Pianist's performance will bring a dream one step closer to reality

George Winston, who does more than 100 concerts a year, will perform on Monday, Sept. 21, in Grass Valley at a fund-raiser for the Greenhouse School of Music, which hopes to open its doors in 2010.

Pianist George Winston, who does more than 100 concerts a year, will perform on Monday, Sept. 21, in Grass Valley at a fund-raiser for the Greenhouse School of Music, which hopes to open its doors in 2010.

  “He’s been here before and I sent him a letter and he said “I’ll do anything I can” and that tells you a lot about him,” said Rick Kirkpatrick, a local musician and the artistic director for the school that plans to offer eight-week music courses to students and adults.

  Winston says he primarily plays three styles of piano: New Orleans R&B, stride piano and folk piano. After Hurricane Katrina wreaked its havoc, Winston released “Gulf Coast Blues & Impressions – A Hurricane Relief Benefit.”

  Now, he will take a break from a demanding schedule to help local musicians and their supporters realize a dream that took root five years ago when Kirkpatrick saw a gap in high school music curriculum and created a band called The 13 that has become an institution in five years.

  “I saw that these junior high kids were quite talented, but they had no outlet,” he said of his decision to start the band, which requires students to audition, rehearse for 10 weeks and then do three shows.

  Kirkpatrick said it wasn’t long before there was a growing demand for the type of instruction he was offering.

  “Parents started saying that the younger kids were inspired by it and that we should start a band for them. Then others wanted a beginners’ high school band and then someone wanted a parents’ band and I thought ‘Gosh, I can’t do all of this,’” he said.

   Kirkpatrick and others like Maiden Lane owner Stu Wolfson have since developed a five-year business plan, recruited about 30 local teachers, secured the Miners Foundry as a non-profit sponsor, assembled a board of directors, and narrowed the search for a place to call home.

   If all goes according to plan, the school will offer classes by early next year.

  “It’s going to be an after-school program where you walk into the door and hear music and be inspired by that,” said Kirkpatrick, adding that the building needs to be large enough to have space for several practice rooms and a stage.

   Wolfson said the school needs to raise around $250,000 for its first year of operation. After that, the board plans to run a “non-profit with its own revenue stream.” He said teachers and the school would split the proceeds from the classes.

 In addition, Wolfson said class fees will be charged on a sliding scale and that service clubs like Rotary and Kiwanis may offer “scholarships” to students who need financial help.

  “We’re trying to make this a complete community project that everybody can be proud of,” he said.

 Kirkpatrick said while more fund-raising is required, it’s just a matter of time before the school offers it first classes.

  “The reality is that this school is just around the corner and now we have a musician like George Winston saying ‘Hey, I will help out.’”

   The concert is scheduled to begin at 7:30 p.m. at the Don Baggett Theater at Nevada Union High School. Kirkpatrick expects Winston will play two, 45-minute sets.

  If you want to go:

What: Fund-raiser for Greenhouse School of Music

Who: Solo pianist George Winston

When: 7:30 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 21

Where: Don Baggett Theater at Nevada Union High School

More information: Call Rick Kirkpatrick at 530-477-7586 or visit greenhouseschoolofmusic.org.