The Dexter Leader
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'A musical world'
Stuart Carlson, 11, to conduct symphony
By Sandi Kasha, Staff Writer
PUBLISHED: March 8, 2007
Jack and Susan Carlson wanted to make their son's birthday memorable.
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The Webster Township couple nurtured their 11-year-old son Stuart's love for music by allowing him the opportunity to be a conductor for the Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra on Sunday.
The fifth-grader will conduct a selection from the opera "Carmen" for the symphony's family concert series.
"He is a bit nervous, but excited," Susan said. "We've been taking him to the symphony for years and he's pretty familiar with it."
The couple attended a fundraiser for the symphony last month and found that one of the auction items was a guest conducting appearance.
The couple had their son in mind and started bidding and ultimately secured a conducting spot for Stuart.
It was a fitting birthday present since Stuart's world is a musical world.
Playing the piano since he was 18 –months-old, Stuart is enamored with classical music.
"He's so incredibly talented," Jack said. "He can read music, but can play by ear. He would play all day long if we let him."
Susan agreed adding that Stuart's interests have always leaned toward music, math, time and computers.
Beginning stages
Stuart is a surviving twin. Born at 26 weeks and spending three months of his life in an incubator, Stuart developed his love for music in an unusual way.
Jack said that speakers were hooked up to the incubator playing Beethoven, Mozart and some Beatles tunes.
As a toddler, he was diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome, an autistic spectrum disorder.
But the exposure to music so early on would make an impact on Stuart as he got older.
By the time he was 18 months old, he started playing his toy keyboard.
"He played all of the songs we sang to him by ear," Jack said. "Susan and I realized that he has a musical gift."
By the time he was two-years-old, Stuart was playing the piano with little help.
Susan recalled when he played an open mic event at Ann Arbor's Oz's Music.
"It was hard getting him off the stage," she said. "He was two and enjoyed playing for the crowd so much that he didn't want to leave. Jack and I were astounded."
But Stuart proved that he would only get better with age.
"We're so proud of him," Jack said. "He is a phenomenal speller, editor and very good at math. Stuart is extremely motivated when it comes to things he's interested in."
Sue Stalker, who teaches the Early Childhood Developmentally Delayed (ECDD) class, taught Stuart for three years and praises his musical abilities.
"He's so incredibly talented that I wouldn't be surprised if he played at Carnegie Hall," she said.
Music lessons
Music Therapist Mike Brownell met the Carlsons about seven years ago.
He said that Stuart continues to impress him as a musician.
"He is one of those kids whose presence and excitement for all aspects of music is completely infectious," Brownell said. "He is so easy to work with, because for him, it's not work at all. Learning new things about music is fun for him. While some kids may not enjoy having to repeat a song several times to practice it, Stuart relishes the repetition and gets very excited about improving his performance every time.
Stuart has many musical gifts, but perhaps the greatest of these is his incredible ear and memory. He can easily reproduce songs with amazing accuracy that he's heard only once or twice before."
Jack and Susan are trying to get familiar with music as a way to stay involved with Stuart and his passion.
"When I drive him to school, he quizzes me on what key different songs are in," Susan said. "When I don't know, he is surprised. He can't believe that other people don't hear music the way he does."
The scenario doesn't surprise Jack who said he is aware of his son's level of understanding regarding music.
Brownell agrees adding that Stuart's knowledge of music is evident in their lessons together.
"In addition to the performance aspects of music, Stuart also enjoys the more academic and theoretical sides of learning about music such as learning Italian musical terminology, exploring the relationship of different keys and harmonies, and of course music's mathematical components," he said.
In addition to providing Stuart with basic music lessons, Brownell has been prepping him for his conducting role.
Brownell said that he and Stuart have been focusing on basic conducting skills (such as how to start and stop the orchestra, beat patterns, and stage presence) and a little bit of nuance (such as dynamics and articulation).
"We've also spent a good deal of time listening to the piece he'll be conducting and discussing what's happening in the music," he said.
Stuart will have support in the audience from Brownell, Stalker, his parents and his nine-year-old brother Justin.
"This is his moment to enjoy and learn from the extraordinary experience of conducting a symphony orchestra," Brownell said.
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