It used to pretty much be a guarantee that if Wyatt Christensen was on a bike ride, he was listening to one song on repeat: George Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue.”
The teenager, who started taking piano lessons when he was 7, listened to a lot of renditions of the Jazz Age piece. He especially loved the Leonard Bernstein recording.
After roughly two years of consuming “Rhapsody in Blue,” Christensen, who studies with Koji Attwood and Vera Oussetskaia-Watanabe at the Gifted Music School in Salt Lake City, began learning the piece for himself.
Gradually, as he practiced, he started working in influences from the various recordings he’d listened to — Bernstein’s glissandos were a particular favorite. But the 16-year-old junior at Hillcrest High also started to develop his own style.
With over a year of working on the Gershwin classic now under his belt — not to mention the time he spent listening to it — ”Rhapsody in Blue” is officially drilled into Christensen’s head.
“You’ve built a house and you know all the nooks and crannies of it,” the teenager recalled his piano teacher telling him. “I feel like I’ve made this piece my own.”
Now, in a major moment for his budding career, the 16-year-old is about to perform “Rhapsody in Blue” on the Abravanel Hall stage, backed by the Utah Symphony.
Christensen is one of seven young musicians performing in the 65th annual Salute to Youth concert, sponsored by the Deseret News, on Wednesday night.
For all seven musicians — including 15-year-old pianist Shelby Gan; violinists Octavia Gordon, 17, and Grant Brady, 17; oboist Adrian McGill, 17; cellist Scott Pickett, 13; and 10-year-old guitarist Gabriel Taylor — the concert will mark their first time performing with the Utah Symphony.
“I’m feeling incredibly nervous,” Christensen said.
Years of practice
But Christensen is also confident.
Being selected as a Salute to Youth finalist has been “a validating experience,” he said — a recognition of all the work he has put into his craft over the years.
Starting piano lessons initially stemmed from the influence of his musical family — his dad plays piano, his mom sings and a couple of his sisters play instruments. But he discovered fairly early on that playing the piano was something that came naturally to him.
By the time he was 12, practicing the piano became more fun, so he started practicing even harder. He looked forward to performances, to the opportunity to play for a crowd.
At 16, he still practices daily. But these days, he doesn’t have a set amount of time due to also balancing academics and lacrosse. He’s found, though, that the skills he’s developed as a goalie — including hand speed and quick reaction time — have improved his agility on the piano.
Christensen packs a lot into his schedule. He’s quick to acknowledge his friends and family in helping him to navigate it all.
“Whenever I’m studying for something big, or trying to learn a piece or something, I always go to the friends and talk about it or try to get input, or go to my family.”
Becoming a Salute to Youth finalist
Christensen’s family broke the news that he’d been selected as a Salute to Youth finalist following a rigorous audition process.
At the time, the teenager, an avid gamer, was playing the video game Dark Souls.
“I was pretty intensely focused on this video game, and my family comes in and they’re like, ‘We have some news. Just look at this email,’” Christensen recalled.
It took him a minute to process what was happening, he said. But once it clicked, he forgot about the video game.
“I immediately got up and was ecstatic and started jumping around with my family,” he said. “It was a fun experience.”
On Wednesday morning, Christensen rehearses at Abravanel Hall with the Utah Symphony. Several hours later, it’ll be showtime.
Being selected for Salute to Youth has got him thinking about his career path. At this point, the 16-year-old is considering everything from getting a piano performance degree and then going into medical school to applying everything he’s been taught in piano to another field to pursuing piano professionally.
“There’s a definite opportunity to grow off of this … and to use it kind of like a stepping stool,” he said of Salute to Youth.
But for now, he’s putting his all into performing “Rhapsody in Blue.”
Even though he’s lost track of how many times he’s played it — let alone listened to it — “Rhapsody in Blue” still excites him.
He hopes it’ll do the same for those listening Wednesday night.
“I just love this piece so much,” he said.