Since its inception in 2002, the Steinway Society of Riverside has provided free, interactive music education classes, life performance programs and competitions for 30,000 school-aged children throughout the Coachella Valley.
To help make this happen, the nonprofit holds an annual Bravo Children in Music luncheon.
At this year’s event, which took place at The Classic Club, the society’s CEO and founder Ruth Moir was on hand to thank the participants and the guests and also to honor John Bayless, an accomplished pianist, composer and recording artist who was left with only one hand to play after being paralyzed on one side following a severe stroke in 2007.
After playing a few pieces to thunderous applause, Bayless was presented with a plaque by the evening’s event chair, Phyllis Eisenberg. Much to the hilarity of the audience — and Bayless — Eisenberg forgot to get the plaque engraved. (The joke was that since it wasn’t engraved, it could be used again next year.)
Steinway board member Jim McCormick has directed the society’s awards festival since 2005 and was there to enjoy the talents of four incredible young musicians. Clayton Tang, Patrick Vargas, Serena Liu and Melody Lui all performed as if they were playing in front of the president or a queen with the polished simplicity but professionalism of someone four times their age. It was beautiful, awe-inspiring and a testiment to the good work of the society.
Thank you to Penny Carpenter, Lois Darr, Eisenberg, Carole Roos Haller, Dorothy Hamilton, Michael Staff, Don Genhart, Flo Wolff and Robert York for helping to make the event a success.
The Steinway Society of Riverside is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. To learn more, visit steinwayriverside.org.
Carole Stephen-Smith began writing in Scotland for a women’s weekly at the age of 15 and later covered American celebrities for the London Evening Echo. After relocating to the desert, she wrote for Desert Woman in the 1990s. Stephen-Smith focuses on charities that assist women, medical causes — especially breast cancer awareness — and all aspects of child abuse.
This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Bravo Children in Music luncheon raises funds for music education
Reporting by Carole Stephen-Smith, Special to The Desert Sun / Palm Springs Desert Sun
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