CARNEGIE HALL – ONE STOP IN YOUNG PIANIST’S CAREER
By Pam Harkema

Argus Press
Friday, June 26, 2009 8:48 PM EDT

Courtesy Photo Jon Beckwith, left, of Corunna, stands with Michael
Krikor Brandt, of Chicago,Ill., in the Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie
Hall in New York City

NEW YORK – For most of us, entry to Carnegie Hall is granted through
the box office. But local pianist Jon Beckwith’s first experience
in New York’s premiere arts venue was on the stage as part of an
international concert on Memorial Day.

Beckwith, 19, a 2008 Corunna High School graduate, attends the elite
Baldwin-Wallace College Conservatory of Music in Berea, Ohio. Another
student at the Conservatory, Michael Krikor Brandt, of Chicago,
was looking for a pianist to accompany him in a selection for the
trombone. Both have just completed their freshman year.

"I typically perform piano solo pieces," Beckwith said. "When working
with another individual performer, the pianist’s job is to make
someone else look good. It’s a whole other ball game."

Brandt submitted a recording of his individual work to a scholarship
competition sponsored by the Armenian Youth Cultural Organization
which was open to students of Armenian descent. Brandt’s heritage
is Armenian and he was selected for the scholarship. The selected
students, 17 in all, were invited to play in the Armenian Arts
Festival, a concert being staged at Carnegie Hall and broadcast
live to the former Soviet Republic country of Armenia. The concert
was a major event honoring the more than 25,000 who died in the 1988
earthquake that devastated the city of Spitak, an event that occurred
before either of the musicians were born.

For the concert, Brandt chose to perform the Concerto for Trombone and
Military Band by Nikolai Rimski-Korsokov. The trombone line contains
the melody while the piano score is a reduction of the orchestra. The
music is complex and challenging in both notation and interpretation,
so Brandt began to look for an accomplished pianist, which brought
him to Beckwith.

"When Mike invited me to play with him, there was such a burst of
excitement," Beckwith said. "I never thought I would perform at
Carnegie, certainly not this early in my career. And then I thought
‘This is going to look great on my resume.’" Beckwith practiced
the music for a week and then joined with Brandt for a second week
of practice. The selection the two would play lasted for just more
than two minutes.

Carnegie Hall was built in 1891 and includes three performance
halls. The largest is the Main Hall, also known as the Issac Stern
Auditorium/Ronald O. Perelman Stage. Below the Main Hall is the Zankel
Recital Hall, and on the third floor is the intimate Weill Recital
Hall, originally called the Chamber Music Hall, which served as the
location for the Armenian Arts Festival Concert.

"We did try to peek into the Main Hall," Beckwith laughed, "but the
door was locked. I’d love to go back and play there another time."

The day of the concert, the duet joined the other 16 performing groups
in warming up. Their selection was placed far into the second half
of the concert.

"Neither of us were very nervous," Beckwith recalled. "We were well
prepared and we knew the music well."

So well in fact, that Beckwith had memorized his complex piano part.

"Musically, we did a very good job conveying the mood of the piece,"
he said.

Beckwith’s parents, Rev. Norm and Chris Beckwith, were able to be
with their son for his New York debut. He saw them sitting in the
fourth row as he looked out from the stage.

"At least one of them has been there for almost every performance I
have ever had," he said. "They were both extremely proud. My parents
have been very supportive my entire life."

Beckwith has been playing piano for 12 years and studied with local
musician Glenda Davis for 10 of those years.

"She developed my talent to the point of my entry to the Conservatory,"
he said. "If you really want to be successful, you can’t get by on
just talent. All talent has to be developed and that takes working
at your ability."

Beckwith, who now lives with his parents in Oakley, practices
piano four hours a day, even during the summer months. He plays for
weddings, funerals, church services, and other events and is also
teaching piano lessons for all ages. New students can reach him at
pianobyjon@gmail.com.

"I don’t think being successful in music comes with a few big
performances," he said. "Success is made in the everyday commitment
to the music you play."

Of course, adding a Carnegie Hall credit to your resume can’t hurt.