Middle Tennessee again!

[cabbynum]

The Piano Society of Nashville/a division of The Nashville Dramaturgy Project

The Piano Society of Nashville invites you to join us at 3:00 pm on Sunday, July 14th at The Celebrity Centre of Nashville, 1130 8th Avenue South for a special concert by our Artist of the Year, 2013, Clarke Bynum. Clarke is one of the amazing artists we have discovered at the monthly Miller Piano Writer's Night - www.millerps.com

At 17, Bynum could be the poster child for the word "prodigy."  His original compositions resonate of Rachmaninoff and Chopin and on the 13th he will perform and discuss his original work, but I also asked him to share something of his musical journey with us and here is what he has to say:

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" When I was growing up my family played all kinds of music, not classical very often though. I do remember very distinctly going into some sort of show home similar to Cheekwood and I heard a string quartet for the first time. I was mesmerized by the music they made.  At this point I had just started kindergarten. It wasn’t until 1st or 2nd grade that I heard piano being played live. It was from that moment that I grew an interest in piano.

 It wasn’t until 7th grade that I truly wanted to learn to play the piano. My iPod at the time consisted mainly of pop music with a steady beat and catchy lyrics. I had a few Beethoven symphonies and one Beethoven piano concerto, no.5. I listened to those a lot and found them fascinating. It wasn’t until my freshman year in high school that I started telling my parents that I wanted to learn piano.

When I learned to play piano I used mainly YouTube videos for the first 7 months, then I hired a wonderful teacher, Luke Chandler. He helped me learn to read music and learn the pieces I would like to learn, always being supportive of my odd taste and venturing into pieces far above my level. I then got a new teacher to help me with college auditions, Debra Nelson; she has helped tremendously from a technical standpoint and with reading and interpretation.

Sitting down at my piano is a feeling I hope never goes away. Nothing feels more comfortable, no matter what my mood is or my energy level I can sit down at the piano and feel energized and released and free. I feel no pressure when playing the piano, it is truly “home” for me.

At the upcoming concert I will be playing these pieces:

1.)Sonata op.2 no.1 in G Minor:

Movement 1 Largo – Moderato: This movement has gone through many transformations and changes throughout the past year. The version you will hear at the concert is very close to what I heard in my head when I wrote it, with a few changes. This movement is highly influenced by Rachmaninoff’s 2nd piano concerto, very large chords in the beginning spanning 10ths on the outer voices. Then picking up speed with grace note chords into a slow arpeggio in G minor and Eb Major. The rest will be a surprise.

Movement 2 Andante: Starting in the dark key signature of Eb Minor with a very slow acceleration into a quick chord progression with accompanying tremolos in the lower register of the keyboard. The main theme of the first movement will be represented a few times.

Movement 3 Allegro:  Another Rachmaninoff piano concerto influence. Starting with a large acceleration up and down the keyboard and then moving in quick arpeggios with accompanying broken chords. This movement is the most fun to play, but also the hardest by a lot.

2.) Scriabin based Impromptu:       

This piece is mainly a controlled improvisation on Scriabins impromptu op.12 no.2, it is based on his life and musical evolution, so a few sections may be a bit “noisy.”

3.) Beethoven 7Th symphony: This piece, well you will have to hear the story behind it."

We hope that you will join us to hear this story and Clarke's music, Sunday, July 14th, 3:00 pm, at The Celebrity Centre of Nashville, 1130 8th Avenue South.

Please RSVP to dramaturgtn@gmail.com if you plan to attend.

[rachmaninoff_forever]

I won't be there physically, but I'll be there in spirit!

[cabbynum]

Who came?
I met one of you, but my parents heard someone else saying they heard about it on pianostreet.
Anything?