Pianos take the stage at Monster Concert
The Kent Concert Hall will be filled with 370 piano students playing 20 pianos during the annual Youth Conservatory Monster Concert, “Around the World in Eighty Fingers” on Feb. 5 at 6 p.m. The Monster Concert dates back over 20 years, said Kevin Olson, assistant professor in the department of music and the director for the Youth Conservatory. Olson said it provides piano students an opportunity to experience a “symphony of pianos.” The concert allows them the experience of following a conductor and working in groups.
“(Piano) is very isolating. You practice alone, you perform alone,” said Emily Bailey, a senior in piano performance who teaches at the Youth Conservatory. Bailey said the students look forward to playing the piano in large numbers and next to friends.
Preparations for the Monster Concert require a collaborative effort from everyone in the piano department. The piano majors not only teach students, but also help with preparation, such as moving the 20 pianos from around the Fine Arts Center to the stage.
“It’s impressive to see how every single piano major really pulls their share of the load,” Bailey said. “It brings the piano majors together.”
The students get the music for the Monster Concert before Christmas break, giving students about two months to practice. There are 18 different numbers in the concert. Olson said the teachers work with the students to choose which of the pieces is best for them. The pieces range through eight levels of difficulty.
“I always pick two or three pieces and then I play them for (the students) and let them decide. I think it’s important for kids to like the music they play,” Bailey said. She has four students playing in the Monster Concert, from ages 5 to 12. Bailey said the different levels and personalities make teaching interesting. Though Bailey began teaching as a sophomore in high school, her first years at USU were more focused on piano performance. She said she soon realized how satisfying it is to hear her students perform well.
Though Olson said it is called a Monster Concert due to it being a “monstrous type of ensemble,” having a monster there to participate in the skits and narration is also a tradition.
“The monster is like Santa. All the kids want to see the monster at the Monster Concert,” said Garret Denham, a senior in piano performance.
Denham will be the monster on Saturday, a role he has played his previous three years at USU. His first year he was just a regular monster, but his second he was a rutabaga, in a cardboard cutout and purple tights. He played a dancing Lima bean, with a similar costume but green, the next year. He hasn’t seen his costume for this year but said, “If it’s like the first year, a very big, brown, shag carpet, furry monster. And I think it had some small horns, but I’m not sure.”
Denham said being the monster, and having the fruit and vegetable sides, has provided him with “small-town stardom” when kids recognized him in Wal-Mart or at church.
“A kid saw me and said ‘Rutabaga!’ and then pretended to bite me,” Denham said.
Denham is also the Youth Conservatory Program Coordinator, working in the office two days a week. As such, for the last two years, he has coordinated all pre-college piano lessons and matched students with teachers. With the Monster Concert he does have additional duties, but said that as long as he makes it efficient from the beginning, it doesn’t become too stressful.
“The biggest problem would be if the student didn’t practice,” Denham said.
Denham also teaches two students. Denham has played the piano himself since he was five. He applied for 10 colleges in the West and chose Utah State because he was really impressed with the education, which he said is “just wonderful.” The practice rooms for piano majors all have a grand piano, pretty good insulation and air conditioning. Though Denham is a full-time student, he tries to practice five hours a day.
Ronda Kershisnik has two daughters playing in the Monster Concert and has been involved with the Youth Conservatory for five years. She said both girls are excited about performing, particularly about the presence of a big monster.
Playing in a group also provides a less frightening experience to perform for the students Kershisnik said. “With a lot of kids on stage it is easier for you to get up and play. The whole audience isn’t focusing on just you.”
Another mom, Korryn Bernhardt, said though this is her first year with the conservatory she has been really impressed by the USU students who teach her two children and the way they let the kids help dictate the pace of lessons. While one child is more nervous about the concert, the other is very excited.
“I think it’s a really great chance for the kids to have lessons and it helps the students perfect their teachings skills,” Bernhardt said.
Bailey said the community involvement and the really strong program are like no other school in the nation.
Olson said the conservatory, established in 1978, is a piano lab for students, and is well-known in the country.
The students who teach at the conservatory take a piano pedagogy class, which Olson teaches, where they learn about teaching strategies and curriculum and then get hands on experience.
“I think it’s a great program. It’s a great experience for the students as well as the teachers,” said Emily Shipley, a senior in sociology, who started out as a piano major and began teaching in the Youth Conservatory her second semester at USU. She said she has continued teaching because she loves it. She said that it gives USU students a wonderful opportunity to start teaching where there are professors to help along the way.
Denham said it is a great program for the community and at a low cost, about $7 for a half-hour lesson, opposed to the high costs he has paid for lessons.
The Monster Concert also functions as a fundraiser for the conservatory and helps pay for daily needs and scholarships. The prices this year are $3 per person or $10 a family. Tickets can be purchased at the Caine College Box Office, online or Saturday morning from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. at the Kent Concert Hall. It is recommended to get tickets early.
– genevieve.draper@aggiemail.usu.edu