Art Force Piano Series concludes with incomparable talents of John Bayless
Renowned pianist John Bayless, a product of Borger, Texas, who has performed in preeminent auditoriums worldwide, will put his incomparable talents on display in April at Amarillo College (AC) for a concert that is free and open to the public.
The concert is at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 11 in the Concert Hall Theater on the Washington Street Campus. It will be the fourth and final installment of AC’s 2022-2023 Art Force Piano Series.
Bayless, who at the height of his renown suffered a stroke in 2007 that deprived him of the use of his right hand, famously overcame his adversity by learning to play with only one hand – yet making it sound as through he is playing with two.
The concert pianist, composer and recording artist who at age 17 attended the Juilliard School of Music and went on to study with the legendary Leonard Bernstein, will present at AC what has been dubbed “Piano Buffet.”
Bayless will reach into a variety of genres for his performance, from opera to Broadway shows, music from the movies, and even the Beatles. He has, after all, been improvising popular music since before he won a scholarship to the prestigious Aspen School of Music when he was only 15.
He has produced numerous highly successful CD’s, including best-sellers Bach on Abbey Road, which was one of the Top 10 best-selling albums of the 1980s, and The Puccini Album, Billboard’s No. 1 top-selling album for 19 weeks.
Formerly the artist in residence for the London Symphony Orchestra’s Leonard Bernstein Festival – he once performed at a gala for Queen Elizabeth II – Bayless actually made his debut by performing with the Orchestra of New York in 1980 at Carnegie Hall.
“We are equally thrilled and honored that John Bayless will perform for us here at Amarillo College,” said Dr. Bruce Lin, artistic director for the concert series and director of piano at AC.
“Mr. Bayless is not only a remarkable man and an incredible artist, he is an inspiration to those who have faced traumatic setbacks in their lives. What a wonderful capstone event this will be for our Art Force Piano Series,” Lin said.