Emily Bear

This is going to be my last article on this blog and it's about Emily Bear. She is 9-years old today but she started playing piano when she was 2. She has an incredible talent. When she was 6-years old she already composed her own songs and her piano skills are just unbelievable, she's like the new  Mozart. She is the youngest best pianist and composer and she even performed at the White House which is the greatest honor she could get for her talent and especially for being only 6-years old at that performance. It's incredible how many talented kids you can find if you're actually looking for them. She plays a million times better piano then I do. She must be born with that talent. She said at her 4th time at the Ellen Show that she started composing when she was about 3 years old. She would go from learning how to speak and walk right to playing piano, that's just crazy. I don't know how this is possible because I know how hard it is to practice playing piano and it seems like she just knows how to play anything from the first time. I don't understand it but it's amazing to see that it's not impossible.
I got a video for you guys here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DdZx1oIgAHk&safety_mode=true&persist_safety_mode=1

Add caption

Biography - Emily Bear - Pianist/Composer
Emily Bear is 9 years old and began piano studies at the age of five with Emilio del Rosario at The Music Institute of Chicago. She currently studies classical piano with Mary Sauer, Principal Keyboardist for the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and jazz improvisation with Alan Swain. Additional mentors include Yoheved Kaplinsky, head of the Juilliard Piano Department and Frank Kimbrough for Jazz, also at Juilliard. Emily is equally comfortable playing jazz, classical, or her own compositions.
Emily made her professional debut performing a solo concert at the Ravinia Music Festival in July of 2007, when she was five years old. She played a solo 40 minute program mixing classical, jazz, and her own pieces. She is the youngest performer in Ravinia’s more than 100 year history. She was asked back to perform solo concerts in 2008 and 2009 as well.
She most recently made her Carnegie Hall, debut, performing original music solo, and with orchestra, including the world premiere of her composition, "Peace - we are the future" performed onstage with 110 piece orchestra, 220 member chorus, R&B soloists and Emily on piano.
On March 24th, 2008, Emily, age 6, was invited to perform at The White House for the President and Mrs. Bush and 400 guests. She performed a 30 minute solo concert mixing jazz and her original compositions.
At age six, Emily was a recipient of the 2008 ASCAP Morton Gould Young Composer Competition Award for her original song “Northern Lights.” She was asked to perform at the awards ceremony in New York City and was invited to perform her winning song again for a performance at Jazz at Lincoln Center.
Emily received national attention when she was a featured guest on The Ellen Degeneres Show. She appeared on the show six times in two years, performing an original song for each appearance. Recently Emily was featured on Dancing with the Stars, performing "Tutti Frutti" live with the orchestra.
Emily made her classical orchestral debut at age seven, performing Mozart’s Piano Concerto, no. 23, k488 with the Rockford Symphony Orchestra and then again with the Champaign-Urbana Symphony.
This past summer, Emily made her international debut, performing 2 solo recitals at the Asissi of The World Festival in Umbria, Italy. and a solo concert in Hangzhou, China. This summer she will be presented by Quincy Jones to perform at the 45th annual Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland
At age 6, Emily made her orchestral debut in front of a capacity audience performing her original song, “The Love in Us” with members of the Orlando Symphony Orchestra. Emily also performed at Noche de Ninos, a gala for Los Angeles Children’s Hospital, hosted by Jennifer Lopez, Warren Beatty, Annette Benning, Arnold Schwarzengger, and Jewel, honoring Jamie Lee Curtis. Emily recently was featured at The Noble Awards at The Beverly Hilton in Los Angeles, a new awards show honoring 15 charities, produced by Michael Seligman, honoring Morgan Freeman.
Steinway and Sons invited Emily to perform a solo concert at the Chicago film premier of the documentary film "Note by Note: the Making of Steinway L1037". She performed the concert on the actual piano built in the movie. She performed at a 2nd screening of the film also having the honor of playing on the special Steinway piano. Emily was also featured on the WFMT Radio Show, Introductions, performing a solo 45 minute live concert.
When Emily was six, she opened for Ramsey Lewis and his Trio with a 30 minute solo concert. At age 7, she was the youngest student ever to be invited to study at The Aspen Music Festival.
She was recently featured at The Children’s Ball, a black-tie gala for the Children’s Memorial Hospital of Chicago. Emily has performed at many charity events and fundraisers. Other concerts include: Steinway Young Artist Concert Series, Music In The Loft , Raue Center for the Performing Arts, WTTW Chicago Tonight’s 25th Anniversary Concert, Kohl Children’s Music in the Museum Concert Series, 2007 and 2008 Chicago Thanksgiving Parade on WGN, American Girl Place – Chicago and New York City,
Emily has been featured in stories on: ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox News, WTTW, Chicago Tonight, and WGN. Internationally, she was featured in a story for Sunday Night, Channel 7, Australia, titled “Beautiful Minds.” and on SAT1 German Television in a documentary that recently aired, chronicling her debut at Carnegie Hall and the week leading up to the concert. She was a guest on Good Morning America performing original songs, jazz and a classical selection. Most recently she was featured on ABC Nightline, with a shorter version airing on ABC World News Report with Diane Sawyer.
This past fall, Emily was featured in the September/October back to school issue of American Girl Magazine and Hal Leonards's Music Express Magazine. She was also featured in international periodicals including: Austria, Switzerland, China and Australia.
Emily has recorded five CD’s of original music: Five Years Wise, The Love In Us, Once Upon A Wish, Always True and most recently, Hope. Emily has produced three sheet music songbooks which are distributed internationally by Hal Leonard Publishing. Emily is the youngest composer to work with Hal Leonard. Profits from each of her CD’s and songbooks are donated to the following charities: Susan G. Komen for The Cure, UNICEF, Ronald McDonald House Charities, and The Children’s Hospitals of Los Angeles and Chicago. She is a member of ASCAP, SAG, and AFTRA.

---

Past Performances include:
- Noche de Niños Gala - May 9, 2009
- 5th Annual Big Mac Under Glass Gala - May 2, 2009
- The Ellen Degeneres Show - April 30, 2009
- Chicago Tonight's 25h Anniversary Season Benefit - April 17, 2009
- Rockford Symphony Orchestra - Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 23, K488 - March 28, 2009
- Music In the Loft - February 15, 2009
- The Ellen Degeneres Show - November 17, 2008
- Lang Lang Master Class at The Chicago Symphony, November 16, 2008
- Ravinia - September 7, 2008
- 2008 ASCAP Morton Gould Young Composer Competition Awards Ceremony, performed "Northern Lights"
- McDonald's 2008 World Convention with members of The Orlando Symphony Orchestra - April 13,2008
- The White House Easter Egg Roll Breakfast - March 24, 2008
- Concert at Chicago Premiere of documentary film "Note By Note: The Making of Steinway L1037" - January 18, 2007
- The Ellen Degeneres Show - January 8, 2007
- Raue Center for the Arts concert - December 9, 2007
- The Ellen Degeneres Show - November 23, 2007
- Opened The Chicago Thanksgiving Day Parade - November 22, 2007
- Opening act for Ramsey Lewis at The Coronado Theatre - October 17, 2007
- The Ellen Degeneres Show - October 3, 2007
- Music Institute of Chicago, Young People's Concert - September 9, 2007
- On The Waterfront - September 1, 2007
- Ravinia, professional debut - July 1, 2007
- Music Institute of Chicago Gala - Celebrity Piano Bar - May 2, 2007