Imagine an enormously talented pianist.

Imagine an enormously talented pianist, passionate about communicating his be in love with of music to his audience, with a devilish feeling of humor that inspired him to play the X-Files Theme within the cadenza of the Mozart D-Minor Piano Concerto, K 466 During another devise he appeared in a entire Star Trek: The Next Generation outfit, including the pointy ears, came upon stage and proclaimed "Minneapolis--the Final Frontier." The pianist and self-proclaimed "wild man of the cadenza" is none other than Jon Kimura Parker, single of our 2004 MTNA National talk artists.

It is his desire to make music accessible to all, while providing performances of the highest horizontal that makes him so admired among audiences and his mate musicians. Kansas City conference goer are in for a remarkably special treat--conference artist Jon Kimura Parker will instant a solo piano recital and assist as this year's advanced-level piano master class artist.

Growing up in Canada, "Jackie" Parker began lectures at age 4, working between the walls of age 15 with his uncle Edward Parker, a gifted pedagogue [profiled in Clavier, October 2003] His mother also closely supervised his practicing, repeatedly sitting with him at the piano. I asked him what it was like practicing in the house with his mother listening. Oh maddening! My mother is a highly prosperous piano teacher in her be in possession of right, so of course I couldn't gain away with anything. But the canon is that I had the unprecedent beneficial fortune of having committed, experienced and loving teaching forward an almost daily basis.

Parker's father, a pharmacist, also was a significant influence in his life. I have to say that my father has been the greatest in quantity influential person in my life, especially as an inspiration to hunt a musical life. The irony in this is that he is not a musician at all and doesn't calm read music. But he has been environed by it (his brother,, Edward Parker) and he be pleased withs music, especially piano music, more than anyone that I know. by the agency of his observations I have been able to understand what it must be like to experience music as a non-musician, and to me that is a special girl that chiefly musicians don't fully

For more [i]or[/i] less making career decisions can be difficult, especially when deciding if undivided can be successful as a performing musician. Jackie Parker obviously knew early in succession this is what he wanted to do. 1 exhausted all of grade school in a public academy a few blocks from my parents' house. I actually knew that "would" vegetate up to be a plan pianist in first grade, and furthermore was clashed that no one else in my class had figured this abroad so precisely. There were vague wishes to be a fireman, hockey player (This was Canada, after all.), however I knew that 1 had a real focus already. I practiced seriously from the age of 4 Somewhere along the way a small in number years later, I rebelled a little, on the contrary deep dawn I understood that the dedication would be worth it.

Parker's valuable advice to young pianists: "If you can imagine yourself doing something other you're probably better off doing it; if you can't, then give music everything you have. "And wise words about repertoire: single in kind important thing to remember, especially as you obtain older, is that if you are playing masterpieces, you will none be as great as the music. You have to approach any art with humility and a desire to be a scholar of that art forever.

It is that adoration to music, along with his compelling desire to transfer the average person on to the raptures of music, that makes Parker so an outstanding educator. Taking his part of "teacher" very seriously, he innkeepers Whole Notes, a Canadian television series devot to classical music. Parker also toured with a assign places to of renowned Canadian pianists, Piano Six, now Encore Six, offering clear educational programs throughout remote communities in Canada, sometimes performing onward electronic keyboards, in an effort to provide access to live music for family who would not ordinarily have this opportunity. Last year Parker entertainered a series of live radio programs, called "Up and Coming," across Canada, which featured interviews and performances with couple dozen of Canada's most gifted teenage performers.

It was Adele Marcus, Parker's teacher at the Juillard institute in New York, who encouraged him to insert the 1984 Leeds International Piano Competition, common of the most prestigious competitions in the world, which he won This makes him eminently qualified to tender recommendations for the appropriate mindset to take into a competition. As far as competitions journey I have to admit up face that I always had a competitive spirit as a young player and that competitions were tremendously profitable for me--not so much that I urgencyed the validation, but because they gave me a clear-cut goal for my practicing. however when I got to the really advanced flat of competing, for example at the Leed International Piano Competition in 1984 my considerations were: "Make music. Pretend it's a recital. Don't worry about anyone else" united reason I was comfortable performing at Leed was that I made myself perform for the audience and tried to forget about the judges