Piano By Mary

Influences:

At the age of four Mary knew she was destined to play the piano.  She was inspired by her Great Aunt Jennie who had played ragtime.   Mary would simply watch in awe and told herself that one day she would play as well as her aunt.  By the time she was seven she had pleaded with her parents to buy her a piano…but her parents thought it was a passing fad.  So as determined as Mary was back then – and still is to this day – she began saving every penny she could muster to buy a piano.  After two long years Mary had saved a whopping $400 to which her parents finally conceded and matched the amount to buy her a used spinet.

Since then Mary has taken lessons from numerous teachers.  She has studied classical music and competed in the Illinois Music Association during the 2002 to 2004 seasons.  Mary took first place in the Classical Adult Intermediate level at the 2002 and 2003 competitions and took second place in the Senior Adult level in 2004.

She has been trained in pop and classical genres, but over the decade, Mary has developed a love for jazz and has been studying and perfecting her skills to that end.   She has performed for over 5 (five) years at  The William Tell Holiday Inn in LaGrange/Countryside, Illinois during Sunday brunch.   Additionally, Mary has performed three years at Mariano’s Fresh Market in the Vernon Hills, Palatine, Arlington Heights, Elmhurst and Harwood Heights.   She has also enjoyed performing at Tavern on LaGrange on Friday and Saturday evenings.