A Different Beat A West Bloomfield teen puts her music on paper. LISA BRONSTEIN Special to the Jewish News 33 igh school sophomore Beth Kerwin recently attended a performance of the Bloomfield Hills Andover High School chamber ensemble at Oakland University. Although she is an accomplished pianist, Kerwin did not perform with the ensemble. She listened, perhaps with a more critical ear than other members audience, she performs in approximately eight recitals a year. But it was because of a personal tragedy that Kerwin turned to music as a creative and emotional outlet. Kerwin's cousin, Dani Brenner, was eight years older and a gifted performer. The two girls spent a lot of time togeth- er, and Kerwin admired her cousin's amazing voice and energetic spirit." Brenner spent two summers at the Interlochen camp for the performing arts in northern Michigan, and was attending the Children's Professional School in New York when she died in a car accident. Kerwin wanted to follow in her cousin's musical footsteps, so she also attended Interlochen. Kerwin sees her time at the camp as a turning point in her life. " "It was seeing all of the amazing talent at Interlochen where I really learned to appreciate the arts. Beth Kerwin Professional Help of the audience, because the 15-year-old Kerwin composed the music being played. Surprisingly, The Sabbath was written for a string quartet and clarinet, even though Kerwin only plays the piano. It was a long and sometimes painful road that brought Kerwin to that remarkable performance. Kerwin has always been involved in the arts. Since the age of 3, the West Bloomfield resi- dent has been taking both dance and singing lessons. A natural in front of an "I learned a lot about being comfortable in public and finding a stage presence from [Miss Barbara's] dance classes, but it was seeing all of the amazing talent at Interlochen where I really learned to appreciate the arts," she says. Deciding that dancing and singing just weren't enough, Kerwin turned to the piano. She enjoyed composing piano music and lyrics, and even wrote a song about cousin Dani, but had difficulty with her formal lessons because she did not find an instructor whose teaching methods fit her personality. She did not give up, and began studying with Erwin Krinsky. With Krinsky, Kerwin is re-learning the basics — essential piano techniques and how to read chord symbols and lead sheets. Under Krinsky's direction, Kerwin is "getting better, faster." But the music that Kerwin was writ- ing on her own was getting more corn- plex than she was even able to read. Kerwin's mother, Susan, began searching for another instructor. They found a match in Dr. Karl Boelter, a professor at Oakland University. For the past three years, Kerwin has also been studying with Dr. Boelter, learning theory and composition. In order to write for instruments other than piano, she has had to learn about differ- ent instruments, how they are played and their musical ranges. As her composition skills improved, Kerwin entered competitions. Last year, she learned from Cantor Stephen Dubov that her temple, Beth El, was conduct- ing a competition. Kerwin decided to write and enter a piece. "It was really a spur of the moment kind of thing," she says. After speaking with her grandparents on the phone one afternoon, the theme of the composition was born. Her work is a contemplation of Shabbat, and the meaning of the holiest day of the week. Part energetic, part slow and deliberate, Kerwin says The Sabbath was "the largest piece I have ever written." „ ?itaft. , 4 'Id, • • , . ;•?',10, .