Teen's family filled with
musicians
Eighth grader David Ramos certainly has the family credentials
for being a musician. Both his parents play in the St. Louis
Symphony Orchestra and two older sisters are studying music
in college.
This month, 14-year-old David gets a chance to show off his
own musical skill in a Young Heroes in Music concert. The
free spring concert will be at 10 a.m. Saturday, April 16,
at the Missouri Botanical Gardens' Shoenberg Theater.
A Heroes' concert is sponsored twice a year by Classic 99
radio station (FM-99).
David will be the first Hispanic kid to play in the Young
Heroes series. Until this concert, all of the musicians have
been African-American youngsters.
For the Young Heroes concert, David is planning to play two
violin pieces. One is "Introduction to Tarantelle" by composer
Pablo de Sarasate. The other is "Sonata No. 1" by Johann Sebastian
Bach. (For full concert details, visit www.classic99.com)
He said he doesn't always like to practice but will spend
a lot of time preparing for the concert. "You can't cram for
a concert. When I'm on track, I practice about one hour a
day six days a week," he said.
"It takes me about a month to fully learn a piece," David
said.
By "fully learn," he means more than knowing the notes. He's
looking for a complete understanding about what the composer
had in mind when he wrote the piece.
He's been playing instruments since before he was four years
old. "I started with the violin and shortly after I started
on the piano," he said.
At the present time, he takes his violin lessons from his
father, Manuel, who plays violin with the SLSO. His mother,
Catherine Lehr, plays the cello for the SLSO. David said his
mother retained her maiden name for professional reasons.
David's piano lessons are with Pat Weeks.
He played a piano recital last month. He played Chopin's
"Etude No. 5" and George Gershwin's "Prelude No. 2."
David is an 8th grader at the McKinley Classical Junior Academy
in the city of St. Louis.
He plays piano with the jazz band at McKinley. About jazz,
David said, "I'm just learning the jazz piano. I can't improvise
yet."
Asked about the difference between classical and jazz music,
he said, "I can't compare the two." But, he said he's more
comfortable with classical music "because I grew up with it."
He added he does like rock music, especially "older groups
like Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd."
About rap music, he said, "Because my cousins like it, I
can put up with it."
David also plays in the percussion section of the McKinley
school band. "In percussion, everyone plays everything," he
said.
He said playing drums, vibes and other percussion instruments
"is really fun."
Besides his school classes and music, David said he doesn't
have too much time for other activities. However, he is in
a youth group at his church. "And I like to play sports for
fun," he said.
He said his favorite musical experience came two years ago.
He attended a 6-week Rocky Mountain Summer Conservatory camp
in Steamboat Springs, Colo.
He said they played all sorts of music there, "from baroque
to romantic to modern." Kids would practice three hours a
day and also play in chamber groups two more hours.
In addition, there were lots of "inter-disciplinary" activities,
from photography and visual arts classes to various sports.
The mountain setting was beautiful. Steamboat Springs is a
popular skiing destination in the winter.
In school, David said his favorite subject is math. He takes
advance math classes.
Despite all the musicians in his family, David said he isn't
planning on being a professional musician. But, he said, "I
might be an amateur musician. There are lots of gigs for amateur
musicians."
In addition to his parents playing with the St. Louis Symphony,
he has two older sisters studying music in college. Both attend
the Cleveland Institute of Music.
David said he has thought about being a lawyer, "but I don't
know what I'm going to do yet."
