THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, November 4, 1994 TAG: 9411020170
SECTION: CHESAPEAKE CLIPPER PAGE: 03 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ERIC FEBER, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 84 lines
CHRISTOPHER ALLEN CLARK of South Norfolk will kick off a new concert series Sunday at St. Andrews Episcopal Church in Norfolk's Ghent section.
The big deal?
The series - which will feature such esteemed local classical artists as Dr. James W. Kosnik, associate professor on the ODU music faculty; the Virginia Symphony; the voices of the St. Andrews Church Choir; and the ODU Collegium - will begin at the hands of a 14-year-old.
Clark is that talented.
``I'm thrilled he's kicking off this series,'' said Kosnik, Clark's organ teacher and the musical director at St. Andrews Church. ``He's only 14, and that's quite remarkable.''
Other local music teachers and music directors echo Kosnik's assessment.
``If you closed your eyes you wouldn't think it was a 13-year-old fellow,'' Clark' former piano teacher and current director of the Chesapeake Civic Chorus, Geraldine T. Boone, said last year. ``His phrasing is far beyond his age. His piano skills are great, and his technique and memory are amazing.''
``He's extremely talented,'' said Jerlene Harding, conductor of the Tidewater Area Musicians. ``Almost a genius.''
Clark began his skills at the keyboard when he was a 2 1/2-year-old toddler pushing his older brother, Brian, off the piano stool so he could get his tiny hands on the keys.
``At that age he was ready,'' Boone said. ``And I can spot a child who is ready.''
Forging ahead with the piano under Boone's guidance, Clark won numerous performing awards, including scholarships from the Chesapeake Fine Arts Commission and several first- and second-place awards in the annual Doris Shar Memorial Piano Competition, sponsored by the Chesapeake Parks and Recreation Department.
He has received numerous superior ratings at various national piano auditions, was chosen by the manufacturer to perform on a special 500,000th edition of the Steinway Piano and in 1992 won first place in the National Association of Negro Musicians competition in Minneapolis.
The Norfolk Academy freshman now makes the organ his instrument, having studied with Kosnik for the past year.
``He's certainly one of the most talented students I've ever taught,'' Kosnik said. ``He came to me from Mrs. Boone already playing piano pieces from memory, and that's quite impressive. I knew he was a serious student from the very beginning.''
Dr. Carl Harris, chairman of the Norfolk State University Music Department, recommended Clark take up lessons with Kosnik.
Kosnik said Clark's concert will feature him performing Charles Callahan's ``Suite of African American Hymns,'' Bach's Prelude and Fugue in C Minor and Eugene Gigout's Toccata In B Minor.
Clark is a rather shy and unassuming teen, who gets a thrill out of performing.
``The adrenalin rushes,'' he said in an interview last year. ``I have confidence in what I'm doing. I can feel the adrenalin rushing, but I know I'm going to do well.''
Although he still enjoys playing the piano, his current love is the powerful pipe organ, like the one at St. Andrews.
``It's such a powerful instrument,'' Clark said. ``And it's more challenging to play. You have to use both your hands and feet.''
Besides being a skilled musician, Clark is also a honor student at Norfolk Academy, excels in math and geography and runs cross-country track for his school's team.
``He's all boy,'' Boone said of Clark's other interests, which include karate, basketball and such pop groups as Arrested Development and Boyz II Men.
``He's very well-rounded,'' Kosnik said.
Much of Clark's success can be attributed to the support and encouragement of his parents - Wesley Clark, a teacher at the Norfolk Vocational and Technical Center, and Irene Clark, who teaches at Salem High School in Virginia Beach.
``He's the only student I have whose father sits and takes notes on his lessons and the things he needs to study and work on,'' Kosnik said. ``I wish all of my students had a dad, and supportive family, like that.'' ILLUSTRATION: Photo by GARY C. KNAPP
South Norfolk resident Christopher Clark will kick off a concert
series Sunday at St. Andrews Episcopal Church in Norfolk.
by CNB