Samuel Deason calls Saskatchewan home, even though he鈥檚 currently engaged in some serious piano studies at the John Hopkins University鈥檚 Peabody Institute en route to a master鈥檚 degree in piano performance.聽
The Saskatoon-born pianist is currently preparing for one of the most demanding piano challenges, the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, which takes place in Forth Worth, Texas beginning on Feb. 17.聽
Deason will be one of 100 piano performers who will participate, with the hope of making it into the top 30 list for a second round.聽
鈥淚 applied for the competition, and then didn鈥檛 give it much thought until I found out I was chosen. It鈥檚 one of the biggest competitions we have in the world, so I want to give this my best shot,鈥� Deason said.聽
So he has selected his repertoire, and it is challenging, and the first half of the concert in Estevan on Jan. 29 at 7pm at St. Paul鈥檚 United Church will feature about 40 minutes of his prepared work, which he said is exciting and also mentally and yes, physically exhausting since it requires attention to musical details and intensity. That comes with Rachmaninoff鈥檚 work, like his Opus 39, he said. The concert will feature other composers like Grieg, Schumann and Bach.聽
鈥淚 find this music very magnetic and I hope the audience will too,鈥� he said.聽
Deason is not performing under the auspices of any supporting body such as the Organization of Saskatchewan Arts Council鈥檚 Stars for Saskatchewan. He has made his own appearance arrangements and has set up the Saskatchewan schedule to help him prepare for the Van Cliburn test.聽
With that in mind, St. Paul鈥檚 United Church has been booked for the evening, the prices at the door will be modest and Deason said there is a discounted $5 fee for any local young piano students who care to take in the concert.聽
鈥淚 owe that to them. I鈥檝e been a student myself, well, I still am since I hope to go on and get my doctorate degree, but it would be nice to see a few young piano students. It鈥檚 so much better playing in front of people like that.鈥澛�
Weyburn, Moose Jaw and Prince Albert are the other cities Deason will perform in during the tour which will bring him back home.聽
鈥淚鈥檝e been to Estevan before, but never played there. I鈥檓 just a Saskatchewan kid, who loves music, played football at Aden Bowman High School, and I miss it a lot because Saskatchewan is a place that gives someone the ability to play. OK, I don鈥檛 miss the real cold weather, that鈥檚 good, but around Christmas, I really got depressed when I couldn鈥檛 get back there,鈥� he said with a laugh. 鈥淪o I鈥檓 doing it now.鈥澛�
鈥淚 hope by the end of the performance, I鈥檒l be exhausted and I鈥檒l be even better rehearsed for the Fort Worth competition. I like to take risks sometimes when I play and it鈥檚 just great when it works. I won鈥檛 play it safe so I can only hope the audience will appreciate it because it will come with a little human spirit behind it. In fact the keyboard risk taking takes me back a bit to those old high school football days when you knew what to do, but weren鈥檛 sure of outcomes.鈥澛�
Deason entered two global competitions last year, taking a second place award in England and third place in a competition in New Zealand. It was something he had never done before, so was pleased with the results.聽
鈥淣ow I have other plans, like playing 100 concerts in Canada in 100 different cities and towns because I want to see all corners of the country, so I could do it that way,鈥� he added.聽
鈥淎gain, I would sure like to see some piano students in the audience. The price is right and I know I took advantage of special prices when I was a young piano student. I mean a family with three kids, can hardly afford to pay regular admission, that鈥檚 why I have that $5 admission for them. The more the better. Tickets will be available at the door the night of the concert,鈥� he said with a laugh, noting again how the mini-tour is being organized on a bare bones budget and plan. The music, he promises though, will be anything but a bare bones production.聽
