Willy at Carnegie Hall

[willy]

Thought you guys would get a kick out of this, my 8 year old nephew Carmen, doesn't come up to my belt buckle went thru an arduous competition the past eight months competing for the opportunity to be one of twenty kids playing at Carnegie Hall in individual solo concerts.
he is playing very complex Bach, Beethoven type pieces. No sheet music allowed.
My little buddy did and last night our whole family attended to be with a very proud mama and papa(my wifes brother) to see him play. He was absolutely magnificent.
The competition spans PA, NJ, NY Conn. The kids in four different age groups are narrowed down to four in each.
The playing we heard last night was masterful.
My two sons with their Cousin, Mr. Carmen Scialla


Outside Carnegie at the Russian Tea Room


Carmen with the other winners after the concert


Absolutely unbelievable the music that was performed with not a single note off by any of them.
Carmen was the only non Asian in the concert.

[lumberslinger178]

very cool willy ..... we wish his the best!!!

[randlemanboater]

WOW! That is quite an accomplishment.

[garagenc]

Congrats Willy I know you must be proud.

[willy]

I am very close with my two brother in laws, Carmen has his Doctorate in Music and teaches at one of the Colleges here in NJ.
He was a fabulous concert pianist himself, I turned and looked at him sitting in the audience a couple of rows back when Carmen Jr. finished his last piece perfectly and I believe if you wanted a photograph to describe Pride, you had the perfect image right there.

[step up here]

Fantastic Willy
such a great start for his future years congrats to Carmen and all his family

[phatdaddy]

what a feat at such a young age. we can't do stuff like that around here, some yahoo in the back will stand up and yell "Freebird"

[willy]

That's funny Phat, but to be honest with you you could here a pin drop. Not only were the younger ones absolutely amazing but the young teens, men and women to age 17 playing such powerful difficult pieces from the masters so precisely and with such passion that it was simply awe inspiring to be in the same room with them.
I am not a big fan of classical music generally speaking, some of it I find beautiful, but most seems to me to be an astronomical exercise is mans ability to master the complex.
I witnessed kids who have mastered it and the faces of the people in the theater said it all, awesome.

[spareparts]

well. ya know, "Free Bird" does start out with a piano intro...I'm just saying...

[reelapeelin]

Willy, you and your entire family must be very proud of that young man...and with good reason!!...talent goes a long way, but obviously a lot of HARD WORK went into his level of play as well...BRAVO!!...