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The Marvelous Marvin
Published: 8/7/2012 11:51 AM
Last Modified: 8/7/2012 11:51 AM

I've had several opportunities in the course of my work to talk with Marvin Hamlisch.

Hamlisch, who died Monday at the age of 68, was a frequent guest artist with such groups as the Tulsa Philharmonic and OK Mozart, where all his many talents -- as a composer, pianist, conductor, arranger and stand-up comedian -- could be put on display.

But the moment I will always remember came when he was a guest for a pair of February 2000 Tulsa Philharmonic's Pops concerts.

Hamlisch -- in conversation before the concerts and during the shows themselves -- spoke at length about the importance of providing young people with an education in the arts.

Hamlisch said:

"Certainly I received some natural ability from my parents, who were both musicians. But it was the music programs at the schools I attended that really allowed me to develop whatever talent I was given.

"And these classes also helped me develop in other ways. Socially, for example -- being in a band or an orchestra, taking part in some play or whatever, it teaches you how to collaborate, how to work with others to achieve a specific goal.

"It's been proven that kids that have been opened up to the arts do better on ACT tests, and the like. It's not an accident that this happens. If anything, it's a win-win situation.

"That's why it bothers me tremendously that, in this election year, none of the candidates are talking about the arts and their place in education or in people's lives in general. Oh, if they need someone to help the draw a crowd and raise some money, they'll get themselves a musician or an actor. It's horrible, really."

Then, at the first concert, as Hamlisch was speaking about the importance of the art, he happened to notice a young man sitting in one of the front rows.

As I wrote at the time:

Hamlisch started joking with the fellow, "Who forced you to come to this concert? Who told you it was Madonna playing tonight?" Hamlisch told the boy he was so glad his grandparents had brought him to the concert that (Hamlisch) would buy (the family's) tickets to the next Philharmonic concert.

Then Hamlisch asked his new-found friend -- 11-year-old Carson Wagner -- if he played an instrument. Yes, Carson replied: the piano.

So Hamlisch asked Carson to come up on stage. Carson strolled up to the Steinway grand at center stage with all the poise and confidence of a seasoned pro, seemingly at home in front of the 1,500 or so in the audience, the 61 Philharmonic musicians on the stage behind him, and with the hand of one of the world's best-known composers on his thin shoulders.

Carson announced he would play "I'm Getting Ready to Leave This World," and promptly launched into a full-blown Southern gospel rave-up, sounding a bit like Jerry Lee Lewis playing at a tent revival, down to the perfectly timed glissando before the final chorus.

It was a performance that got the crowd on its feet, got the Philharmonic practically cheering in delight, and left Hamlisch just about flabbergasted.

"You don't also write music, do you?" he asked Carson. When Carson said no, Hamlisch exclaimed, "Great! No competition there." Then, serious for a moment, Hamlisch said, "I want to thank you Carson, because I'm never going to forget this."

He wasn't the only one.




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ARTS

James D. Watts Jr. has lived in Oklahoma for most his life, even though he still has people saying to him, "Don't sound like you're from around these parts." A University of Oklahoma Phi Beta Kappa graduate, Watts has received the Governor Arts Award, Harwelden Award and the National Conference of Christians and Jews Beth Macklin Award for his writing. Before coming to the Tulsa World, Watts worked for the Tulsa Tribune.

Contact him at (918) 581-8478.

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