A Closer Look at Accompaniment: “Songs for Cecilia” Offers Singers a Classic Theater Experience

From the corners of audition halls, rehearsal rooms and orchestras everywhere, piano accompanists are quietly playing an irreplaceable role in the world of theater. Port Washington Play Troupe’s “Songs for Cecilia” series (with its second installment coming up Weds, Nov. 6) offers local talent the chance to pick a song from the Great American Songbook and perform in a friendly atmosphere. But it’s the talents of accompanists like board member David Barnett—longtime professional musician—that make this experience possible.

Barnett is part of a large but also largely unsung community. It’s a given that accompanists for singers must be expert piano players. But these musicians also possess an additional, very special gift: the ability to listen, adapt, respond and perfectly complement a singer, in virtually any musical style, with or without rehearsal.

As a singer myself (and a fellow board member, in full disclosure), I’ve often had the chance to appreciate the contribution these often-heard-but-rarely-seen musicians make. I interviewed Barnett to get his take on the accompanist’s role—his view from behind the keyboard. 

Barnett has played for greats, including Tony Award winners Patti LuPone and Dee Dee Bridgewater (in Paris, no less). He worked with Constantine Orbelian, conductor of the Moscow Chamber Orchestra, to prepare the choir to sing with opera great Dmitri Hvorostovsky in London. He’s a seasoned composer. You may have unwittingly heard some of his original music in a film or commercial. And David has also worked extensively within his own communities, supporting local arts. He was the founding musical director of the Port Summer Show (formerly Play Troupe’s Teen Summer Theater), and most recently served as the musical director for GREASE at the Landmark on Main Street.

“Playing and conducting for singers like LuPone or Bridgewater is both a joy and a challenge,” Barnett said. “Your task is to ensure that the music backing them up is absolutely solid, setting them free to perform at the absolute highest levels. But honestly, playing for anyone who enjoys losing themselves in music is a treat.” 

Piano accompanists get plenty of chances to play—wearing many hats through the lifecycle of a musical theater project. Theater composers are often pianists themselves. But when they’re not, pianists are some of their most important early collaborators. Even when theaters produce existing shows, accompanists are central to the creative process, right through performances.

Nervous actors coming in to audition will gravitate toward the accompanist before singing a note. Typically, the two have just a few quick moments to set a tempo or clarify starting and ending points in the music. Whatever the singer needs, it must be addressed quickly. And according to Barnett, seasoned accompanists know to expect the unexpected. 

“It is astonishing, the range of material I've been asked to play,” he noted. “Some tunes, I've played hundreds of times before…some, never. I've been handed impeccably-copied music to play, and I’ve been handed scribbles on the back of a napkin. Often, it’s copies-of-copies, duplicated so many times that most of the notes are illegible.”

Sight-reading—the agile art of reading written music for the first time while playing it—can be challenging even when sheet music isn’t blurry or faded. But Barnett and his peers are routinely asked to sight-transpose, too. 

“I've often been asked to play the music in a completely different key than it's written in,” he explained. “But in the end, you do whatever you have to do. It’s your job to help the singer sound as good as they can.”

In rehearsal, accompanists help performers learn their music, and they support the director’s process by keeping open to countless interpretations. The pianist is frequently asked to change arrangements, adding musical sequences for choreography or composing vocal harmonies. They may embellish their playing to help performers get familiar with how the full orchestra will sound. Eventually, they often become part of the pit orchestra, and may even lead it. 

Over his many years and diverse projects in the theater, Barnett has performed all of these duties. They’re expansive, and they certainly come with great responsibility. He’s proud of his contributions, both in professional and community-centric environments. This writer humbly submits that he should be.

But what Barnett seems to recall most fondly—and still pursues—is the joyful union he can achieve with a singer. Whether they’re award-winning, semi-professional or amateur, he remains committed to helping each vocalist give the fleeting, glorious performance of their life. At root, that’s the accompanist’s calling. 

“You both put your energy in, bringing to life a wonderful moment that lasts until the final note has echoed through the hall, and then, ‘Poof’...it's gone,” he said. “Then I get to do it again with another singer, another song. That's the magic of live performance. I love it.”

 “Songs for Cecilia” is a three-part, informal church fundraiser series in the St. Cecilia Room at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church: 7:30-9:30pm, with remaining dates of Nov. 6 and Dec. 4, 2013 (both Wednesday evenings). Anyone from the community is welcome to come on stage and sing a song from the Great American Songbook (Broadway musicals, Hollywood film songs, 20th century classics), accompanied on Baby Grand piano by board member and professional musician David Barnett. Participants may bring their own sheet music or choose from provided musical theater songbooks. There will be time for approximately 20 singers to perform, and voluntary donations will be collected to re-carpet the St. Cecilia Room for the church. For more info call (516) 500-2012, email portwashingtonplaytroupe@gmail.com, or visit www.portwashingtonplaytroupe.com.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Anne DeAcetis serves on the Board of Directors of Port Washington Play Troupe and is a professional writer, actor and singer. www.annedeacetis.com