(Wikipedia): A venerable story has become part of the folklore of the hall: A New Yorker (or in some versions Arthur Rubinstein) is approached in the street near Carnegie Hall, and asked, “Pardon me sir, how do I get to Carnegie Hall?” He replies, “Practice, practice, practice.”

I recently entered a competition called the Bradshaw and Buono International Piano Competition (http://www.bbpiano.com/winners.html). At first, it seemed a little odd to me, with the application process being only a CD or DVD and no audition rounds. I didn’t even know who or if there was a jury, but I did notice a friend of mine, Rupert Egerton Smith (http://www.rupertegertonsmith.com/) who placed second in 2009. After a brief chat with him, I decided to enter because the prize was a trip to NYC. To my delight, some very good news came my way via email: I won First Prize in the Amateur Adult division, and was invited to play at Carnegie Hall!

It sounded all too unreal. I remember jokingly saying to my friends that I would retire after I get the opportunity to play at Carnegie Hall, because the thought of getting there was next to impossible. I mean...a periodontist living in Calgary? I thought the dream was to remain just that...a dream. I had now 2 weeks to prepare for the performance, which was to be just 10 minutes on the stage of Weill Hall. So I began to practice, every night after work, in my office. Putting the last bits of energy I had in the day towards those crazy 10 minutes to come soon.

I recently played with both orchestras in my home province of Saskatchewan. The Saskatoon show was my second performance of Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 3 (the first being in Paris, which you can read from an earlier blog). It had been a while since that memorable moment playing the Rach 3, so many of the notes had to be relearned. Trying to do so can be challenging, as your last memory of a piece is one that is performance-ready. Your mind wants to hear something your body cannot yet produce. Thankfully, Maestro Earl Stafford was helpful in holding everything together. I felt like it was a good performance, and there were some really special moments. It’s always nerve-wracking to play at home, but it’s only because I care that much more.

Next was the performance of Gershwin’s Piano Concerto in F with the Regina Symphony Orchestra. This piece was new to me, so the approach here was different compared to the Rachmaninoff. Because my teachers don’t live in Calgary, I had the help of a few key coachings and good recordings to guide me. I have to say that Regina really knows how to treat a musician! I was taken around by limousine, had a great hotel room and again was treated to a packed house. The performance went really well, thanks to the great baton of Maestro Victor Sawa. I never followed anyone’s baton as closely as his...it was so easy to feel connected with the orchestra under him. I appreciated the standing ovation from the audience so much, partly because I felt like this was one of the first performances I have done without the constant guidance of a teacher. I remember thinking how lucky we are as musicians to receive praise after a performance. What the audience didn’t know was that after intermission I was back in the green room practicing already for my next concert. Not that glamorous of a life, ha! I have also included the preview from this concert below. I thought both articles were so well-written and very complimentary. Hope you enjoy!

“For those about to Rach, we salute Yu”

BY SHANNON BOKLASCHUK FEBRUARY 15, 2010


Saturday night’s Saskatoon Symphony Orchestra (SSO) concert had it all – excitement, drama and romance.

The sold-out performance at TCU Place – suitably called Love Across an Ocean, as it took place one day before Valentine’s Day – kicked off with an announcement that the Frank & Ellen Remai Foundation will participate in a matching challenge to raise funds for the city’s orchestra.

“A community that makes music is a healthier cultural community compared to one that does not,” said local music icon David Kaplan, whose speech was followed by enthusiastic applause from the crowd.

Following the announcement, the concert began with a pleasing performance of Edward Elgar’s Serenade for Strings in E Minor. As the name of the piece suggests, the music highlights the beauty of the stringed instruments, and the SSO did a fabulous job of playing it, thus setting the romantic tone for the evening.

For the second piece, Johannes Brahms’ Variations on a Theme by Haydn, additional musicians joined the string players on stage. The SSO played the majestic-sounding music with intensity, and the dramatic ending was appropriately powerful.

Following a brief intermission, the string players were front and centre again, with a performance of Samuel Barber’s Adagio for Strings. The pretty, and relatively short, piece was the perfect appetizer for the evening’s main course: The highly anticipated performance of Sergei Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 3, by guest artist Thomas Yu.

Colloquially called the Rach 3, the piece is both revered and feared; it is famous for the technical and physical demands on the pianists who attempt to play it.

On Saturday night, 32-year-old Yu – a former Saskatoon resident who now runs a periodontal practice in Calgary – was certainly up for the challenge. His performance was, in a word, amazing.

Members of the audience could sense the excitement in the air as Yu calmly stepped onto the stage and took his place at the piano. From the first note to the last, as Yu’s fingers furiously moved up and down the keys, the crowd was spellbound. Yu was in complete control of the music and the piano, the mark of a true virtuoso.

You could say he really rocked the Rach.

As soon as Yu’s performance ended, TCU Place was filled with explosive applause, as audience members jumped to their feet for a lengthy standing ovation. Cheering and shouts of “bravo” could be heard throughout the auditorium.

After the clapping subsided and two little girls brought Yu flowers, the pianist returned to the stage for a brief encore, which he played in celebration of Chinese New Year.

“Thank you so much for making my dreams come true,” Yu said to the crowd.

Thank you so much for the absolutely incredible performance.

It was certainly a night to remember.

sboklaschuk@sp.canwest.com
© Copyright (c) The StarPhoenix

----------

“Yu, RSO to play Gershwin”

BY JOE COUTURE, LEADER-POST APRIL 8, 2010

RSO: MUSIC OF THE AMERICAS

At the age of 32, Saskatchewan-product Thomas Yu has achieved success that many individuals only dream about—and he has done so in not one, but two, arenas of pursuit.

Yu, born and raised in Saskatoon, has won piano competitions at the national and international levels; has studied with top music teachers; and has performed for audiences around the world. At the same time, he has completed a degree in dentistry at the University of Saskatchewan and specialized in the field of periodontics, completing a masters degree at the University of Toronto. He is now back west, pursuing both his passions from Calgary.

“I’ve been very fortunate to be able to achieve goals I set when I was a little kid,” a humble and down-to-earth Yu said. “One of the first biggest goals was to play with an orchestra. The first orchestra I ever played with was the Regina Symphony, when I was 19. ... I’ve always needed to set new goals. I guess it’s an inner drive mixed with a little bit of insanity and the reluctance to say ‘no’ that has forged this life that I’ve had so far ... I have certainly had very few regrets.”

That’s not to say there haven’t been challenges and sacrifices. Balancing “two heavyweights”—music and dentistry—has often caused people to worry that he would not be able to do both, he said. “(But) You’re never too busy to do the things you love. I’m fortunate to have two passions. “Contrary to assumptions, I’m definitely lazy,” Yu added, with a laugh, noting people would be worried if they knew how much knowledge he had about television programming. (Though that really speaks to his incredible level of balance.)

Yu will be back in Saskatchewan on Saturday, performing as a guest artist for the Regina Symphony Orchestra’s “Music of the Americas” Mosaic Masterworks series concert, a goal of which is to illustrate that not all great composers come from overseas. Yu will be playing George Gershwin’s “Piano Concerto in F,” which he described as “a ton of fun to play.”

“It’s full of just that tap-your-feet, snap-your-fingers, sort of jazzy rhythms. It’s going to take you back to a sort of 1920s New York City feel,” he continued. “Whenever I hear this piece I think of that era and the new skyscrapers being built.”

Yu stated that the orchestra is the highlight in the dynamic work and he’s eagerly anticipating enjoying the collaboration. Playing for a home-based audience does not come without some nerves—even for a musician as accomplished as Yu.

“I’m always more nervous when I come home to Saskatchewan, because I’ve tried so hard, and I’m very, very proud to represent Saskatchewan,” he said. “It makes me so proud to be able to say where I’m from. I get a little bit extra nervous for shows back home—I just care that much more.”

That is especially true of Regina, he said. He recalled sitting with his parents at a VIP dinner for a concert he was playing in Paris, France—the family all acknowledged they would never have imagined being in such a position, but also noted that it was not as exciting as the first time he played with an orchestra, the RSO, when he was 19.

© Copyright (c) The Regina Leader-Post

OK, I know I know, I have lots to update you with! There’s a lot of things to tell you about, and even more things I should be practicing. But I couldn’t help but work on another MJ tune this weekend. I spent a little more time with this one than the last (i.e. 2 afternoons), but I was happy with the result. My other Jackson 5 tune seems to make a lot of people happy, so I decided to work on this tune. Starting tomorrow I am working on relevant pieces like Rachmaninoff (coming up already in 2 months!).

Anyways, I hope you enjoy it.

The available link will take you to my recital from Forte de Copacabana in Rio, last August. Of particular note is the performance of “Aquarelo do Brasil”, which I had so much fun preparing. The Brazilian audience was very appreciative of it, and I remember these ladies asking me all week to play it again for them. The program as you can see was almost all Chopin, in my preparation for the eventual Warsaw trip. Hope you enjoy!

http://www.pianestival.org/video/index.php?l=0&idf=3

Just click on artists to choose from a selection of pianists...including me!

Sorry for the delay in keeping up with my blog. I have been so busy (see the upcoming post in a few days). There was so much craziness happening from the end of August to September, with the concert in Rio de Janeiro (as part of Pianestival), and then home for 5 days before leaving for Warsaw (for the International Chopin Competition for Amateurs). I’ll briefly recap the events, as it as been a while since it all happened.

The trip to Rio was my first time in South America. I went with a few of my closest friends, but unfortunately one of them was not able to get a travel visa in time. Apparently it’s very strict now so if you do go, make sure to plan well in advance! The concerts were held in the Forte de Copacabana, which was located right between the beaches of Ipanema and Copacabana. It was almost surreal when we first walked around the area...beaches, mountains and beautiful people. What a great combination for passioniate music!

I admit I spent lots of time on the beach, more than practicing. I figured that by immersing myself in the ocean waves I would be connecting with nature so in a sense it would almost be like practicing! You would have done the same...and I would like to think that my performances were better because of it. I performed a solo recital, and my encore was a Kapustin transcription of “Aquarelo do Brasil” which went off really well. I’ll try to see if I can post this recording soon. It was a pleasure playing some samba for the packed Brazilian audience.

I know it seems like everyone is caught up in the Michael Jackson craze, including myself. I am a fan of his music, and think that some of his bass lines are the best ever written. Anyways after a brief moment of wondering how I could express my tribute to MJ, I decided one afternoon to transcribe an old Jackson Five tune. Then I recorded it in my parent’s living room (on my favorite piano, though she is a bit out of tune). I’m not sure how long I will keep this video up, because I think it has a “cheese” potential. But if people like it, I’ll post more because I had fun doing it. Of course, anything to procrastinate from rehearsing all that Chopin is reason enough for me!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NoXfeDXqjdI

As I prepare for the Pianestival (once called the IPAF) in Rio, I came across this video of the most recent festival in Nice, France. I really wish I could have gone to this one (I think in terms of timing it would have worked out perfectly but I’ve never been to Rio). I have to congratulate Julien Kurtz and Dominique Xardel, who have overcome the great obstacle of starting an idea and putting it into action. They have gone ahead and now produce two festivals around the world each year. I hear the future includes concerts in Asia, which gets me really excited.

Henri Delbeau (Internist from NYC) is in this video. Nice work!
http://www.facebook.com/ext/share.php?sid=113542537520&h=xcP7a&u=_IziW&ref=nf

I spent a lazy morning today finally updating my biography and watching videos of previous amateur piano competitions. One common topic that comes up is the debate of what defines an amateur versus a professional musician? People claim that if amateur competitors have ever studied at a music school they should be disqualified from such competitions. Others claim that some amateur musicians are just as good and sometimes better than the professionals out there. People even go out of their way to tally how many competitors in these amateur competitions come from music school training.

Since I did not ever receive formal music training, I think I can make a fair assessment on the situation. I believe that the term “amateur” implies a financial designation. From what I recall, all these competitions state that if you do not receive the majority of your income from performing, then you qualify as an amateur. Whether or not you have a previous music degree doesn’t really garner a professional status. If you obtain more than half of your income as a musician, that’s another story.

Someone once mentioned that the term “amateur” means “to love”, and that it is not a designation of the skill-set of the musician. While this is true, I also tend not to use this explanation either. I believe everyone who plays music loves it, regardless of their title. One person once wrote on my You Tube video, that professionals love music more than amateurs because they are the ones who have decided to continue with it, through good times and bad. I tend to agree in some respects to this comment, because I do know how much dedication it takes to become a professional musician. I understand my own limitations in becoming a professional, and I wouldn’t enjoy the lifestyle that a concert pianist lives anyways. This is why I have the utmost respect for my peers who are making it in this business. It touches my heart to see when someone develops their musical career, because it is the dream for so many of us. We amateurs are lucky in the sense that although we may not possess the same talent or sheer volume of repertoire, at the end of the day we go back to our careers. So let’s all assume that every musician loves to play...isn’t that why we all do it in the first place?

I’m sure most of us can agree that to have a degree in music doesn’t put you into a professional status either. It takes a lot of perseverance, detemination and luck. Furthermore, like any craft, if you so much as take three weeks off from playing the piano it sets you back both physically and mentally. So why make a fuss if someone studied music at Julliard ten years ago? Some people may still huff and puff about this debate, but let’s go back and reclaim the definition as merely a financial designation. It’s not a definition of talent (as I have heard some amateurs play better than professionals), nor is being an amateur pianist just a state loving piano.

I’m going to re-read this blog at a later date, to see if I still agree with my own thoughts. Maybe it’s not even an issue. But I certainly think about it a lot, as I do many other aspects of music. Now, back to my beautiful piano in Saskatoon that I have missed so much.

ps. more photos to be posted as they come in