feature
by Gabriella Ring
music is his passion
p
young pianist devotes time and energy to perfecting his talent.
teachers. Sherman's class is scheduled
ut Scott Sherman's iPod on me to practice."
shuffle and it's pretty likely
During the school year, he prac- for one hour, but usually goes as long
you'll hear classical giants tices 90 minutes to two hours per as 90 minutes because it's difficult to
like Chopin and Mozart. Sherman, day, on the weekends 2 to 2 1/2 hours get through all the material in the al-
16, of West Bloomfield competes per day. In the summer, he increas- lotted time period. Currently, he's a
competitively in classical piano es his practice time to 2 1/2 hours per learning a whole sonata, 'a piece 25
competitions in Michigan and at day. The day before a competition he minutes long that he must memorize.
Last year, Sherman worked on
could practice up to 4-5 hours to per-
the national level.
Ravel's Une Barque Sur L'Ocean (Ital-
His most recent performance was fect his pieces.
Once a week he attends piano class ian for "A Boat on an Ocean"). As he
this summer for his synagogue, Tem-
ple Beth El in Bloomfield Township, with Catherine Rollin, herself a corn- played, Rollin would write comments
where he played the first movement poser and author with many connec- on a photocopy of the piece in vari-
of Beethoven's Sonata in A flat Major tions in the music world. Rollin teach- ous colors, sometimes over the notes
es seminars and travels to teach other themselves, to give Sherman musical
Op.10.
feedback and advice.
Sherman began playing
"You literally can't
piano at age 5 and remem-
see the notes any more"
bers that the instrument was
Sherman said. "We liter-
not forced on him at all. He
ally go through copies
continued to play with the
and copies [of sheet mu-
encouragement of his par-
sic]. She has been such an
ents.
inspiration to me, it's un-
"When I got older my
believable. She's amaz-
parents told me, 'It's up to
ing to be with."
you to practice,'" he said.
Sherman loves com-
"They're not musical, but
peting and feeling "the
they have always encour-
most ecstasy that you
aged me and are very proud
could ever experience."
of me. But they do not make
He recalls playing at
me practice. They suggest it.
one competition at in a
I think that's why I've been
church at Hope College
so successful. It's all up to Scott Sherman at the piano with his teacher Catherine Raillna
in Holland, Mich. The stained-glass
windows, the grand piano and the at-
tentive audience made him feel as if
he were overflowing. "It was a mix-
ture of nervous and passion," he said.
"Passion partly has to have an ob-
session," he said. "It's what keeps you
going. It's what you're always into
and never can get enough of."
Sherman wants to take his passion
to college. He's currently looking at
applying to several conservatories
such as the Peabody Institute in Mas-
sachusetts, the Cleveland Institute of
Music in Ohio and possibly the Juil-
liard School in New York.
Conservatories focus on music-
minded students and are extremely
selective and intensive. Auditions in
front of a panel of judges are required
for admission, in addition to other
criterion such as playing for a certain
number of years.
"I think it's something that has al-
ways been in me,"
he said. "I've always
enjoyed it."
Gabriella Ring, 17, is a
senior at Berkley High
School.
helping others
by Mara Stein and Rachael Vettese
seeds with a purpose
Giving Gardens beautifies Yad Ezra and will yield produce for clients.
hroughout life, many indi-
viduals come up with life-
altering ideas — some are
put into actions; others are merely
passing thoughts. Shari Stein, ad-
junct professor at Lawrence Tech-
nological University in Southfield
and a local interior designer, was
given the opportunity to make her
vision a reality during a plane ride.
They say things happen for a rea-
son, and that was why Shari happened
to be sitting next to Elaine Ryke, op-
erations director at Yad Ezra, the ko-
sher food pantry in Berkley. Through
conversation, they realized they had
common goals: not only to beau-
tify the Yad Ezra facility, but also to
change the lives of its clientele.
Shari shared her vision for a "Giv-
ing Garden" with indoor and outdoor
plantings that would yield produce
for Yad Ezra clients and for a mural
to brighten the building's exterior.
She enlisted colleague Ralph Nunez,
a Lawrence Tech professor and local
landscape architect, to help.
With these ideas in mind, Shari and
Ralph put out an e-mail to Lawrence
Tech architecture students to see if
any would be interested in being part
of this exciting volunteer project.
Throughout the design phases,
Ralph opened his office (The Design
Team) in Southfield for the students
to come and work in a collaborative
environment.
The dream now has become a real-
TT2 teen2teen September 23 .2010
JN
ity. The students designed
innovative gardens to yield
large amounts of produce
for Yad Ezra. The gardens
are planned to surround Hard at work on the mural: Matt Puz, Lawrence Tech; Emma
the Yad Ezra facility. In ad- Dolan, Bloomfield HIils Groves; Alexander Chocron, Ales-
dition, the plans include in- sandra Early, Mara Stein, all Andover; Catty Dolan, Groves,
door plantings with hydro- Hannah Stein, Hillel Day School in Farmington Hills, Marley
ponics. This will allow Yad and Lindsey Beaver, Skyline, Ann Arbor. Paints donated by
Ezra to plant fresh produce Sherwin Williams.
year-round.
the community, this project will truly
Volunteers also are developing an grow. )
educational piece and are painted a
Rachael Vettese,
mural to brighten the outside of the
18, Is a senior and
building. Go to www.yadezra.org to
Mara
Stein, 16, is
learn more about Giving Gardens and
a
junior
at Bloom-
about how to volunteer for this proj-
field Hills Andover
ect. Donations to the project also can
High School.
be made online. With the support of
visit JNt2t.com