About
As a piano virtuoso whose styles encompass a range of musical genres as wide as his instrument, Philip Fortenberry is a performer with an unparalleled expansive career. Philip holds a PhD of Musical Arts from the University of Nevada and is currently the Associate Conductor of Jersey Boys in Las Vegas. Philip was the Associate Conductor for the Broadway musical, Rocky, where he also received the inaugural “Ghostlight Award” as Best Musician on Broadway. He has performed at Lincoln Center, the Oregon Bach Festival, the White House, and was the piano double for Emmy and Golden Globe winner Michael Douglas’ portrayal of Liberace in the HBO Films biopic, Behind the Candelabra. He has been the featured artist-in residence at the Liberace Museum where he performed his one-man show, Liberace and Me. Currently, a resident of Las Vegas, he was the associate conductor for Hairspray, Mamma Mia and the North American premier of the rock music extravaganza, and We Will Rock You. Philip’s critically acclaimed solo cabaret concert, The Man at the Piano, continues to play to sold-out houses at Cabaret Jazz at the Smith Center for the Performing Arts.
A native of Columbia, Mississippi, Philip performed his first solo concert when he was twelve. Early in his career in New York, Philip became the musical director and on-stage pianist for the long-running off-Broadway satirical revue, Forbidden Broadway. Philip has played for ten Broadway productions and eight national tours including such shows as Cats, Jesus Christ Superstar, Saturday Night Fever, Ragtime, Seussical–The Musical, Sideshow, and The Lion King. Philip toured the U.S. and Canada in concert performances of The Music of Andrew Lloyd Webber, and he was a frequent guest with Lincoln Center’s “Meet the Artists” series.