A scene in Northern Mongolia from the documentary, “Nobody’s River.” The film follows the 2013 all-female expedition of one of the world’s greatest and least-known free flowing rivers, the Amur, from its remote Mongolian headwaters to its massive delta in Russia. The film will be shown April 14 at the Powerhouse Science Center as part of Backcountry Experience’s Women Outdoors adventure forum./Photo by Manaljav Altanchimeg

Child’s play

11-year-old prodigy Patrick McBrayer debuts composition at Concert Hall

by Stew Mosberg

On occasion, we hear about a musical prodigy; someone akin to Mozart composing at age 4, or a young violinist or pianist that performs with a symphony orchestra. Happily, Durango has such a wunderkind to call its own. Riverview Elementary School fifth-grader Patrick McBrayer, 11, is more than just a budding composer/musician.

Next week, the San Juan Symphony Youth Orchestras will premiere one of Patrick’s original compositions, “To the Beach,” as part of its spring concert. Headed up by director Lech Usinowicz, the concert will be held at 7 p.m. Mon., April 18, at the FLC Concert Hall. “Patrick took one of his compositions that he recorded in a solo album last year and arranged it for a full orchestra,” said Usinowicz. “All musical decisions were made by (him).”

The concert was arranged in part, by Shannon Fontenot, a music teacher at Riverview Elementary, where Patrick has been a student since fourth-grade (having previously attended park Elementary.)

However, according to his mother, Anna, who works as a graphic designer at FLC, the story begins much earlier. “Patrick began taking piano lessons at the age of 4,” she explained. And with the encouragement of his teacher his teacher at the time, he began composing at the age of 5. “He hums all the time-non-stop,” Anna continued good naturedly “It turns out; those hums were the very beginnings of piano compositions. And within two years, it was clear that he had a deeper understanding of music than the average kid his age.”

Case in point, in lieu of writing a book report for his 4th-grade English class, Patrick composed “Secret Garden,” which takes one through a musical journey of the book’s storyline.

Gabrielle Dugan, president of the Four Corners Music Teachers Association, taught Patrick at an early age in her  Art, Music and Movement program. The small, one-year class is geared toward teaching music composition to 3- to 5-year olds. “This program is designed for the crucial age of creativity and teaches the love of music and composition through traditional piano education,” she said.  

Dugan also has been teaching Patrick piano privately for the past five years and acknowledges his genius. “After 36 years of teaching piano, I feel very fortunate to have experienced a ‘prodigy,’” she said.

Prodigy or not, it still takes a great deal of hard work and dedication to develop a musical gift. Dugan talked of Patrick’s intense study of great composers such as Beethoven, Mozart, Bach, Schumann and Chopin in order to learn proper technique and form. “It is not only his talent that has led him on this amazing path, but it is his passion and hours of study that has created such a fine young composer-pianist,” she said.

Anna proudly states that in his original music, Patrick is “confident, yet humble; innocent, (and) yet incredibly mature.”

Talking to the youngster is as pleasurable as listening to his music. Little more than a decade old, he possesses a maturity and erudite use of language that is endearing; yet he remains a boy at heart. He somehow finds time to enjoy mountain biking, skiing and playing soccer, or playing with the neighborhood kids and his younger brother, Aeneas. When asked if he hoped to be a concert musician as an adult, Patrick hesitated ever so briefly before announcing that he was also considering becoming an architect.

Patrick McBrayer demonstrates his at-home system, where he composes music using a keyboard and GarageBand, a Mac program that allows him to loop tracks from the keyboard onto the computer./Photo by Jennaye Derge

Although Patrick’s prodigious talent may be outside the normal range of a pre-teen, he exhibits many traits one would expect from a young inquisitive mind. He and his brother, for example, share custody of Pickles the snake and Shelob the tarantula. The pets sit on Patrick’s desk along with his computer, which he paid for with proceeds from his first CD.

As a testament to his musical prowess so far, Patrick’s piece "Light of the Dawn" won the 2015 Colorado State and Regional Composition Competition for the National Music Teachers Association (NMTA). He was also the recipient of the Music in the Mountains Shining Star Scholarship two years in a row, 2014-15 for cello and 2015-16 for piano.

Patrick’s mother praised Dugan for her part in the success. “Through her lessons, she was able to tease out his talent in composition,” Anna said.

Entries for the NMTA competition must include an accurate version of the musical notation, which was one of the most difficult parts for Patrick, his mother admits. “He composes at a much higher level than he reads (music) and certainly, than he notates,” she said.

His mother described Patrick’s playing as “very emotional and moving,” adding that it’s difficult to describe without actually hearing it.   

His mentor Dugan further acknowledged the young man’s evolution, noting that he recently added cello to his repertoire. “He generates his own magic,” she said. “His compositions flow out of a compassionate, original place within his soul. His touch and elegant playing is something that amazes everyone at every performance.”

Currently, he is working on an album that mixes contemporary R&B and hip hop, as well as, an orchestral version of his original piece "To the Beach."

In addition to next Monday’s SJYSO premiere, Patrick will also be performing at 4 p.m. Sun., April 24, in Dugan’s Arts Academy Spring Recital at Durango’s First Baptist Church, 332 11th St.

Teacher Fontenot believes that even at his young age, Patrick grasps the big picture of a composition, noting that he understands complex musical concepts such as syncopation, harmony, texture and form. “I think that Patrick's talent has been allowed to flourish with strong support from his family and teachers,” she said. “I am excited to see where he takes his musical creativity over the next 20 years.”

One might think that studying with two different teachers would be confusing, but as Patrick puts it, “I look for music that is particularly different – it’s cool to have teachers with differences and flexibility.”

Hear snippets of Patrick’s “Ways of Water (2015)” at www.cdbaby.com/cd/ patricksidneymcbrayer. In addition to CDBaby, his recordings are also available on Amazon MP3, iTunes, Google Music Store, Rumblefish, Synctank, 24-7 and GreatIndieMusic.