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ARTS+LEISURE October 20, 2016
The Addison Independent
Champlain Philharmonic Orchestra's performance this weekend features Middlebury College freshman piano prodigy Gareth Cordery.
Piano man dazzles philharmonic
T
he Champlain Philharmonic Orchestra (CPO) kicks off its exciting Fall Concert Series with two performances of Russian Masterworks, directed by guest conductor Matthew LaRocca, on Saturday, Oct. 22, at 7:30 p.m. in Ackley Hall at Green Mountain College in Poultney, and on Sunday, Oct. 23 at 4 p.m. in Robison Hall at the Mahaney Center for the Arts at Middlebury College. The performances will feature pianist Gareth Cordery, who will perform Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1. The program also includes Tchaikovsky’s Capriccio Italien, Borodin’s “Steppes of Central Asia” and “The Montagues and Capulets” from Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet.
BY GREG PAHL
Cordery is a talented, emerging young artist who performs on both piano and cello. He started playing cello at the age of four. Several years later, after receiving an electronic keyboard for Christmas from his grandparents, Cordery asked his parents for piano lessons. “Luckily, they agreed,” he says. “I’ve been playing both instruments ever since.” Cordery is currently a freshman at Middlebury College in the piano studio of Professor Diana Fanning. He has performed as a soloist with symphonies in Illinois, North Dakota and Minnesota. He has
also performed in many groups, including the Illinois All-State Orchestras, the Central Illinois Youth Symphony, the Monmouth College Chamber Orchestra, the Knox College String Ensemble, the Maple City Dixieland Jazz Band and the Credo Festival Orchestra. But that’s not all. Cordery has also attended camps at prestigious music schools including Oberlin Conservatory and the Eastman School of Music, and has performed with chamber groups across the United States. He has been active in community groups as well, having served as music director of Grace Episcopal Church in Galesburg, IL, and as drum major of the Monmouth-Roseville Titans Marching Band. But Cordery is not just a talented musician. A recent high school graduate, he was valedictorian of his class, a member of the National Honor Society, and an Illinois State Scholar. At Middlebury, balancing his academic studies with his music can be challenging, but Cordery says it’s not as difficult as it might sound. “Since I am, and will be, taking music-related classes, often the two work together,” he explains. “I find it works quite well for me to schedule practice time for myself as if it’s a class. That way I can force myself to practice regardless of the academic workload at a specific SEE PIANO ON PAGE 13