Pianist, John Benware, takes on 1928, this Valentine’s Day with the Glens Falls Symphony!
John Benware has been an artistic staple in the Glens Falls area both on and off the stage for the last decade and beyond! John grew up in Queensbury, developing a diverse background in the performing arts at a young age. John received his Bachelor’s degree in Music Performance from SUNY Fredonia (Piano) in 2012.
You may have seen him, in a Glens Falls Community Theatre productions such as Bent Broadway, as Telly in Godspell, Bobby Strong in Urinetown, Rick in Four Play the Musical, Harry Elkes in the 2018 Glens Falls Cemetery Tour, King George III in Hamiltunes, Noah in U R Here, Patsy in Spamalot, or most famously as ‘Liver-Lips’ Louis in Guys and Dolls!
John has worked with STAGE 42, the theater program at South Glens Falls High School, for many years. He teaches private piano and voice lessons, and acts as Musical Director and Choreographer at the Lake George Dinner Theatre. John is a composer and member of the Cooper's Cave Composer's Consortium.
John grew up with a diverse array of artistic experiences and training. Most of which was influenced, he says, by his family. One skill John remembers specially choosing as a kid is learning to play piano, which he will do this Saturday, February 14, as he joins the GFS for our first annual Valentine’s Day family Concert: “Silent Movie Valentine” 1pm, at the Historic Strand Theatre in Hudson Falls.
If you are not aware, John Benware has been on staff with the Glens Falls Symphony since 2015. His official title is Production Assistant, which is essentially the stage manager role each season at most GFS concerts and performances. John started in the GFS office, where he supported organizing and maintaining the sheet music library, updating our vast catalogue, as well as making schedules and checklists for the summer pops concerts that we still utilize today!
John was asked by the GFS Board of Directors to shift to stage managing, where his true experience in theatre shines! All the “behind the scenes” magic, the days of rehearsals and concerts are John’s responsibility. This includes setting chairs, stands, and risers beforehand and after a performance. Musician seating changes, technical needs, lights, supporting Symphony Guest Artists, and so much more. Much of this work is a performance unto itself, requiring a limited time frame to complete or being “on cue.” John states that he finds the anticipation of those cues and the physicality of the work to be invigorating!
John’s work with Music Director Charles Peltz started long before his work with the Symphony. John’s first memory is singing with the Glens Falls Symphony Children’s Choir in 5th grade. In high school, John joined the Symphony by singing “Messiah” by George Frideric Handel, with the Queensbury Madrigal Singers and the Adirondack Voices. John’s latest performance was in the 2024 GFS season finale performance, Mozart’s “Requiem” as a member of the Adirondack Voices. John has also performed for many years at the GFS annual Springtime Gala each June, at the Lake George Club, in Diamond Point, NY, and partook in the Joan Tower masterclass hosted by the GFS.
“I loved that Charles has always been very particular with what he wants. I still add a little huff of air singing my W’s!
This Valentine’s Day, come experience John at the Strand as he performs on piano during the short film that revolutionized animation: “Steamboat Willie.” This historic animated short was released in 1928 by the Walt Disney Company.
We won’t hear Mickey’s iconic voice in this short. But, the sound will be synchronized with the actions in the short, which in the 1920’s was an amazing achievement!
John shares:
“Even though Western classical music had a profound impact on me and my training, I don’t often get the opportunity these days to listen to or play it. I think that’s one of the unexpected perks of the job, getting sucked out of normal life and allowing the music to wash over me through the rehearsal process. Many times, the program is repertoire I’m not familiar with, and it quickly grows on me until it’s running in my mind a week or two after.” For this concert, John will be performing two rags by Scott Joplin.
Some of my most joyous childhood memories were playing my parents’ cassette tape soundtrack of ‘The Sting’. I would march, hop up and down on one leg, kick the other leg, and dance in the living room for the duration of the uptempo tracks. Then flip the cassette and do it all over until my parents got sick of it, or I was exhausted. I basically invented the phrase ‘cut a rug’ as I wore down the carpet.”
I couldn’t wait to learn Scott’s rags on the piano, starting with ‘The Entertainer’, of course. My piano teacher, Miriam Enman, was wise enough to dangle them as incentives to learn other music, preparing me for them. She even guided me through 5 or 6 of them during that period of my tutelage. I’m grateful for her being so accommodating. But as I said, I couldn’t wait. So I composed a rag of my own a few years beforehand, and fooled my parents into thinking I was actually practicing what I was supposed to! I’ve gone on to write others since.
Joplin’s rags are somewhat like jazz charts in that they share only the most obvious parts (pitch, rhythm, and some dynamics). So it is up to the artist to have an inner vision guide the craft so it does not become dry, mechanical, and monotonous. This is where drawing on skills from the classical tradition comes in handy, adding the slurs, staccatos, accents, and varied dynamics on repeats, all to keep it exciting.
While I don’t have any personal story or connection with Steamboat Willy, I do feel camaraderie for silent movie actors in general. I spent many years in my youth doing something very similar: The Nutcracker. No spoken word or singing, but you’re generating a narrative (albeit a loose one in this case) via movement, gesture, posture, and facial expression. This is probably 80% of our communication on a daily basis. So it has served me well in life and on stage. For me, as well as for that era of film, I think of acting without sound as isolating a pianist’s hands before learning to play them together. It is so crucial to develop those skills as humans and as artists before trying to multitask and deal with the complexities before us.
Next month, John will be conducting The Little Mermaid for Lake George High School and music directing Mamma Mia for South Glens Falls Senior High School.
To experience John LIVE, join us tomorrow afternoon, February 14, 1 pm for “Silent Movie Valentine!”
Tickets are still available. You can purchase them online by clicking here
Tickets will be on sale in the lobby of the Strand Theatre tomorrow afternoon, based on availability.
Adults: $12
Students & Children: $8
Four Pack of Tickets: $30
This concert is family and sensory friendly and open to all ages! Doors will open at Noon. There will be fun pre-concert activities in the lobby prior to the start of the performance.
For more info, click here
Films that will be shown at this performance, not necessarily in this order, are as follows:
-A Trip to the Moon (France 1902)
-Sherlock Jr. (Buster Keaton)
-Steamboat Willy (Disney)
-They Would Elope (Quick & Kirkwood)
-Excerpts from Tramp & City Lights (Chaplin)
Music will include excerpts of the following: Wind Quintet by Paul Taffenel, Ragtime music by Scott Joplin: "Maple Leaf Rag", "Easy Winners", "Cascades", Suite for Winds by Charles Lefebvre
Silent Movie Valentine Family Concert is sponsored by: Adirondack Trust Company, Dan & Jan Hazewski, and Alexander Orthodontics.
This Sensory-Friendly Concert is presented in partnership with Arrow Bank.
The Glens Falls Symphony performances are made possible in part by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature