Carlson uses talent in church, school, community
Andrea Carlson has received numerous top ratings in competition
By ROWENA PLETT
Staff writer
People who attend Burdick United Methodist Church worship services will find Ruth Ann Carlson at the organ and her granddaughter, Andrea Carlson, at the piano. Andrea took over the position after Goldie Steely moved to Salina about a year ago.
Andrea occasionally can be found at Lincolnville UMC, where she serves as substitute pianist.
A senior at Centre High School, Andrea has been playing piano since she was six years old. She began taking lessons from Goldie as a first grader and continued with her for 10 years, until Goldie moved away. In the first few years, Ruth Ann gave Andrea extra pointers between lessons.
At present, Andrea takes lessons from Dr. Sheila Schmidt at Tabor College.
Andrea has a natural ability which her parents, Duane and Karen Carlson of Lincolnville, insist did not come from them but from her grandmother. Her fingers fly gracefully across the piano keys in a seemingly effortless creation of beautiful sounds.
She said she can't play very well by ear, but she is proficient at reading music.
Andrea was in junior high when she began accompanying instrumentalists. As a seventh grader, she played for eighth grade promotion.
Ever since then, she has accompanied the high school choir and numerous other musical groups and solo performers.
Andrea has won top rating at several leading recitals, including the Wichita State University Piano Festival and the Tri-County Arts Honor Recital.
During her first three years in high school, she received a I rating at regional and state piano festivals. She experienced a big disappointment this year when, on Feb. 7, she received a II in regionals and could not go on to the state festival.
"I was disappointed," she said. "I just had a bad day."
She is planning to participate again this spring in the WSU Piano Recital.
In 2002, she accompanied Miss Kansas during a presentation at Centre Elementary School. She also accompanied the mass choir at the Eisenhower League vocal clinic.
One of her more difficult assignments was as pianist for the high school performance of the musical, "You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown."
One year, she provided dinner music during the Flint Hills RECA annual meeting and played at a Lutheran ladies' luncheon.
She played in the FFA band for three years during the state convention at Manhattan.
In May 2003, she gave a 40-minute performance at Kansas State University for a gathering of 75 music educators from across the state.
One of the most fun things she got to do occurred during a family vacation to Branson, Mo. For two days, she played piano during the ice cream social hour at their hotel.
Andrea has been active in the Lincolnville Wide Awake 4-H Club for many years. During her high school years, piano has been her "self-determined" project. She keeps records of all her performances and accompaniments.
For three years, she has entered a thick three-ring piano notebook into competition at Marion County Fair. She won the grand champion award in 2002 and 2003.
She adds to the notebook every year. It records all activities she has participated in as a piano player and contains news releases, letters, and other memorabilia. She plans to submit the notebook as a fair project again this summer.
She is looking forward to majoring in music education in college and being active as an accompanist there.
In addition to her piano proficiency, she also excels academically.
"Physics ruined my 4.0 record," she said ruefully.
In additional to academic scholarships, she has auditioned for and been offered substantial music scholarships at Southwestern University at Winfield and Tabor College at Hillsboro. She also plans to audition at Kansas State University.
She hopes to learn to play the organ and wants to serve as substitute pianist at various churches.
After graduating from college, she would like to teach music in the public school system for a few years, then teach piano lessons from her home.
The music instructors at Centre Jr./Sr. High School wonder what they will do without her next year. So does her family and her church. One thing is for sure: they will miss her and her exceptional talent.
