Why I Came to LMF

Confession time: I came to Lyceum Music Festival with a motivation that probably wasn’t as pure as everyone else’s.  Or maybe it was the same. Who knows? Either way, the first year that I came to Lyceum Music Festival was 2013. The guest artist that year was the Piano Guys.  Since I was a huge fan of them, I thought that an opportunity to play with them was not something I could pass up. With the thought of performing on the same stage as the Piano Guys exciting me, I auditioned for Lyceum Music Festival.  I’m mainly a pianist, but since the piano position was already taken by Jon Schmidt himself, I auditioned on Viola. When I auditioned, I had no idea what level the other musicians I played with would be at. I auditioned on a fairly simple piece, but not too easy.  However, the director emailed me back and decided that, though my piece wasn’t quite at the advanced level he was looking for, he would give me another shot. With that in mind, I quickly learned another piece, this time at the level he was looking for, and I got in.  I don’t remember much from that day, but I do remember that I was ecstatic. After all, I was going to perform with the Piano Guys! Who wouldn’t be excited about that?

When I got the music, I realized just what I was getting myself into.  One of the pieces that year was Copland’s Appalachian Spring, which was literally one of the hardest orchestral pieces I had played in my life.  The constant tempo changes, key changes, and other shenanigans of the piece were enough to keep me on my toes for the rest of the summer.

Finally, the festival came.  I remember how excited I was to play with the Piano Guys.  I admit that I probably didn’t care as much about all the other stuff I was about to do that week as I should have.  However, by the end of the week, I realized how fun this opportunity had been. I was so grateful that I was able to participate in Lyceum Music Festival.  I decided that I wanted to go again another year, and this time, audition on piano.

It was by this time that I was checking most days of the year after the festival to find out who the next guest artist would be.  The year after the Gruppmans, it was William Joseph, a well-known pianist who had been discovered several years earlier by David Foster.  Once again, I couldn’t miss this. The only difference for me between each of the festivals was that this year, I would be living in Utah during the time period that the camp was going on.  In the years before, I had been living in Bellevue, Washington, a city in Western Washington near Seattle.  

The camp rolled around, and it was once again amazing.  I actually got to ask William Joseph if I could improvise on the piano with him, and he actually said yes, which was awesome.  It was a nerve-wracking, but awesome experience. Eventually, the festival came to an end, and I came to realize that that would probably be my last year at Lyceum Music Festival, since I was applying to college music programs.

A better experience than I could have hoped for!

I was pleasantly proved wrong.  Around 2 years later, I was a student majoring in Piano Performance at Brigham Young University, when I was contacted by Kayson, the director of the camp.  He told me that he wanted me to come back and play piano for the camp, with the guest artist being Nathan Pacheco, a rather well-known singer. This meant that I would be playing for Nathan Pacheco, as an accompanist, as well as with the orchestra.  I was ecstatic, and I gratefully accepted the opportunity.  

This time, the camp was near Zion’s National Park in St. George.  We went through the rehearsals, the activities, and the other shenanigans as normal.  When the time came for Nathan to show up, I was very excited. Turns out, my excitement was met with absolute satisfaction.  Not only did I get to play for Nathan Pacheco, but during a sectional rehearsal, I got to rehearse one-on-one with Nathan, which was a wonderful experience that I learned a lot from.  Eventually, the concert and video shoot came around, and it turned out wonderfully. I went home that week feeling very satisfied. I knew I couldn’t participate in Lyceum again, since I was 21 when the experience with Nathan Pacheco happened, but there are many things I learned from my years at Lyceum.

What I Learned

One thing that Lyceum taught me was how to have fun with music.  Every day and week that I was at Lyceum Music Festival I had fun.  Not just in the extracurricular activities, but in the music making as well.  Sure, my back seemed to hurt a lot by the end of each rehearsal, but it was all worth it.  Another thing that Lyceum helped me realize was that I didn’t want to be a classical musician.  I know that sounds counterintuitive, since a lot of the music learned at Lyceum is classical. However, during the time at the camp that we hosted musicians that were not strictly classical, we played pieces that normally wouldn’t be played in a classical orchestral setting.  Those were the pieces I had most fun on. Sure, I had fun on the classical pieces too, but I had the most fun on the pieces that were not strictly classical. All of this played a big factor in me deciding to switch my major at Brigham Young University from piano performance to commercial music.  That was one of the best decisions I ever made. I have had so much fun with commercial music, and Lyceum Music Festival played a huge part in setting me down that path. I loved every minute that I was in Lyceum Music Festival, and I hope that those who are on the fence about going will seriously consider going.  It is an experience you will never forget; and who knows?  Maybe it will play a part in a career path selection, just as it did with me.