Piano virtuoso Ryan Ahern to star in PBS special
Fans of pianist Ryan Ahern, who has performed several concerts in Lodi and Stockton, are getting a special holiday gift: A chance to see him again, free, all without leaving their homes.
Ahern will be starring in his own PBS special, filmed at the Smith Center in Las Vegas. At 8 p.m. Wednesday, that concert will be broadcast locally on KVIE, with Ahern live in the studio for an interview as part of a pledge drive for the public TV network.
“I’m really excited about it,” Ahern told the NewsSentinel during a recent phone interview.
A longtime fan of PBS — ever since he watched “Sesame Street” as a young child — Ahern is thrilled with the chance to add to the channel’s programming.
“They’re one of the few stations really promoting the arts,” he said.
He still enjoys PBS’ shows, especially the documentaries, and appreciates that their programming is all pretty family friendly.
One area he really enjoys is the musical programming on PBS, which is sharing the work a lot of new and amazing musicians and composers.
To create his concert, PBS asked him to pare down his live show to an hour of music. Ahern put together a playlist that ranges from boogie woogie and rock to movie music — including Disney — to covers of legends like Queen and Ray Charles.
“The concert is really the best of my live concerts,” he said.
Then, he performed to a crowd in Las Vegas while PBS filmed with eight cameras. The entire concert was filmed in a single take.
The experience of watching the final cut was incredible, Ahern said. He’d seen cellphone videos of his concerts before, and even the occasional more professional filming, but never something on the caliber of PBS’ cut.
“It’s just beautiful,” he said. “It’s surreal.”
The sweeping shots give a sense of the mood in the concert hall, but also give viewers the sense of being on stage with Ahern and his eight-piece orchestra, he said.
“You’re feeling what it’s like sitting behind the horns. There’s all this really cool footage,” he said.
The concert will air in the Sacramento area, including Lodi, along with Las Vegas — two of the places where Ahern spends time when he’s not headlining cruise ships or playing around the world. Later, the concert will air on other PBS stations and in other countries. A station in China has already asked to air his concert, Ahern said.
For Ahern, the PBS special is another accomplishment in an already stellar career. When he was 14, he landed his first gig at a Las Vegas country club. He went from playing piano at the club’s mixers to other jobs, then to piano competitions.
His performances at the annual Liberace Piano Competition caught the eye of the directors of the Liberace Mansion in Las Vegas, where he was the house pianist for several years.
Ahern has also traveled the world on cruise liners, which has allowed him to visit every concert, including Antarctica. He also headlined his own stage show at Planet Hollywood in Las Vegas.
This is his first time starring in a PBS special, but he already has a second concert with the public broadcaster in the works.
Ahern wanted to thank
his “all-star” orchestra, who are all incredible musicians in their own right, he said.
“Everybody who comes to Vegas requires an orchestra. These are the guys who they call,” he said. “They’re as good as it gets.”
As he works on the next big project, he hopes Lodi music lovers will enjoy the Nov. 28 special. Ahern certainly did.
“It was one of the greatest shows I’ve ever done,” he said.