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Photo courtesy of the Daytona Beach News-Journal
Elijah Stevens ‘17 is well on his way to becoming a world-renowned pianist.
The Bahamas native started playing piano at the age of 11 when his home church needed someone to play for worship services.
“The elders came together and prayed on which child should go to lessons at the church’s expense. They said that God revealed that I should take lessons and so I was the only child of the congregation who was sent to music lessons,” said Stevens. “Music turned out to be something that I was gifted in, and I immediately fell in love with the piano during my first lessons. I’ll never forget the day when my pastor, Bishop Patterson Williams, prophesied over my life, [saying], ‘You will play before Kings and Queens and they will marvel.’”
Caption: Elijah Stevens started playing piano in church at the age of 11.
Now, the 28 year-old is on his way to New York to play at the prestigious Carnegie Hall, where he will represent his homeland in the Golden Key Music Festival April 27. According to its website, the festival, which started in 2002, is “designed to educate and inspire student musicians, and to help them unlock their musical potential.” His composition, "Fantasy no. 1- Facing Dorian," won 4th place in the international music competition that earned him an invitation to play in Vienna.
“I feel that I am doing what I was born to do and I feel that I am communicating on a deeply personal, emotional and spiritual level when I am playing the piano,” Stevens recently shared via email. “Music itself is my inspiration and passion. I find that I get to wake up everyday doing what I love in the best career field in the world.”
In addition to New York, Stevens, who is set to graduate with an artist diploma from the Royal Conservatory of Music, Glenn Gould School in Toronto, ON, Canada this June, has also been invited to play in Spain, Dubai, Vienna and London in various international piano competitions and music festivals.
“I want to share my music with the world where I can hopefully travel and perform as much as possible,” he said. “I would also like to share my love of music as a music educator mentoring the next generation of musicians and artists, and I will also be concertizing throughout the Bahamas as I continue to launch my career as a concert pianist.”
He hopes to expose others from his native Bahamaland to the styles and artistic brilliance of his favorite composers, including Florence Price, Chopin, Rachmaninoff and Gershwin to audiences and communities who may have never experienced this kind of music.
