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SANDY -- Many people dream of playing in Carnegie Hall. Four young Utah girls are getting that chance on April 8th. Their accomplishments come from a combination of natural talent, a lot of discipline, and passion.
Thirteen-year-old Kathy Liu plays a piece for the students at Peruvian Park elementary school. It's a quick concert before heading off to New York to perform on one of the most prestigious stages in the world: Carnegie Hall. It's for the American Protégé International Music and Strings Competition.
"I'm going to play the Cat and the Mouse by Aaron Copland," she said.
Kathy attends Midvale Middle school. She has been playing for 7 years, practicing one to two hours a day.
"It's fun, like hearing what you can make. It's really relaxing too. You get to play pretty music," she said.
Kathy will play a solo in New York; her friends Julia Fu, Julia Ma and Emily Zheng specialize in trios - that's six hands playing the piano at once. They are in elementary school still, but will also play at Carnegie hall.
TIPS FROM SUSAN DUEHLMEIER FOR PARENTS
<li>Start young, so the child can develop their ear and technique early on. This usually means age 5 for girls and age 6 for boys. <li>Find a good teacher. Talk to students of that teacher and see if that's how you want your child to play. <li>It takes dedication from the student and the parent. Are you willing to support and encourage your child? <li>There must be a level of sensitivity on the part of the pianist to be able to be receptive to instruction and to be able to express themselves. <li>It takes innate talent, but it also takes a lot of hard work."It's exciting. Amazing," they say.
They have each been playing for five or six years, under the study of Ya Liu, like Kathy. They also practice one to two hours a day. Much of this is natural talent - they have older siblings who have also been in the International Piano and Strings Competition; much of it is discipline; but there is a passion for music there, too.
"It takes dedication of the student as well as the dedication of the parent," said Susan Duehlmeier, the Piano Area Chair for the School of Music at the University of Utah.
"It's a gift from parents even to institute the love of music. I really see that," said Ming Ment, Julia Ma's mother. "I hope she is a professional, but it's not up to us. We give that love of music."
Duehlmeier and Ment say children can start playing piano around 5 or 6 years old; any earlier and it is really up to the parents to help them practice.
"We really want them to strive for the best," said Ment.
Piano isn't all the girls excel at. These four young ladies have won awards for debate, math and spelling. They want to grow up to be brain surgeons and computer engineers. These kinds of accomplishments don't come overnight, however.
"If they don't do it, they won't have the happiness," said Julia Ma, talking about why young pianists should practice every day.
"If you play and enjoy it, then you'll play better while you are enjoying it," said Emily Zheng. Duehlmeier says these girls' accomplishments reflect well on themselves, their teacher, their parents, and really all of Utah.
"I'm just so proud that they have gotten to this degree of expertise to be able to be recognized," she said.
