Lucas’ friends lining up support

BY WENDY ELLIOTT

Kings County Register

Lucas Porter is off to the Big Smoke on a two-year scholarship to the Glenn Gould School of Music.

A group of Kings County residents is planning to provide the talented Port Williams pianist with financial support during his studies in Toronto.

With ability recognized before he was in his teens, he has just graduated from Horton high. Tuition at the Glenn Gould school will be covered, but living and travel expenses for competitions and performances are not, says Beverley Richardson of Wolfville.

Richardson is organizing interested contributors into a group called the “Friends of Lucas,” who will pledge to assist on an annual basis. Donations pooled together will “allow Lucas to study and play piano without thought to how he and his family will cover the expenses,” she says.

“What an enormous opportunity for us as a community to assist and help this family carry the financial burden of the next four years,” Richardson adds.

She got the notion, having been part of the Friends of Measha group in Fredericton. Of course, Measha Brugger-Gosman went on to a stellar singing career.

On the farm

This summer Lucas is working on his father, Mike’s, Belcher St. farm - and continuing to practice piano. He has a concert lined up Aug. 2 in Yarmouth and one Aug. 6 at 7 p.m. in the Garden Room at the Irving Centre in Wolfville.

Lucas says he is happy to know residents of the area want to support his studies, and he is looking forward to the two concerts.

Most recently, Lucas was selected as one of the Nova Scotia Youth Orchestra Concerto Competition winners. He performed George Gershwin’s Piano Concerto in F at the SNS/ NSYO joint concert in March in Halifax.

In January, he sat in the audience in Wolfville while the youth orchestra performed the world premiere of his composition, the Port Williams Overture. He worked on his composition skills after being judged the Best Young Composer in the international Notion Music Realize Music Challenge last year with this overture for orchestra.

Lucas has used the experience to continue composing. He works out melodies on the piano and says he benefits from what his theory teacher, retired Acadia music prof Owen Stephens, shares with him.

"I think I'm improving at composition," he says.

Last September, Lucas played Shostakovich when he had his debut with Symphony Nova Scotia.

Lucas has had a number of music teachers since he began studying piano at age six and achieved international attention for instruction from Montreal-based Marc Durand through MusicPath, connected over the internet using two Yamaha Disklavier pianos. He will be studing again with Durand in Toronto this September.

As a N.S. Talent Trust recipient, he was able last summer to attend the Orford Arts Centre and the Banff Centre for the Arts on full scholarship with Durand. He was also sent by Yamaha Canada to participate in master classes with Durand at Yamaha Headquarters in New York City.

Ever modest, Lucas has achieved great things. In 2006, he played for Condoleezza Rice at 9/11 ceremonies in Halifax. A year earlier, he represented Canada at a world Expo in Japan.

Anyone interested in contributing to the fund Richardson has set up may send a cheque to P.O. Box 2363, Wolfville, N.S. B4P 2N5.