Making The Front page of Sanpete Messenger

Manti youth places first in national competition
By Alec Barton
03-18-09
MANTI—Manti is home to a national champion pianist.
Andrew Olsen, a junior at Manti High School, knows how to tickle the ivories well, as evidenced by his placing first in the National Federation of Music Clubs (NFMC) Stillman-Kelley competition.
Facing opposition from instrumentalists throughout the western states, Olsen went into the competition without much thought of winning.
“I really didn’t think I’d win at the state level,” Olsen said. “So the national competition wasn’t even on my mind.”
But it was on his mind last Friday when Olsen’s teacher, Nan Purcell, received an e-mail from the national chairman announcing he had placed first in the competition.
“I was really surprised,” Olsen said. “I guess it all paid off.”
A national championship isn’t something you come by every day. For Olsen, it meant extra practice. It meant more scales, more metronome climbs, more slow-motion practice and more practice away from the piano. Purcell is well-known, at least among her students, for requiring them to name chord progressions without actually playing them on the piano. That requires focus and dedication.
Essentially, Olsen said, it meant, “extra lessons and extra preparation.”
Olsen’s work did indeed pay off, and with more than just the satisfaction of accomplishment. Olsen will receive $1,000 for winning the national competition, in addition to the $400 he received for winning at the state level.
But more than anything, Olsen gained a new sense of confidence and determination that comes with recording 20 minutes of music—in one session.
“One of my pieces by Beethoven is nine minutes long,” Olsen said. “Recording a nine-minute song is really stressful, because you’re just waiting to make a mistake and have to start over.”
Olsen also performed pieces by Bach, Mendelssohn, Muczynski and Glenda Austin for the competition.
Through it all, Olsen’s teacher remained his most important mentor.
“Nan is like a second mother to me,” he said. “I don’t think I could ask for a better teacher.”
According to Olsen, Purcell paid for private recording sessions at Snow College and taught him extra lessons in preparation for the competition. She attended every recording session to offer him support.
“Preparing for such a competition takes dedication, commitment and plain hard work,” Purcell said. “Andrew had to practice several hours a day to achieve the level of performance expected of anyone entering the Stillman-Kelley competition. I am proud of him.”
To compete, Andrew memorized five songs, a total of 20 minutes in length, and recorded them in one, two-hour session. That didn’t leave a lot of time for mistakes. After recording, his CD was sent to national judges, who felt his performance was worthy of national honors.
“Andrew really buckled down and practiced extra hard for this,” Purcell said.
Olsen will graduate from high school next spring, and he plans to major in music.

(i don't know how true that last statement is but it would be cool if he did!! :)