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Pianist graduates from 'Mary Had a Little Lamb' to Beethoven's Emperor Concerto By
Kalleen Kidd
Marianne Oldham was 5 when she made her first public performance. She sat on a pile of pillows with her feet resting on a stool so her legs didn't dangle. "I wasn't scared. I was just playing the piano," said Oldham. On a black grand piano she played a 20-minute piece comprised of children's folk songs such as London Bridge, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star and Mary Had a Little Lamb. Now, 16 years later, Oldham will perform Beethoven's Emperor Concerto, 1st movement, at 7:30 Monday in the Kent Concert Hall. She is playing in a concert featuring the winners of the 2001 Utah State University Student Concerto Competition. Oldham started playing the piano at a young age because her mother had heard about the Suzuki Method and wanted to try it. The Suzuki Method is a style of music education developed in the middle of the 20th century by Japanese violinist Shinichi Suzuki. Dr. Suzuki taught that the most effective way to learn to play an instrument is to be exposed to it from a very early age because young children can learn to play the same way they learn their own language, by listening, absorbing and copying. There are six books in the Suzuki Method; Oldham finished them when she was 11 years old. Dr. Suzuki developed this method to help children become good people, not professional musicians. He once said, "Teaching music is not my main purpose. I want to make good citizens, noble human beings. If a child hears fine music from the day of his birth, and learns to play it himself, he develops sensitivity, discipline and endurance. He gets a beautiful heart." Oldham believes that playing the piano has played a huge role in her character development. "Music teaches you to be self motivated, it teaches you that you are in control," said Oldham. Although Oldham started playing the piano at a young age, it has not always been the main focus of her life. Growing up she also took violin, gymnastics and ballet lessons. During her years at Davis High School, in Kaysville, piano practice time would be squeezed between other activities such as cheerleading. Still today she takes time out for other activities. Oldham is the reigning Miss Davis County. With her position she became the co-founder of Donate a Phone in Utah. She works with the organization in collecting old cell phones for women who are in danger of being abused. The cell phones will be reprogrammed and given to women who can receive help at the touch of a button. Oldham is the second youngest in a family with seven children. Everybody in her family plays the piano and at least one other instrument. Instruments played by the family include the violin, the saxophone, the trombone and the guitar. Oldham grants that a lot of her family's success is due to music. Not all of her siblings have completed their education. But among those that have are an engineer, an investment banker, a lawyer and an orthopedic surgeon. "Music helps you to develop the attributes that make people successful," said Oldham. Originally, Oldham planned to attend Brigham Young University and earn a degree in secondary education, but two months before school began she made a switch. She decided that she wanted to graduate in piano performance. "I thought it was something I could be really good at and I love it," Oldham said. So she came to Utah State, because she believed it had a better music department. "It is one of my favorite things. You have to love it, or it is a waste of time," Oldham said. Oldham spends almost 12 hours a day working with a piano. She says the Fine Arts building is like a second home, even though she spends more time there than she does at home. Her day is filled with attending classes, teaching classes and private lessons, practicing, listening to audiotapes and watching movies on music. "Sure, I get sick of it, I find myself asking, why are you doing this? I can't even tell you how many times I've said I wanted to quit," said Oldham. Actually, she said she's never really been serious about quitting. "I say it out of frustration. When it comes down to it I realize this is what I love, so why not spend my life doing what I love," said Oldham. Oldham usually practices four hours a day. Unlike a team practice, this time is spent in a small room with only the company of her piano. "It's hard. There are days when you want to be a typical college student, to go outside and play volleyball," said Oldham. Becca Gibson, Oldham's roommate, said that there are lots of times when her and her other roommates could not talk Oldham into skipping practice. "She is really strong," said Gibson. "One weekend we wanted to go hiking, but she had to practice for a wedding or something, it didn't matter what we said to her, she went and practiced anyway." It is a rare occasion when Oldham takes time out to go have fun, but she tries to keep a positive attitude about her busy life. "Lately I haven't had time to go and play in the park or go roller-blading," said Oldham. "But when you don't have time for that, you make everything else fun, so that everything you do becomes play time." Oldham says that she doesn't like doing competitions, and the only reason she participated in the Concerto Competition was because she had the piece ready to go. She learned Beethoven's Emperor Concerto because she liked it and had always wanted to learn it. "I am not shooting to be a professional. I just want to be the best I can be," Oldham said. Oldham has one more year to complete her piano performance major. She is not positive on what she would like to do when she is done. It's a possibility that she will get a teachers certificate so she can conduct in a high school. • • • Editor's note: Small world. The author appends this personal note on an unusual coincidence: learning that the subject of her assigned news story was strangely familiar to her. While interviewing Oldham I discovered that a few years ago I, by chance, had the opportunity to watch the Oldham family play together. On Independence Day in 1997, I was traveling on I-15 with my two of my brothers and a friend when our car broke down. Stranded on the side of the road we sat wondering what to do, when a man and his son stopped to help us. They offered to take us to their home where we could call our parents and wait for a ride. We took him up on his offer not knowing what else to do. As we arrived we realized that we were interrupting their family party. But they didn't let us feel like intruders, everyone welcomed us and made us feel at home. After inviting us to eat lunch with them, they asked us to join in on what they said was a family tradition. Everybody pulled out their instrument of choice and the family began playing songs to celebrate the holiday. Songs like Yankee Doodle and God Bless America were played. On some songs everyone played, on others some would just sing along. It wasn't a performance for them they were just having fun. We were welcomed to join in on the fun. Not only did they encourage us to sing along they also asked us to play along giving us toy instruments such as a plastic drum or a tambourine. Although I have no musical talent at all, I had a great time with this amazing family
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