Edgewood 4th Graders Inspired by Pianist at Grace Church

Edgewood 4th graders were treated to a special mid-day concert at Grace Church, White Plains this past Wednesday featuring an artist internationally recognized for her talent as a concert pianist. Leann Osterkamp, who just turned 21, entertained William Reilly and Joann Mraz’s classes for just under an hour and then spent a good 20 minutes taking questions from the audience.

Osterkamp was born in Boulder, Colorado and has performed as a solo and chamber artist across the U.S. and Europe (including the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., the Baryshnikov Center in New York City and the Prosels Castle in Vols am Schlern, Italy). Most recently Miss Osterkamp was the 2010 Finalist in the New York International Piano Competition. She came as a guest in the Downtown Music at Grace* (White Plains) concert series, which sponsors free noonday concerts each Wednesday throughout the year.

Downtown Music’s musical director and founder Tim Lewis felt that this particular concert would connect with young people as Leann Osterkamp grew up doing many of the things that Scarsdale’s children do (soccer, gymnastics, band) and then pursued her passion for playing the piano. The Edgewood 4th graders learned during the question & answer session that Miss Osterkamp, curiously enough, included in her musical “arsenal”: the kazoo, the xylophone (she was part of her school’s marching band) and the trumpet. The piano, the audience would learn, was something that she’s been studying since she was 7 years old. 10,000 hours later Leann Osterkamp can claim to be one of the rising stars in the world of classical music (a student in the audience asked her whether or not she had put in that many hours of practice time – ostensibly this child was told by his music teacher that that was what it would take to get to Julliard – where Osterkamp is currently studying under Julian Martin).

The actual program included pieces by Debussy, Beethoven and Chopin. Between each selection Miss Osterkamp took time out to speak about the music and encouraged the children to use their imaginations while listening (the Debussy piece – “Poissons d’or” (goldfish) – was of particular interest). Despite the sophisticated nature of the music being performed, it was clear that the children were engaged (many were actually fingering imaginary keyboards along with the music). The Q&A session ran over the allotted time (Miss Osterkamp was visibly delighted at the level of enthusiasm). The concert ended with the presentation of flowers by students from Mr. Reilly and Ms. Mraz’s classes.

4th grade teacher William Reilly and Principal Scott Houseknecht get much credit for supporting this outing (the first group of local students to have attended this concert series). Reilly, an actor with an extensive Broadway background, was quick to accept an invitation to expose the children to such a high level of musical talent. Principal Houseknecht , the creator of the “Classical Café” – a music series dating back almost 10 years (which was designed to create a forum for elementary school students to perform in front of their peers) was also very supportive of providing the children with this cultural opportunity.

Funding for the transportation of the children was underwritten by ArtsWestchester with funds from Westchester County. The free noonday concerts will take place every Wednesday until the end of May ( www.DTMusic.org ). Please contact Tim Lewis at 949-0384 for further information.