Tim Caradonna stepped up to the piano and sat down with butterflies in his stomach. Anxiously, he started playing Bach’s Minuet in G and realized, “Oh, this isn’t so bad.”

He stood up from the piano after finishing his piece and took a bow, proud of his performance. After meeting his mother and piano teacher, they told him through smiles that he had in fact played the entire piece an octave higher than it was written.

At the time, Caradonna was six years old.

Today, Caradonna, a seventeen-year-old senior, roams the halls of Wayland High School harboring a love for chemistry, mock trial, frisbee and, of course, piano. Ever since he was five years old, Caradonna has been a pianist. From plucking out a few notes to playing a ballad, Caradonna’s expertise has grown over the years, and his interest in piano has developed into a steady passion.

Over the years, Caradonna has had three teachers. The first, Ms. Beltran, taught him for one year, before he was referred to one of her friends, Nadia. Nadia taught Caradonna for two years before moving to California and referring him to one of her friends, Helena Vesterman. Vesterman, originally from Russia, taught Caradonna for more than eight years until he had to stop his formal lessons.

“She’s an incredible teacher,” said Caradonna. “There’s always that disconnect; you can be a very good pianist, or you can be a very good teacher. But I mean, even after playing with her for eight plus years, I’m still impressed at just how easy she makes it. It’s really incredible.”

Caradonna’s grandmother, who used to be a professional organist, also acted as Caradonna’s informal teacher.

“I’m the kid who plays piano,” said Caradonna. “I mean I’ve been playing for so long, I’ve always wanted to be able to show people. People have always asked about it. They’d listen to me ramble when I started going off on a tangent about it. It’s just that I’ve never been able to play for them or for anybody that’s outside my teacher and the other kids that are there.”

Before this year, Caradonna practiced for approximately an hour each day. This year, he practices two to two and a half hours each day.

“There’s always times when I have tons of work, and I’m getting back from sports, or mock trial, or something late, and I have a paper due the next day. And it’s always the ‘I really don’t want to have to practice,’ and then [I] start, and I’m like ‘Yeah. Never mind.’ I love it,” said Caradonna.

Caradonna will be attending Yale University this fall and plans to be a chemistry major. He will audition to take piano lessons at Yale, but regardless of the outcome, Caradonna plans to take some sort of lessons and a music theory class.

“[I’m] just playing, keeping up,” said Caradonna. “I do it because I enjoy it. That’s why I keep playing.”

Throughout his years in high school, Caradonna had a school-wide piano recital planned for the end of his senior year. Now, his plan is finally coming to life.

After checking with Susan Memoli, the Head of the Fine Arts Department, Caradonna began to plan out the repertoire for his solo senior piano recital.

Usually Caradonna and his teacher collaboratively decide on the repertoire for recitals. As Caradonna put it, picking music is a “group effort”.

“I am biased toward romantic era music,” said Caradonna. “If I had my choice it would be Chopin, Chopin, Chopin all the way across.”

During the recital, Caradonna will be playing six pieces. The first three pieces are Rhapsody No. 1 in B minor, Op. 79, by J. Brahms, Prelude and Fugue in G major from the WTC Book 2, BWV 860 by J.S. Bach, and the Scherzo No. 2 in B-flat Minor, Op. 31 by F. Chopin. Following the intermission, Caradonna will play Etude in B-flat minor, Op. 8 (Part II), No. 11 by A. Scriabin, Etude in D-sharp minor, Op. 8 (Part II), No. 12 by A. Scriabin, and Ballade No. 4 in F minor, Op. 52 by F. Chopin.

Caradonna is looking forward to his senior piano recital and is excited to show people what it truly means to be “the kid who plays piano.”

Tim Caradonna’s senior piano recital will take place on May 11th, 2011 in Wayland High School’s Little Theater.

The concert is free and open to anyone. It will start at 7:00 PM, and it is scheduled to be 45 minutes long with a 10 minute break in the middle.

To find out more about Caradonna, check out this video!