Show eight ight year old oid shirley ammey ann ann jacobson tac rates high honors honor I 1 of interest to local people should be the ayt recent musical accomplishment of shirley ann jacobson daughter of mrs ray shields the former venice redd of monticello shirley ann has just won second place or alternate to appear as piano soloist with the boise symphony orchestra at their annual youth concert shirley ann is just eight years old shirley ann is the grand daughter of james monroe redd jr and anna prince redd former residents of monticello and is a great grand daughter of lucinda redd she started studying piano when she was 5 years old even though most tea teachers ers do not think children should start piano until they are able to read in school at about seven or eight however shrley shirley ann was going to the piano and picking out the melodies of pieces she heard on the radio and when she began putting chords into the left hand her grandmother anna decided it was time something should be done about it so she asked her next door neighbor mrs eva owen anderson who had been a piano teacher if she would listen to shirley ann and advise whether or not it was too early to start lessons after listening to her play mrs anderson felt she should start piano right away and even though she had retired from her teaching she volunteered ered to take shirley ann as a student shirley anns playing and musical progress so amazed those those who heard her that it was not long before mrs anderson had many requests to teach other children and eventually was forced to come out of retirement ti and begin active piano teaching again when shirley ann had just passed her fifth birthday she composed the words and music to a christmas song which she sang to her grand parents and family anna prince redd who died in march of 1951 was a well known writer and she was quick to catch shirley an anns ns and to put them on papery after that shirley made up the little tune which she picked kicked out on the piano and sang the words to after studying with mrs anderson for 1 years yearn shirley ann moved from salt lake city to boise idaho with her mother and stepfather her father max jacobsen of provo had died when she was 15 months old in boise she began to study under adelaide Anderson Wayne mrs wayne is a prominent pianist who had a musical school in pocatello Po catella idaho was on the faculty of the boise junior college and has appeared as soloist with the chicago symphony as well as accompanying many great coli concert colibert cert artists As mrs waynes pupil shirley ann appeared in many studio recitals arid d was selected several times to appear in joint recitals composed of outstanding students of each member of the piano teachers guild she i also played for many church and school functions mrs wayne tries always to keep a goal ahead of shirley ann and in march of 1953 she participated in the national federation de festivals sponsored by the national federation of mu sic clubs there were stu 1 dents from the area surrounding boise entered in this competition the majority of them being junior arid and senior high j school students shirley ann played the allegro from sonata in G by hayden and received the highest rating superior the students who received superior ratings were presented in a special concert for the public that evening at the boise junior college shirley ann later received a certificate showing that she had attained nation al honors in the junior division of this competition I 1 early in june 1953 shirley ann was entered in the national piano pano playing auditions in this the participants played privately v for a national judge mrs marion D martin of ft worth I 1 texas mrs martin is a pia piano no teach er at texas christian college and studied under leopold godowski percy grainger Graing cr and madame olga 1 I shirley ann played a 10 piece program which included bach bethoven hayden bizet and others se was pronounced a na 1 dional winner in the diate class mrs martin wrote of shirley ann nice work not only plays technically abaz 1 angly for time of study ard and age but musically she has nice style and her work is pleasing i to the ear nice phrasing she has ability rhythm accuracy and clean cut fingl finger r work she has the makings of an A al l 1 pianist and reflects fine teach ing best playing I 1 have heard in some time later in june mrs wayne presented ann at a private re ital cital she was assisted by a 9 yr old aid violinist who was equally N outstanding on the violin the public was invited to this al and there was a good deal of i publicity in the newspapers last she was selected to be nc of 20 grade school and jun bior high school students to try out as soloist with the boise symphony orchestra shirley ann was much the youngest as well as the smallest contestant the full size steinway grand piano completely dwarfed the little girl and she had to sit on the extreme edge of the bench to even reach the pedals she played three movements of concerto in C major by kasschau I 1 with hr her teacher playing a second piano to represent the part of the symphony orchestra although she won only second place and will be used as an alternate she received highest praises from the judges the winner was a sixth grade student who had studied music for seven years in the meantime shirley ann is working on a special recording of invention in F major by bach and lizet and 2nd hungarian rhapsody Rh apody which will be entered in the child prodigy division of the national guild of piano teachers recording contest and another private recital which will be given in the spring of 1954 |