Fort Worth — Dark, handsome and obviously buff, Anthony de Mare's charm oozes out of his publicity photos. Smiling at you from behind his piano, he seems to have just said "Hello" and is waiting for you to answer.
Wishful thinking, at best. De Mare is happily partnered to Tom Spain, a publishing executive; they live in the Chelsea neighborhood of New York with their Pomeranian, Cowboy. ("He is actually a very large dog, for a Pom," says de Mare with a laugh.)
It's unlikely he'd have time for you anyway. De Mare is in the middle of an ambitious concert project that started in Canada last spring and has already taken him to New York City, Chicago and more. On Saturday, he'll play that concert, Liaisons: Re-imagining Sondheim for the Piano, at the Modern Art Museum in Fort Worth as part of the Cliburn Concerts Series.
The concert is a natural fit for de Mare, acclaimed as an interpreter of contemporary music. In fact, if was his idea.
Already a big showtune fan, de Mare organized this project, which enlisted 36 composers to create short, solo piano pieces based on the music of Stephen Sondheim — not arrangements, mind you, but original compositions that use a Sondheim song as a cantus firmus. It’s the fulfillment of a concept that has been brewing in him since childhood.
"I was always a fan of Sondheim," he says. "I trained as a dancer and pianist and always felt at home in theater. Besides, it was one of the best ways I could think of to be able to play this music in concerts."
◊ To read the rest of the story, go to the Dallas Voice, where it originally appeared. The Dallas Voice is a TheaterJones media partner.
