Sarah Catherine Pomeroy, attorney at law and pianist

My daughter Sarah is an amateur pianist.  She is 24 now, and started taking lessons when she was either 6 or 7.  I cannot recall exactly now, as the years have passed.  The piano has always been a part of Sarah's life, and I noticed her musicality even at a young age.

When I was a young mother, I had a book of Disney themes for the piano.  Sarah particularly enjoyed the theme to Winnie-the-Pooh, and the Mickey Mouse Club march.  Our piano was always in the living room, so there was a room completely devoted to the piano  Sarah would often sit on the little sofa in the living room and she often held a wooden stick.  Sarah would point the stick at me and command that I play Winnie - the - Pooh, or Mickey Mouse Club, and she would march around the room.  As soon as I stopped she would demand, that I play it again.

I often would sit her on my lap and point out the keys or the notes, or let her plink out any notes she wanted while I played.  Sarah was fascinated with the instrument, and quickly decided that she wanted to take lessons.

I think she started lessons with the amazing Madeline Karn in 1st or 2nd grade.  Sarah seemed to pick up the piano quickly, and along with her Piano Adventures series of books, I always made sure that Sarah also had a book or piece of music that she chose.  I remember when she had a beginning book of "Peanuts" music, and how much that book influenced her playing.  In fact I think she has a real talent for jazz piano playing, and I could see her taking that talent to another level at some point in her life.

Sarah's lessons continued through school, and sports and marching band.  Piano was simply part of her life, and she never waivered in her commitment to the instrument.  As she progressed, Sarah often practiced while I was making dinner.  I may have been sautee-ing chicken, but I was also listening to a steady progression of Bach, and Beethoven and Schubert, along with Disney tunes and songs from Broadway shows.

Sarah's teacher Madeline Karn did not have a yearly piano recital to my regret, but when Sarah was a senior she did perform a senior recital.  At first, when I saw her ambitious program I started to get heart palpitations, but as I listened to her practice I saw that the program was something she could accomplish.

The evening of her recital I was so touched by the people in attendance, relatives, friends, some of her teachers....it was so incredible.  Sarah started the evening playing Always, which was my mom's favorite song.  My mom had died in 2004, and the recital was in 2008, so she was unable to attend.
It was simply so incredible.

Sarah played Schubert, Scott Joplin, and many other incredible pieces.  She also did her own rendition of Take Five by Dave Brubeck...it was a wonderful evening.

Sarah just graduated from law school at Ohio State this past week.  She is studying for the bar examination now, and I think piano playing will consist of short intervals to play out her stress. Sarah is moving to Washington DC in October and I am going to miss the impromptu dinner time concerts.  She kept the piano side of her on the "down low" throughout law school, but she did play at the law school talent show, and I hope that her law colleagues, saw that it is the piano that really makes her the incredible person she is today.  When she is at the piano, she goes to a deep musical place, to spread the joy that she feels about this beloved instrument.

For some reason when she is at the piano, she isn't Sarah the student, or Sarah the leader, or Sarah the extrovert, instead she is a vehicle to play out the musical message, taking the essence of the music, to the people she cares so much about.  By playing the piano, she is saying, forget everything you think about me and what you preconceive about me, and listen to the music I am creating for you.

Right now she is planning to buy a piano and take it with her to Washington DC.  I would like to think that someday she will trade me, and I will take her small apartment piano to an assisted living facility and she will take my beautiful, black, six- foot Baldwin Grand to a wonderful home where music and the piano will be the center of her family's home and life.

Jule Styne

I made the grand assumption that Jule Styne composed the music for "I'm Flying" for Peter Pan, in part because he composed "Never Never Land."  Well I was wrong.  "I'm Flying was composed by Mark Charlap and the Lyrics were by Carolyn Leigh.

I have a wonderful book of Peter Pan music, that was published by the Edwin H. Morris and Company and distributed by Hal-Leonard.  The book has Mary Martin on the cover, so I would like to think that this book of music is close to the original score.  Mary Martin and I share a birthday December 1, so I have always had an affinity for her musicality, her singing, in a traditional Broadway style.

So what is it about "I'm Flying"  Well it is in the key of B -Flat, which is a relatively easy key to sight-read.  Also, the piece buildings in momentum, as if you were flying while playing it.

In the words of an amateur, it is the kind of piece that "can get away from you."  So if you start off in a slow tempo, you probably shouldn't be finishing in a much faster tempo.  So, on some level, it is a good piece to work on controlling the metronome speed you originally set for yourself.

In contrast, there is the great Jule Styne piece "Never Never Land."  It is a beautiful ballad in the key of F and in 4/4 time cut.  It is a piece that if played as written, it sends a very clear message.  It is also a piece that many play in a manner different from what is written, and that may take away from the story the ballad is telling.  On page 2 of my version, in measure 6 there is a pause that should be emphasized...the lyric is "For once you have found your way there  PAUSE you can never, never grow old.  The pause must be emphasized, because the result is the concept of never growing old, although we all do.

There are also dotted eighth notes followed by a sixteenth, if that tempo is not clearly followed, the measures can sound rather sing -songy....referring to the words "Just think of lovely things, and your heart will fly on wings, ....etc"

I never tire of this ballad, I think it can set the tone for a calm and peaceful set of music, if you are playing after a dinner party.

The book is one I cannot part with, under any circumstances.