Every great musician enjoyed the guiding hand of a teacher at one point. Whether it’s the rigorous weekly or bi-weekly meetings with a seasoned professional preparing a youngster for a classical music career, or just a talented and generous uncle picking on the back porch, people who teach shape the kind of musician an early learner may become.
The Santa Maria Philharmonic Society has organized a concert to showcase the talents of young students studying with members of the Philharmonic Orchestra.
The Santa Maria “Youth in Music Showcase,” is set for March 23 and will include several students performing on such instruments as piano, violin, cello, and flute. There will also be a performance by two of the teachers who collaborate outside of the orchestra: Dr. Lynne Garrett and Brynn Albanese, who play and teach piano and violin, respectively.
Garrett, a doctor of musical arts in piano performance, teaches piano privately at St. Andrew Academy at St. Andrew Church in Orcutt. Also trained in violin, Garrett has performed in orchestras her whole life. She joined the Santa Maria Philharmonic Orchestra a few years ago and was asked to join the board of the Philharmonic Society last spring, when she filled the role of orchestra liaison, the main mode of communication between the board and the orchestra.
“Unfortunately, it was a time when the symphony was in pretty big trouble,” she said. “I jumped on every committee possible to help raise money.”
One idea that helped the society fill the coffer and make the orchestra more publicly visible was the philharmonic society mixers started last year. The events have been scheduled monthly, taking place at local businesses.
“It is a chance to form relationships with local businesses and provide an opportunity for the orchestra followers to get together, dine, and feel unity,” Garrett said. “I think orchestras are sometimes invisible. These events have been a huge success.”
The upcoming “Youth in Music Showcase” is just such a mixer event, bringing the work of orchestra members and their students into the public eye. Among the performers, Garrett explained, will be violin students of concertmistress Brynn Albanese, a flute student of Alice McGonigle, and a student of cellist Jeanne Shumway. The students range in age from 10 to teens.
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“I think when you have the gift of music, it is something that should be shared,” Garrett said. “Learning to bring an instrument to a level of performance is a great challenge and a great adventure. To bring it to that height of expression, I think it brings great confidence, and they learn confidence in themselves.”
Garrett will be providing several of the students performing at the show. Some of her students have already won accolades in local and state competitions. Two of her students, Daniel Haw and Kevin Park, competed in the Paderewski Piano Competition in Paso Robles and won first and second place in junior division. Park, who is just 10 years old, won with a waltz by Frederic Chopin, a famously virtuosic composer.
“It’s a beautiful waltz and is floral and very cantabile, and this little boy will knock your socks off,” Garrett said. “He plays from the heart, and he will be playing that piece at the concert.”
This kind of skill in young children isn’t unheard of—Mozart was a famous child prodigy—but this kind of phenomenon does require a kind of “perfect storm” of skills and abilities.
“They have an ideal balance in that they have an ear for music, the physical ability, the intellect, the passion, and they are disciplined,” Garrett said. “And when you get that combination, they are unstoppable.”
Discipline is right. Garrett’s student Haw, she explained, practices upward of three hours per day. His commitment is also met by commitment from his parents, who attend every lesson and talk to him about the music he’s learning.
“I think that parental support is a huge part of this,” she said. “I think that their ongoing encouragement is what makes them capable of sitting there and practicing for hours.”
In the age of video games, smart phones, and 24-hour children’s television channels, it’s refreshing to witness youngsters who not only exhibit an adequate attention span, but such skill. Park, Garrett explained, is an avid chess player; the game is certainly considered “old school.”
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Haw and another of Garrett’s students, Jack Raventos, don’t limit their musical studies to only the piano. Both are also students of Brynn Albanese, and they’ll be doing double duty at the concert, performing on both piano and violin.
The show will wrap up with a Garrett and Albanese duet. The two make up the Parlour Performers and enjoy performing in the mode of the 19th century parlor music tradition. They’ve performed up and down the Central Coast and, after showcasing their students, will provide the night’s closing number.
Lend some support
Big Al Olivera is known far and wide as a talented guitar player who’s collaborated with many local groups at some favorite rock and roll haunts. Unfortunately, the beloved musician has been diagnosed with a terminal illness, but friends and family are coming together for a “Fun-ction” that will feature live music by Terry Lawless and Mike Dean on March 17 from noon to 6 p.m. at Rancho Nipomo, Highway 101 and Highway 166, Nipomo. More info: 878-8700 or funlivemusic@fix.net.
Famous for jazz
The “Famous Jazz Artist Series” presents jazz guitarist Ron Eschete in concert, joined by season jazz musicians Charlie and Sandi Shoemake, Luther Hughes, and Paul Kreibich. Have dinner, too, on March 17 from 5:30 to 9:30 p.m. at the Terrace Dinner Theater, 1693 Mission Drive, Solvang. Cost is $35. More info: 691-9137 or prplus@earthlink.net.
Contact Calendar Editor Joe Payne at jpayne@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Mar 15-22, 2012.
