Nielson & Young Review and Interview
MUAP 1171, 2171, 3271, 4271:  Accompanying

Nielson & Young, renowned duo-pianists, performed in concert on Sunday, September 27 in Tyler.  Appearing as a part of Marvin Methodist Church’s Marvin Concert Series, Stephen Nielson and Ovid Young delighted audiences with their diverse programming, their relaxed conversational presentation, and their deft, brilliant pianism.

Pianist and composer Stephen Nielson performs internationally both as a duo-pianist and soloist.  He and wife Caroline live in Dallas, where his piano students include his two small daughters.

Dr. Ovid Young enjoys a diverse international career as pianist, composer, organist, and conductor. He combines those diverse talents with a new artist-in-residence position in Olivet Nazarene University in Bourbonnais, Illinois, where he resides with his wife Laura.

Selections for the program, chosen from their wide range of repertoire, included several selections from their well-known sacred hymn arrangements.  Drawing from standard Christian hymnody, the duo played familiar duo-piano and piano/organ hymns reflecting a wide range of styles, from the contemplative to the joyous.   Their programming also drew from the Classical piano and orchestral repertoire and even from Broadway.  A medley of familiar themes from Mozart’s “Turkish Rondo”, Grieg’s “Wedding Day at Troldhaugen” and Bizet’s “Le Bal”, and later a medley from Lloyd Webber’s Phantom of the Opera seemed in particular to thrill the audience.

From their opening hymn medley to their rousing encore setting of “Stars and Stripes Forever”, Nielson & Young crafted a rich, varied and entirely pleasing concert.  UT Tyler’s Stephanie Kingsley and Marck Madulid caught up with the duo following their concert for a brief interview, speaking first with Dr. Young and then with Mr. Nielson.

UTT:  Are you only duo-pianists, or do you also perform solo?
OVID YOUNG:  We do perform as soloists, but we perform collaboratively far more often.

UTT:  How do you choose your repertoire?
YOUNG:  The choice depends a lot on where we are playing and to what kind of audience.  We draw from a large repertoire, and choose from that material, tailoring it to the audience, venue, and occasion for which we’ll be playing.

UTT:  How do you practice, both at home and on the road?
YOUNG:  Practice time has always been limited.  We practice very little on the road; we just do a few touch-ups on site before the performance, time permitting.

The key is listening.  Most preparation turns out to be individual preparation so as to not waste the other’s time.  Things discussed before practicing include tempo flexibility, rubato:  things not usually printed in the music.  After working together so long, we are pretty good at reading each other’s signals during the performance.  It’s not unlike a marriage, where you get to know your mate very well.

UTT:  Your programs are almost entirely performed from memory.  How do you memorize?

YOUNG:  The capacity to memorize increases with doing.  Success with short pieces gives you courage and self-assurance for bigger things.  It’s a cumulative process.  Re-memorizing takes much less work than the initial process.  Use all senses to help with secure memorization:  sight, motor, aural.

STEPHEN NIELSON (joining the interview):  Memorization processes vary with the repertoire:  some have patterns, others don’t.  Try memorizing back-to-front.  Separate the hands.  Also, a chunk at the back, a chunk at the front helps with feeling more secure with the material.

UTT:  How do you choose who gets which piano, since the quality can vary?

NIELSON:  We adapt to the material, and like to trade midway through the concert as we did today.  Though both pianos were fine instruments today, we do like to provide the audience with a view of both performers, so we usually make this switch in all concerts.

UTT:  How do you deal with nerves?

NIELSON:  It’s seldom a problem for us after performing for so many years.  Concerning young students, it’s notable that the fear of failure is absent in young children, and increases with age.  For younger kids, distractions are an issue.  All should memorize very thoroughly and play very slowly at first.   Older kids need lots of advance notice, sometimes months, before a performance.  For adults, taking a beta blocker to reduce nerves can be an alternative.

UTT:  As we asked Dr. Young, how do you find time to practice?

NIELSON:  You have to log it in chunks.  There is no miracle answer, and unfortunately it gets harder as you grow.

UTT:  How does your performing and travel schedule affect your family life?

NIELSON & YOUNG:  Unlike most people in the 9-to- 5 Monday through Friday world, most of our work is on weekends.  Our families must be willing to understand that this is what we do.   On all sides, sacrifices have to be made.

Stephanie Kingsley and Marck Madulid are UT Tyler music majors.  Their concert review and interview were an assignment for MUAP 4271, Accompanying.  Instructor for the course is Judy Wilkins, who compiled and edited their submitted material.