PRESS RELEASE:

Washington State’s First President’s Cup

This spring, the National Federation of Music Clubs (NFMC) awarded its first President’s Cup in the state of Washington to a lifetime piano student of John Van Lierop of West Seattle. Timothy Locke, West Seattle resident and recent graduate of Garfield High School, proudly received the coveted trophy from Van Lierop on behalf of the NFMC at his final piano recital at Tibbetts United Methodist Church in West Seattle.

At the age of four, Tim demonstrated a natural affinity toward the piano having mastered several passages from the musical “Les Miserables” by ear. This past April, with 14 years of piano lessons under his belt, Tim performed the Grieg Piano Concerto, 3rd movement with the Garfield High School Symphony Orchestra at the Quincy Jones Auditorium. An exhilarating piano concerto with an exciting symphonic accompaniment, the Grieg Concerto was forever on his mind and in his head since he was a young boy. This spring, Tim also performed at Carnegie Hall as the principle clarinetist with the Garfield Symphony Orchestra.

“In the history of the NFMC, they have only given out a handful of President’s Cups out of over one hundred thousand students - probably less than one in every 10,000 students receive such a distinction,” said Mr. Van Lierop. The President’s Cup is the last in a series of “gold cups” which are earned by students who are required to perform two pre-selected solos pieces and/or a concerto at the annual music festival judged by national standards.

President’s Cup, one must amass a total of 90 points, the equivalent of 12 years of earning the highest marks in both the solo and concerto events of the festival. Each cup is progressively bigger than the next. The President’s Cup, sent to John Van Lierop’s piano studio this spring in a large padded box, stands 14 inches tall and weighs an astonishing 10 pounds.

“It was kind of funny seeing some of the younger students’ reactions when I received the cup. It really made me feel old in comparison. I’ve been playing piano for a long time and many of them are just starting.” Tim explained, “I wouldn’t be holding this thing if it weren’t for the support of my family and Mr. Van Lierop where is the organist at Tibbetts Church.. They fully support my love of music and now it has become an essential part of who I am.”

During Tim’s 14 years as piano student, Tim has performed annually for the congregation at Tibbetts United Methodist Church. For his senior piano recital this past May, Tim gave a brief history of music and performed a selection of his favorite works from Scarlatti, Haydn, Brahms, Rachmaninoff, Liszt, Copeland, Gershwin, and Chopin at the Wesley Homes-Wesley Terrace Retirement Community. Tim was awarded his High School Diploma in Music by the National Guild of Piano Teachers at his final piano recital this past month as a student of John Van Lierop of the West Seattle Piano Studio.

Tim plans to continue studying the piano when he attends Bowdoin College in Maine this fall as a freshman. His current plans include music among his major areas of study. When asked to give advice to his younger peers, Tim said, “Everyone says the way to Carnegie Hall is ‘Practice, practice, practice.’ What they don’t realize is that that same road can lead you to anywhere you want to go. Hard work has brought me this far. Hopefully the road doesn’t stop here.”

For samples of Timothy Locke’s piano pieces, you can find him on youtube.com