Guest pianist wows small audience

Sitting in the small Colton Recital Hall, the few, but excited crowd members waited for pianist Kevin Ayesh to perform.

Ayesh has received degrees from both the University of Texas and the University of Maryland, and is a professor at Blue Ridge Community College in Virginia.

Music students, professors and members of the community came to hear him play Feb. 22, and they weren’t disappointed. Some of them were young students who would be competing in Genevieve Truran High School Piano Competition, and wanted to hear the man who would be judging them.

Ayesh gave a quick bow before sitting down and playing. His body swayed with the melody in perfect sync, be it happy, mellow or angry. He played a number of musical pieces, from Mozart’s Andante cantabile to more modern pieces like Robert Starer’s 1948 Five Caprices.

During the intermission, music minor and future pianist teacher Katey Keifer said the show was impressive.

“Brahm’s Intermezzo is my favorite piece,” she said. “I’ve played it before and consider it a very beautiful piece.”

Music Professor Susan Grey, who was in charge of organizing the event, also said she enjoyed it.

“He invited a colleague of mine, Susanne Skyrme, to play at a venue on the east coast, so in turn he was invited to perform here,” Gray said.

It was also for this reason, besides his considerable skill, he was asked to be a judge for the upcoming piano competition.

After the show,  Ayesh said his love for music began at a young age.

“Ever since I was a kid, I loved to bang my hands on my neighbor’s keys,” he said. “I began officially learning in the third grade, won my first competition in the fifth grade and by the sixth grade, I had performed my first solo concerto.”

Ayesh had a lot of advice for music students.

“The first and foremost reason you do this is because you love it, regardless of whether it is a hobby or professional,” he said. “Ultimately, that’s the thing you have to ask yourself in the end.”