From the Hartford Courant

I Am...A Virtuoso

"I Am ...," appearing every other Monday, explores the life experiences of teenagers and young adults in their own words.

February 25, 2008

Christian Sands, 18, of Orange, has been playing the piano for most of his life. Now a freshman at the Manhattan School of Music in New York City, he has released three CDs, and he performed at the Grammy Awards in 2006 and 2007.

Music is the soul, the air that helps me breathe.

I started playing when I was about 3 or 4. ... A friend of the family told my parents to put me in music. They were not going to put me in music; instead they were planning to put me in sports. The friend was persistent so I started Suzuki music and music school.

I played classical music and I went to jazz when I was 7 years old and studied music with Rex Cadwallender, who was a great teacher. I've studied jazz ever since and have had multiple teachers. I studied with Dr. Billy Taylor, Jerry Allen, Dave Brubeck, just to name a few. Jason Moran is my current teacher.

My brother Ryan, who is 13, plays the drums. He is very talented. I came back from college hearing something completely different than when I left.

On my third CD "Risin'," I called a song "Brother 2 Brother." It's a composition by Ryan and me. I wrote the melody originally as swing, but Ryan decided to change it and make it into a bolero, as a Latin beat; and he played on the shell of the drums instead of the drums.

During my first Grammy Awards appearance in 2006, they paid tribute to the life and musical contributions of three legendary jazz pianists: Barry Harris, Hank Jones and Oscar Peterson. ... Oscar Peterson was not going to play — he was retired, and he sat next to me in a wheelchair. I was to play a part of his song "Kelly's Blues." It was really weird to play in front of one of the major influences sitting right there next to me. Suddenly, I heard clapping. I thought it was for me. I thought I did a really good job. I heard a chord ... Then I heard another chord and I heard a string chord. I looked up and I saw Oscar Peterson on the other piano. I was in shock to see him get out of his wheelchair and play with me. I was so honored, even to this day, I will never forget that.