New arcticle (with photos and @don El Paso Indigo/Araignée video)
Bear hug: 13-year-old pianist Emily Bear puts her heart into music
wcfcourier.com/lifestyles/bear-hug--year-old-pianist-emily-bear-puts-her/article_c1217ff4-a1c0-5544-b159-05445c322442.html"Emily Bear loves baking cookies, brownies, banana bread with chocolate chips and cakes with homemade frosting.
Her dog Winston, a fluffy mini golden-doodle, is always good for a cuddle and makes her laugh.
She has an invisible cat, too, hopeful that she can talk her mom into eventually letting her have the real thing.
And when she’s nervous or hyper before a performance, Bear turns cartwheels backstage.She’s only 13, after all.
Bear, who lives in Rockford, Ill., is the rather astonishing pianist, composer and arranger who began setting the musical world on fire as a toddler. Listeners and critics alike have fallen in love with her "open-hearted, melodic soul."
She will make her Cedar Valley debut in concert Saturday at the Gallagher-Bluedorn Performing Arts Center in Cedar Falls.
Bear started playing piano at 2, wrote her first composition at 3, began formal piano lessons at 5, and at 6, became the youngest recipient of ASCAP’s young composer award.
She has five original sheet music songbooks distributed worldwide, and so far, has recorded six CDs featuring original music. Her most recent, “Diversity,” was produced by Quincy Jones and recorded in the same studio where Jones recorded "Bad" with Michael Jackson.
Jones describes Bear as “delightful ... astounding … the complete 360-degree package."
The CD peaked at No. 3 on Billboard's traditional jazz albums chart. A portion of proceeds from her CDs and songbooks is donated to charity.
She's performed at the world’s most famous concert venues and events, including Carnegie Hall, Hollywood Bowl and Lincoln Center, as well as Art on Ice in Zurich. She was only 6 when she played at the White House for President George W. Bush.
Like most girls, she sometimes suffers angst over what to wear.
“The clothes part happens all the time,” Bear said, with a laugh. “When I look back, there are a few years that might be more awkward than others.”One of the coolest things she did last year, she says, was perform at the ASCAP Centennial Awards in New York City, along with Billy Joel, Stevie Wonder and Sting.
“That was absolutely incredible, and such an honor to be asked to play in front of all those musicians and songwriters. I was more excited than I was nervous, I think."
Growing up in the public eye has given her some amazing experiences and “a bunch of opportunities I probably wouldn’t have gotten anywhere else. It’s so much fun to inspire people when I’m performing, to share music with other people.”
At 7, the classically trained pianist was performing Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 23 K488, followed by the Schumann Piano Concerto in A Minor, and most recently “Rhapsody in Blue” by Gershwin.
“I started playing that with orchestras last fall. It’s one of my dream pieces, and finally my hands were large enough to play it. Gershwin mixes together everything and represents what I do — classical, jazz, pop,” Bear explained.
Her parents, Andrea and Brian, help her choose venues appropriate for her age and accomplishments. The youngest of three children, Bear is home-schooled, and when she’s not traveling or performing, she studies and does her homework.
The musician also spends 2 or 3 hours a day practicing piano, not to mention writing music and doing things any 13-year-old girl does, like watching movies and shopping. She volunteers at local animal shelters and makes jewelry, too.
“I get inspired by different things, like what’s happening, or something I’ve seen or done. I like writing a lot of different styles of music — pop, jazz, Latin, anything. I listen to everything, and I like writing what I want. I like hearing new pieces come alive when those first notes get played by an orchestra. That’s fun.”
She’s written music for national advertising campaigns, including Weight Watchers’ “Simple Start” and loves composing film scores. As far as she’s concerned, the sky is the limit.
“Who knows where music will take me? I can see myself singing, writing more film scores, playing with orchestras and performing anything and everything,” Bear enthuses.
Her summer promises to be exciting. “We’re going to Germany to play at the Stuttgart Jazz Festival, open for Dave Sanborn, headline a separate show and open for a big French act.
“I’m hoping to put some things together for a new CD, and I’m really, really, looking forward to summer camp again because it's fun,” she added."
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