Budding pianists get to play with one of the big boys

DARTMOUTH — The auditorium at Friends Academy grew still as the first notes of "Pachelbel's Canon" drifted over the audience.

With rows of children watching their every move, the two musicians sat hunched at the keyboard, intent only on the melody.

Half of this classical duet was the world-renowned pianist, Roberto Plano. Accompanying him was Thomas Chou, a Friends seventh-grader.

The Italian master had just arrived from Minnesota, where he had performed a Rachmaninoff "Concerto No. 2" with the Dakota Valley Symphony on Sunday. Thomas Chou was making his first public appearance.

There were parents and teachers present, along with three camera crews. No pressure.

"I was very nervous but it was a big thrill," said Thomas, who has been taking piano lessons since he was 6. "I have played Pachelbel before but I've never played with someone so talented. He was just amazing."

There were no outward signs of nerves as the 12-year-old pianist performed his part with aplomb, delivering a faithful rendition of the popular piece that dates from the late 17th century.

Plano, 32, has visited New Bedford before and performed as a soloist with the New Bedford Symphony Orchestra, which sponsored Tuesday afternoon's visit to Friends.

"We like to have musicians get out into the community so that people of all ages can see this kind of talent and dedication up close," said David Prentiss, CEO of the NBSO. "Roberto runs a piano school in Italy with his wife, so he's very dedicated to education. He wanted to meet with local children.

"NBSO's mission focuses on artistic excellence in the concert hall, music education programs for children and creating a community of music in the SouthCoast. Today was a perfect example of that."

The maestro also provided the students, from Grades 4-8, with two dazzling solo pieces, including Liszt's "Gondoliera," during which he asked them to visualize the movements accompanying a gondola's passage through the water.

The afternoon performance began with a minuet performed by 10 students from the Friends piano lab, in its inaugural year.

"I'm very proud of them. Some of the kids have never played a note on the piano until this year," said academy music teacher Jacqueline Maillet. "And to have the opportunity to sit this close to a world-renowned musician is just wonderful for all the students."

A question-and-answer session followed the performance, with Plano describing how his parents, who were not musical, gave him his first piano when he was just 3. "I spent hours playing it," he said. "I was lucky. I had perfect pitch, so I was able to play music without knowing how to read the score."

He later entered a conservatory to begin his formal studies and despite the anguish suffered from missing many soccer games with his friends, he stuck to his task.

"I confess I did not like to practice so much when I was your age," he told the students. "But when I was 13, I won my first competition and I realized that the piano was my life.

"But I didn't forget soccer. Four years ago, I founded the Italian national team for pianists," he said.

On Thursday, on the second leg of his NBSO visits, Plano will be at the Nativity Preparatory School in New Bedford and will also give a master class for UMass Dartmouth piano students the same day.

"It's nice to see these kinds of things for children. In Italy, there is no music program in the schools," said Plano, who will return to his home near Milan this weekend.