As a child, Bonnie Bogle Farrer spent many long New Hampshire evenings at home in front of a piano. With two grand pianos in the living room and an upright in another room to practice on, she thought of little else.
Farrer always knew being a pianist was her calling. The fact that her father, mother, and two older sisters also played piano made music a natural part of her life.
“In winter in New Hampshire, it would start to get dark around 3:30 p.m. and so you’d stay inside,” Farrer fondly recalled. “This was in the days before too much television and no computers.”
Farrer’s experience has taken her far since those evenings in front of the family’s piano. She has studied at prestigious schools, taught talented students, and performed with some of music’s greats.
She’ll lend her talents to the Santa Maria Philharmonic Orchestra’s presentation of It’s a Grand Opening. Farrer will appear as guest piano soloist performing Mendelssohn’s Piano Concerto No. 1 in G Minor.
“It’s a terrific concerto,” she said. “It’s very beautiful and a lot of fun to play. It’s one of my favorite pieces.”
After getting inspired by piano at home, Farrer went on to attend Juilliard at the age of 14 and was awarded the prize for the highest average in her graduating class, the Juilliard Alumni Association Scholarship, a Rockefeller grant, Concert Artists Guild Town Hall Debut Award, Kosciuszko Foundation Chopin Scholarship, and the Washington International Bach Festival Audition. After winning the Musicians Club of New York Annual Artist Award, she received professional management and was invited to become a Steinway Artist.
One of her favorite memories was playing a four-hand Beethoven work with Marlboro Music Festival artistic director Rudolf Serkin—something she and three other performers got to do.
“It was a great honor and very kind of him to do that, to play with us,” Farrer said.
Another memorable experience for Farrer was her New York City debut performance when she was 23 years old: “That was exciting to get reviewed by all the big New York critics,” she said.
Farrer went on to pursue music as a career—a choice she said she never questioned because of her love of the piano—and met her husband while both were faculty at Birmingham Southern College in Alabama.
Her husband, John, maestro of the Santa Maria Philharmonic Orchestra, will also direct her for the upcoming performance. Though the two are professional when it comes to performing, they also enjoy a personal connection.
“We probably know what each other is doing better than if I was someone coming from out of town—but we are professional,” Farrer said.
The Santa Maria Philharmonic Orchestra is opening its 10th anniversary season, “Treasures of Wonder,” with the concert featuring works by Brahms, Ravel, and Stravinsky. The Mendelssohn piece will wrap up the evening.
“I am so glad my parents gave me that opportunity,” Farrer said. “I am thankful every day for the fact my parents gave me lessons, and I think every parent should do that for their child.
“I just love it,” she added. “Well, there are a lot of things I love, but I love this the most.”
Arts Editor Shelly Cone is a wonder of treasures. Contact her at scone@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Sep 23-30, 2010.