Photo by Trewin Coplestone
If you don’t remember him from his incredible piano performance at the first all-school meeting of the year, meet David Park ’16, a four-year senior from Glastonbury, CT. Partaking in Chamber Music Ensembles and Jazz Ensemble, playing the piano for the Choate Orchestra, and engaging in the Arts Concentration’s Jazz Trio, Park has been integral to Choate’s music program for years.
As Park recounted, he was introduced to music very early on his life. “My dad was a self-taught pianist and my sisters also played the piano, so I knew that music would always be a big part of my life. I had my first piano lesson in first grade. I had never played before, so I was extremely nervous. Piano is something both meditative and challenging for me.”
“David is an inspiration to all the students in the Jazz Ensemble,” noted Mr. Phil Ventre, Orchestral and Jazz Ensemble Director. “He is an outstanding improviser and section leader. He is an exceptional young man: kind, caring, and one of the most diligent musicians we have ever had here.”
Park is also a great inspiration to his peers. He is very hard-working, often practicing over three hours a day. Kaki Su ’19, a pianist for the Choate Orchestra, said, “Whenever I go to the PMAC, I always see him practicing — he is so dedicated. He also takes care of everyone in the Arts Concentration Program.” Annett Ho ’18, a first-chair violinist for the Choate Orchestra and String Ensemble, added, “I teared up when I first heard him play so well after the summer because he practiced so much. David is one of the only people at Choate with whom I can have a conversation purely about music.”
During this coming Parent’s Weekend, David will be performing the first movement of Sergei Rachmaninoff’s “Piano Concerto No. 2.” Mr. Ventre stated, “The second piano concerto is one of the greatest virtuoso piano concertos in the history of written music, which says a lot about David’s talent. He has the ability to look behind the notes, and see through the emotions that the composer put in while creating the movement. David has the ability to look behind the notes on the page and feel the emotions the composer tried to convey. Technique-wise, he is perfect.”
Park is not just one of the most talented pianists Choate has ever seen. According to Ms. Kalya Yannatos, Director of the Arts, “As a human being, David is extremely generous. He is always willing to share his talent at concerts or events. As a pianist he is extremely exceptional. To me, he has the ability to convey such complexity in the way he plays. He will be dearly missed in the Choate community when he graduates.”
Park reflected on the meaning of music and stated that, to him, “music is the manifestation of human’s ability to appreciate life. It is the most direct way to express joy and understand the deeper truths of life.” For all those who agree with him, be prepared to hear his fingers strike the piano keys again in future musical performances.
