Pianist Jaeden Izik-Dzurko will be playing in the big leagues this weekend.
The 14-year-old won a concerto competition at the Kamloops Performing Arts Festival last March. The prize is performing with the Kamloops Symphony on Dec. 14 and 15.
In order to win the prestigious competition, Jaeden had to perform one movement of the Schuman Piano Concerto in A Minor, Op. 54.
The concerto, published in 1845 as a one-movement Fantasy for Piano and Orchestra, established itself as one of the most popular and oft-recorded piano concertos.
“It’s relatively difficult,” says the teen, who performed against one other pianist in the first round.
After winning the round, Jaeden performed with accompanist Joseph Dansereau, another pianist, in Kamloops’ Sagebrush Theatre against a violinist and clarinetist in the Highlights Concert for the Kamloops Music Festival.
Jaeden will be performing the Schumann concerto, a work for solo and orchestra.
“I am very excited, it’s my first time ever performing as a soloist with an orchestra,” he says enthusiastically. “And since the competition I have had a lot of time to hone it.”
Jaeden tries to practise four to five hours daily for a weekly total of about 35 to 40 hours.
“Some weekends I do more than that; for that concerto, I’ve been speeding a lot of time doing lots of precision work,” he says, pointing out he has been practising the piece more often as the concert gets closer. “I was practising the same amount of time every day, but have a lot of other festivals and competitions to practise for.”
Looking at the year ahead, Jaeden says he will definitely enter the Kamloops Festival again, but plans for other competitions are still tentative.
“I absolutely love it! What I really like about it is the sense of discovery whenever you find a new piece that you like or start learning something big,” he says of his repertoire. “It was really exciting to begin learning the Schumann concerto. I started learning it in September 2012 but kept it on the back burner while I was learning other pieces.”
A confirmed music lover, most of the genres he likes are in the classical field.
“I like listening to symphonies and opera. I feel that a lot of the knowledge I have gained from my piano studies, but also the rudimentary studies I do,” he says. “They contribute to my listening, in that I find it much more interesting to listen to these compositions because I hear something I’ve been learning, like different harmonies or forms.”
Jaeden currently works with two teachers – Marjorie Duncan in Salmon Arm and Arnie Sahlen at the Vernon Community Music School.
Playing piano since he was five, Jaeden gave up swimming in order to devote more time to piano.
“I plan to do some skiing this year but honestly, it’s difficult to find free time. Most of my time is spent at the piano,” says the teen, who plans on making a music his profession.
Meanwhile, as one of the youngest winners of the annual Kamloops Symphony award since it started 20 years ago, Jaeden is billed as a guest on the symphony’s annual “feast of Christmas fun.”
The show takes place at 7:30 p.m. Dec. 14 and 2 p.m. Dec. 15 at the Sagebrush Theatre.
Tickets are available at Kamloops Live! by calling toll free to 1-866-374-5483 or online at www.kamloopslive.ca.
