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Teen-ager finds music eveiywhere, and he likes it fastThe Arizona RepublicBefore Adrian Juchau learned to walk, his mother said, he was already trying to conduct. At church, he would stand up in the pews when the choir sang and wave his arms in perfect time.He discovered the piano at age 3. Sitting on his grandmother’s lap, his pudgy fingers pounded out the notes to “Mary Had a Little Lamb.”This summer, the 17-year-old will be in the audience when the Phoenix Symphony Orchestra performs a symphony he is composing.One of those songs, “In-victus,” may make him famous for another reason. The “Guinness Book of Records” is considering him as the world’s fastest piano player. He has been clocked at more than 19 notes a second during parts of the symphonic piece.As Juchau practices the piece after school, he looks up and laughs nervously.“It gets faster, I promise,” he says, apologetically, as his fingers fly over the keys. The piano starts to shake.A few years ago, Juchau played “Invictus” and another piece before one of his toughest audiences—his peers at the annual Boys State convention. Some performers had already been booed off the stage.Juchau’s song started so softly it was almost inaudible over the chattering in the hall. The music swelled to a crescendo.By the time he had finished, the audience had encircled the piano. He was later told it was the first standing ovation given at a Boys State delegation.But it wasn’t Juchau’s first.At age 9, the same year he composed his first song, he got a standing ovation at a winter concert at his elementary school.“I think I cried,” he said.By then he had worked under nine teachers. He quit taking _1 piano lessons at age 10.At 12, he started giving them. js He now teaches voice andpiano, conducts his church congregation, and tutors classmates. He is assistant director of his church choir, and president of el the high school choir. He’s wonle first place in the statewide YouthOlympics music competition, and is ranked the top tenor among l' high school singers in the state.iy The Apollo High School seniorstill gets stage fright sometimes, though he has now sung and played the piano in concert hallsY around the world.e Last week, Juchau playediu piano for board members andin teachers before accepting one ofk, three Glendale Union HighSchool District “Achievement id Above All” awards,e. “What amazes me is that hem has never been formally trained»i- (as a singer),” said Apollo Highle classmate Jessica Jacobs, 18, whohas known Juchau sincefreshman year.The two quickly became friends, and for her 16th birthday, Juchau composed a song for her, along with a one-page, typed explanation.“He’s so talented, and he’s extremely intelligent,” she said, “though he doesn’t like to admit it.”Juchau is ranked first in his senior class, with a grade point average of 5.944—on a 4.0 scale. He has taken so many advanced placement courses that, by the time he graduates this spring, he should be able to skip his freshman and sophomore years in college.“He always has his nose in a book. It’s a constant for him, studying and playing,” said classmate Donald Sanders, who has known Juchau since they sang together in the fourth-grade choir. “I thought he was awesome back then. It’s like, talk about perfect.”But even after Juchau scored a perfect “5” on the advanced placement music theory exam last year, his choir director, Diane Gourley, says he remains a perfectionist.“He stands out,” added Gourley, who has directed high school choirs for more than 20 years. “I’ve had others who stand out, too, but most don’t. Music is his life.”Juchau says he can’t imagine life without it. He sings symphonies in the shower. He hears a car horn in traffic, thinks “E-flat,” and composes entire songs while waiting for the light to change.“Music is everywhere,” he said. “You just have to find it.”Next year, he will seek it out at six music schools around the country. He plans to hopscotch from one institution to the next, working under top instructors in fields from music composition to voice.“I want to be diversified,” hesaid.In between what he calls “internships,” he plans to fit in a two-year mission for the Mormon church.Juchau’s parents, Cathy and Kerry, are supportive. But his mother admits all the attention on their son can be frustrating for their 16-year-old daughter, Christy.Fortunately, Juchau sayi, the two have opposite interests. He affectionately calls his sister Miss Athlete,” and boasts that she excels in basketball, volleyball and other sports. He says he’ll stick to music.He is unsure about career plans but wants to continue conducting and composing. He’s nlan hoping to release a CD of the 16 songs he has composed for his friends, but the cost has made it difficultNonetheless, he is optimistic“When people first told me I should try to become the fastest player, I thought that was impossible,” he said.
Newspaper Details
Fairbanks Daily News Miner
Fairbanks, Alaska, US
Mon, Jan 12, 1998
Page 12
Full Page
Clipped by
Devon O.
USA 14 May 2025
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