Twelve year old Austin
Garner and sixteen year Tyler Garner are different in lots of ways, but they
share a love for music.
The boys live in
Lehi, and both have studied piano as long as they can remember. Austin started before he was three and Tyler
started when he was five.
Playing piano is usually a solitary activity, but the Suzuki
Association of Utah is turning that idea upside down.
Both Austin and Tyler are part of a five piano group that
was created for a June performance at Libby Gardner Hall. Seventeen other piano ensembles participated
in this Five Piano Concert. Their piece, Chopin’s Waltz in A minor, was a
hit and the group was chosen to perform again in the fall.
They will perform in a five piano concert on
September 18 in the Conference Center Theater, and then again on September 19
in a most unusual concert.
On September 19, hundreds of kids from across the state will
join together to perform with one heart and one voice in the LDS Conference
Center. The performers will range in age
from three to eighteen and will play on a variety of instruments including, harp,
cello, violin, viola, string bass, flute, voice, and piano.
This is an unforgettable night for everyone who participates
and everyone who attends. It is a
magical night, a night of Celebration.
Hosted by the Suzuki Association of Utah this event happens once every
five years. The theme for Celebration IX
is Where Love is Deep. The theme was
taken from a quote by Dr. Shinichi Suzuki the founder and creator of the Suzuki
Method: “Where Love is Deep, Much can be
Accomplished.
The Suzuki Association of Utah is an organization made up of
parents, teachers, and students who embrace the philosophies of Dr.
Suzuki. Dr. Suzuki believed that every
child could learn, that a study of music creates noble character, and that
music could change the world.
There will also be a
Harp Celebration on September 12, in the Tabernacle. Tickets will be available to the public from
the Conference Center beginning August 11.
Group rates are available. Ticket
price includes admission to all three events.
The Waltz group has been practicing together for more than a
year. The others in the group are Aaron and Braden Rasmussen, cousins of the Garner boys, and Haley Boone. Braden Rasmussen is now serving a mission for the LDS church and Ethan Bramhall has joined the group in Braden's place.
These are ordinary teenagers who don’t even
live in the same city. They play soccer
and basketball, swim, read books, go to school, and also study the piano.
It’s a beautiful thing.
