Picked for the piano, Primary youth perform
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PROVO, UTAH
Sitting in the back of a chapel one Sunday last November, Janice Kapp Perry intently watched the Primary sacrament meeting program presented in the Freedom 3rd (Spanish) Ward, Provo Utah South Stake. Rather than the melodies and lyrics, the visiting LDS songwriter focused on the five individuals quietly taking turns accompanying the Hispanic children as they sang the program's eight hymns and Primary songs, including one of Sister Perry's own compositions, "I Love to See the Temple."
The watchful eye was on the five accompanists dressed in white — Yuridia Moreno, Andrea Cabrera, Erick Vargas, Kristofer Pauni and Suzette Martinez. All five are Primary children themselves from the same ward, who confidently and near-perfectly accompanied their peers in the program.
A half-year earlier, four of the five had never played the piano before. They were handpicked by Sister Perry with an offer to each of a portable keyboard and free personal lessons if they would commit to practice. She soon challenged them to learn to play simplified versions of the hymns and songs in the annual Primary program and be ready to play them in sacrament meeting later that year.
"I didn't know if they could do it – we were trying something brand new," said Sister Perry, recalling the tears streaming down her cheeks as she witnessed the five's successes of that day.
"I've never felt so proud of any project," she added.
The "project" was the result of a half-dozen years and a trip to another hemisphere. Sister Perry and her husband, Douglas, served a mission in the Chile Santiago West Mission, where she saw firsthand the lack of Latin Church members with piano skills and there helped two dozen Chileans complete the Church's beginning keyboard course.
They returned home to Provo and for nearly a year missed their Latin Church and cultural experiences, wondering if they couldn't help in the same way in Utah as they had in Chile. Soon, they were called from their Provo Utah Edgemont Stake to serve a local Church-service mission in the Freedom 3rd Ward, with Sister Perry gravitating to playing the piano for Primary sharing time.
"When our mission was coming to an end, I wondered who would be playing for Primary when I left," she said. "So I picked out three or four children who were quite precocious in Primary, always prepared and with the right answers, and started giving them piano lessons in my home."
Not only was it new for them, but it was new for Sister Perry, too — she had never taught piano lessons before, certainly not to children. She based her lessons on the Church's keyboard course and playing simplified hymns and Primary songs and then added "the fun stuff" like basic children's lesson and music books. Then came the challenge to be ready to play simplified accompaniment in the sacrament meeting program.
"They caught the vision of it," she said. "They got excited, and they were determined to play for the program."
Sister Perry's four students — Andrea, Yuridia, Kristofer and Erick — joined Suzette, who already was taking piano lessons from another teacher, to provide the piano accompaniment. All three girls now are 11 years old, with Erick 10 and Kristofer 8.
"I was kinda scared and nervous — 'Am I going to get it right?' " said Erick, remembering the experience and his preparation. "You have to have responsibility to practice."
Added Andrea: "I was starting to feel confident in myself, and I knew I was going to be all right."
Playing the piano has brought them joy. "It makes me feel good in a happy way," said Suzette.
Sister Perry continues to teach her students, creating more difficult arrangements of the 2009 Primary program music. The hope is to have the five accompany their Primary peers again this year — but not in one ward but in four, since three have since relocated to other congregations.
Just as the story continues, so do the associations and the mutual admirations.
"I love their optimism and their preparation," said Sister Perry. "I love the love notes they give me — 'Thank you for teaching me to play the piano.' "
"She's an amazing person," says Yuridia of Sister Perry. "She has so much confidence in us."
Added Kristofer: "She's the star in my life."
