Sharing the gift of music

By Mary-Justine Lanyon

Concert pianist John Reith, the music director at St. Richard’s Episcopal Church, held the audience spellbound on March 1 as he offered a concert he dedicated “to the lives lost and personal property destroyed in the recent horrific fires.”

Reith played three pieces: Adagio (from Concerto in D minor) by Johann S. Bach and Allesandro Marcello; Piano Sonata in G Major by Ludwig van Beethoven; and Andante Spianato et Grande Polonaise Brillante by Frederic Chopin.

At intermission, audience members were invited to offer donations to the California Community Foundation, which is providing funding to the fire victims.

Following the concert, the audience enjoyed refreshments in the church hall where Reith had the scores of the pieces he played displayed. While this reporter is not a music critic, three questions came to mind: How did Reith commit these pieces to memory? What exercises does he do to enable his fingers to fly so quickly over the keys? And how did these composers imagine these complicated pieces and then commit the notes to paper?

In his notes in the concert program Reith wrote, “Music has a unique way of transporting us from the chaos and concerns that we all experience. I hope that my program gives you this precious gift today.”