An Evening with Charlie
For the first time in over ten years, I had the chance to see, hear and speak with Charlie Albright.
Kyle Pratt and Charlie Albright
In 2004 Charlie Albright was a freshman in my civics class at Centralia High School. Even then I knew he would achieve things in life. He worked hard in class and turned in every regular and extra credit assignment. I don’t believe he got less than an “A” on anything.
While still in high school, Charlie earned an Associate of Science degree at Centralia College, but that was just the beginning. He was accepted into the joint program with Harvard and the New England Conservatory. At Harvard, he earned a Bachelor’s in pre-med and economics. While at the New England Conservatory he earned a Masters of Music. Moving on to Juilliard he graduated with the prestigious Artist Diploma.
Today he performs around the nation and the world, but last night he was back home in Centralia at the Corbet Theatre of Centralia College. While I enjoy classical music, I’ve never studied it, and cannot judge Charlie’s performance except to say that for over two hours his hands flew across the keys in an incredible flurry of movement and created sounds that held me, and the others who were there, in rapt silence.
A quick way to see Charlie perform is to visit his YouTube channel.
After the performance, I was walking toward the door, when my wife encouraged me to stay, buy a CD and speak with Charlie. I didn’t expect him to remember me and there was a long line, but she persisted. It turned out Charlie did remember me, so with an autographed CD, a handshake, and a picture we ended our evening with Charlie.