Key to musical success

Tyson Wunderlich's last piano recital took place more than a year ago, which is a long time considering he graduated with a degree in piano performance from Southeast Missouri State University.

Since his 2003 graduation, Wunderlich has been studying conducting at the New England Conservatory in Boston, Mass. When he got the itch to play piano again, Wunderlich decided the best place for a return concert was Cape Girardeau.

Wunderlich is originally from Altenburg, Mo., and attended high school in Perryville, Mo.

At the age of 10 he started taking piano lessons and by the seventh grade, he was attending the university's music academy, where he worked on theory and performance once a week.

"My first year was a little shaky, it was foreign ground," he said. It was also when Wunderlich asked himself how seriously he wanted to take his piano playing.

"My mother was running me to Cape once a week and paying the big bucks, it needed to pay off," he said.

Upon entering college, Wunderlich declared an education major, but he switched to piano performance after his third semester when he realized he loved performing.

He got in a lot of piano performances while he was in college with the university allowing him to perform in five to 10 recitals a semester. He also served as an organist for the Trinity Lutheran Church in Altenburg.

Wunderlich also found time to continue teaching piano lessons, which he started doing in 10th grade. By his senior year in college, Wunderlich had 20 students that he taught five days a week.

In college, Wunderlich was introduced to conducting through a class taught by retired music teacher Dr. Robert Gifford. Soon Wunderlich was taking private conducting lessons from Gifford.

"It was very motivating," Wunderlich said. "I was seeing where piano and conducting could relate."

In the first year of pursuing his master of music degree in conducting at the New England Conservatory, Wunderlich had little chance to play piano.

Before going into his second and final year at the conservatory, Wunderlich wanted to return to his first musical love -- the piano. About three months ago he started playing again and thought about putting on a concert at his alma mater, Southeast Missouri State University.

"I thought it would be a good chance for me to come home and play," he said.

According to Wunderlich, his playing has not suffered at all from his time away from the piano, although he said the muscles he had built up from years of playing were gone and he has had to do exercises to build them back up.

Wunderlich said the concert "is a good overview of expressive German piano music."

He will perform J.S. Bach's "Partita No. 3 in A Minor," Ludwig van Beethoven's "Sonata No. 30 in E Major (Op. 109)," Robert Schumann's "Faschingsschwank aus Vien (Op. 26)" and Arnold Schoenberg's "Three Piano Pieces."

"These pieces come from the heart," Wunderlich said. "I want the audience to pick that up. I'm really looking forward to doing this and my goal is to get the emotional part of this music across."

kalfisi@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 182

Want to go?

What: Tyson Wunderlich piano recital

When: 8 p.m.

Where: Academic Auditorium