Banging on the piano is not usually noted as the herald of a musical gift, but Emily Bear’s grandmother, attuned to looking for children’s musical talents, spotted the difference in her two-year-old granddaughter.

Emily’s passion for playing piano and composing was contagious. It is the kind of connection to Self that resonates deep within our being. As a result, paths opened and mentors volunteered their services. World-class teachers such as Mary Sauer, principal pianist for the Chicago Symphony; Veda Kaplinsky, Head of the Piano Department at Juilliard; Ron Sadoff head of NYU Steinhardt for film scoring; Frank Kimbrough, head of the Juilliard Jazz Program for jazz piano, and Marshall Griffith from the Cleveland Institute of Music stepped forward—all to help this little girl who had connected with her gifts and calling.

When asked how she composes, six-year-old Emily replied. “This comes out to me…This comes out.” and when asked “Where does it come from?” she replied, “I don’t know. Probably my heart.” By 6 years of age, Emily was the youngest recipient to ever receive the ASCAP Morton Gould Young Composer Award.  She established herself as a classical artist performing Mozart’s Piano Concerto, no. 23 by the age of 7.

Quincy Jones produced Emily’s solo album. The last time he produced an album before Emily was for a young Michael Jackson in 1987. Introduced by mutual friend, Quincy and Emily have developed a magical bond. “When the student is ready, the teacher will appear. “ Quincy told her there is no such thing as an coincidence. A coincidence is just God’s way of remaining anonymous.” Here is her story:

If her family had not been musical, if her grandmother had not been alert to the nuances of sound coming out of a two-year-old, Emily Bear would probably still have been musical…but not extraordinary. Emily creates through her musical intelligence. Her mother has said, “I think the thing Quincy Jones sees in Emily is a complete connection to music, true music, truly someone who creates and makes and loves and lives in the world of music.” Music is an expression of both how Emily creates and who Emily is—a connection to her Self, and the gifts she brings on the deepest of levels.

Emily can be reached through http://www.emilybear.com or you can write to Emily at:

Emily Bear
PO Box 271
Rockford, IL 61105