Ben Hopkins - 2/14/08

Ben Hopkins is one of the most accomplished young pianists in the country. This senior at Rochester School of the Arts is among 27 students invited to compete in the International Daniel Piano Competition. He won the 1000 Islands International Piano Competition, the Hochstein Recital Competition, and within three weeks of auditioning at the University of Southern California, the school sent him notice, he's in. His heart and his soul are in the music.

"It's sort of like a crossword puzzle or something else, I'm not sure how to explain it," Ben says. "Because Steve Martin said talking about music is like dancing about architecture, it's not really something you can explain, unless you experience it. When you're in it you are so much more aware of everything that goes on around you, if there's papers rustling, keys rattling, that's there. You're onstage but everybody else is kind of on the stage there with you."

Ben's teachers say he's unusual, talented and not afraid of hard work. "As Ben gets to know a piece it changes, sometimes from week to week," says School of the Arts music teacher John Gabriele. "So, it's always fun to listen to Ben, it's never boring." Ben also takes piano lessons from private music teacher Brian Preston. "It has been a tremendous joy, certainly one of the high points of my career that's for sure," says Preston. "Working with someone like this."

Ben has already performed professionally. He even composed a commercial jingle that played on local radio. He'll study music in college, and make it his career after that. Just what form it will take, he's not sure. "I think I would have a blast conducting," says Ben. "The piano is sort of its own orchestra, but conducting an orchestra would be pretty cool." When it comes to Ben and the piano, the sky truly is the limit.