is On The Sparrow

How Great Thou Art

Southern Gospel Medley

Classical

Bach

Prelude & Fugue in C Minor

Beethoven

Moonlight Sonata

Debussy

Clair de Lune

Feux d’artifice

La Puerta del Vino

Chopin

Nocturne In Eb

Gershwin

Rhapsody In Blue

Upcoming season

Tonto Community Concert Association season subscriptions are still available by calling (928) 478-4363 or at the concert. Here is the schedule of the remaining concerts for the ’09-’10 season…

Thursday, Oct. 29 – Russian Seasons Dance Company, a world-renowned, innovative Russian dance company

Friday, Jan. 29 – Nearly Neil & The Solitary Band - Tribute to the Music of Neil Diamond

Saturday, Feb. 13 – Red Hot Hollywood! - Matt Davenport Productions Inc. celebrates the music and dance of the silver screen.

Friday, Mar. 5 – Daniel Rodriguez - America’s Beloved Tenor, “The Singing Policeman”

Monday, April 19 – Rudolph Budginas - Piano Virtuoso with Comedic Commentary

Tuesday, May 11 – Hunt Family Fiddlers - 8-Member Hunt Family Featuring Fiddle and Footwork

The Tonto Community Concert Association is a nonprofit organization that brings high quality concerts to Arizona Rim Country at an affordable price. The all-volunteer group also supports other performing arts activities in the region. For subscriptions or other information, call (928) 474-6115.