On Friday night, my brother Matt performed a George Gershwin piano concerto with the Wheaton College symphony orchestra. Competing against vocalist Nathaniel Olson, violinist Eric Welander, and flautist Bethany Atwell, Matt vanquished them all and will perform at Wheaton's Festival of Faith in May. (picture of the performers)
I grew up with Matt, and was spoiled by his musical prodigiousness my whole life. His recitals were not novel for me, as I got to hear those pieces all the time. At the conclusion of every recital, there would be the predictable parade of parents, other performers, and others to congratulate Matt on his playing. Due to our similar looks, I often got congratulations from confused fans. I would always stand in the back and wait for Matt to work his way through the crowd. When he reached me, I rarely offered praise, instead always mentioned the section where his tempo was off, or the missed note near the beginning. And I think Matt always appreciated those "criticisms" more than all the praise because he knew first of all how impressed and proud I was of him, and secondly because my minor "criticisms" spoke volumes about his mastery of the pieces. I've never been one to speak in superlatives, believing that few things in this life truly warrant them. The rare times I use the phrase "above average" are the rare times where I am completely awed and impressed by something.
Growing up, Matt was always the best pianist, even compared to those multiple age brackets above him. But he was rarely in any competition format; instead he simply performed with the other students of his teacher. While they were talented also, they were never the best of the best. Seeing him compete against and outshine thirteen other piano performance majors from Wheaton's prestigious music conservatory to win the piano concerto competition, and defeat three of the best musicians Wheaton has to offer in this concerto competition, and rise above them all in such a convincing manner was a resounding "above average" experience for me.
p.s. While I am excited for more of these “above average” experiences, I can’t wait until they come from his compositions, rather than his performance. If you think he can perform, you ain’t seen nothing yet. Watch out Hollywood, the John Williams of his generation was born in 1988!
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