Ohio piano prodigy, 12, to debut at Carnegie Hall today
Akron musician AKRON —
Daniel Colaner, 12, has always been excited and motivated by setting goals. Today, a big one will come to fruition when he makes his Carnegie Hall debut on piano after placing third in his age division in the American Protégé International Piano Competition.
At the 11:30 a.m. today recital in Weill Recital Hall in New York, he’ll play Chopin’s Fantasie-Impromptu, which contains the melody upon which the song I’m Always Chasing Rainbows is based. Daniel won his spot at Carnegie Hall with a video submission of Aaron Copland’s zippy The Cat and the Mouse about a year ago. But his piano skills have developed so much since then, he and Fairlawn piano teacher Tatsuya Nagashima decided to go for an even bigger challenge by performing the virtuosic Chopin piece at Carnegie Hall.
“It’s very complex; it’s very fast. There are a lot of runs,’’ said Daniel, who gave a sampling of the Chopin work last week on the piano at St. Sebastian Catholic Church in West Akron.
He is considering wearing a tuxedo to play the concert grand piano for his big Carnegie Hall debut.
“I’m very excited. It’s really a blessing that I’ve gotten to this point. I just never imagined this happening,’’ the seventh-grader said.
While he’s in New York
MORE ON DANIEL
Watch a video of Daniel playing Flight of the Bumblebee on the organ.
To donate to the Lynn Frey-Steward Organ Scholarship Fund, checks may be made out to the St. Sebastian Parish Foundation with “Organ Scholarship” in the memo line. The church address is 476 Mull Ave., Akron, OH 44320. For more information, call 330-8362233 or see www.stsebastian.org. with parents Dan and Marie, Daniel will also be exploring his other love: organ playing. With the help of one of Daniel’s teachers, David Higgs of Eastman School of Music, Dan has worked things out so young Daniel can try his hand at playing the organ at the famous St. Patrick’s Cathedral.
“Twelve-year-old hits Carnegie and St. Pat’s in the same day — that’s a good day,’’ father Dan said.
Cancer survivor
His parents said they feel blessed that Daniel, a cancer survivor, has flourished doing what he loves. He was diagnosed at age 6 months with Stage 4 neuroblastoma, which affects the nervous system, and at one point he was given only a 25 percent chance of survival. Daniel was treated at Akron Children’s Hospital, where he went through eight rounds of chemotherapy as well as surgery as an infant.
He has been in remission for nearly 12 years, and does not have any hearing problems or cognitive delays as a result of his early cancer treatments.
Daniel began playing the piano in first grade and started studying the organ in 2015. At that time, his interest in piano was waning a bit, but jumping into the challenge of organ studies ended up reigniting his love for the piano.
His parents, who are singers, introduced him to classical music, including organ concerts, when he was very young.