Friday, April 04, 2008

Wil Houchens on YouTube

Gifted young pianist



Recently, I came across some music videos that feature Wil Houchens, a young man who grew up a few miles down the road from us. He's a friend of Isaac, my son, and they graduated from high school together, last year. Wil's about the same age as Isaac -- almost 19.

If your internet connection allows you to view YouTube, I think you'll enjoy the videos he's posted. I believe they were all filmed at Hillcrest Baptist Church, in Hopkinsville.

Wil started taking piano lessons when he was five. I remember one time when the kids came home from Vacation Bible School talking about Wil Houchens. He had played "Great Balls of Fire" on the piano in the church basement.

During high school, Wil was the pianist for the Hopkinsville High School Choir, so I got to hear him play regularly. By the time he was a senior, he had begun study with Austin Peay University's music department and was giving piano lessons himself at the Pennyrile Academy of Fine Arts in Hopkinsville. Now he's completing his first year of college at Austin Peay University in Clarksville, TN.

Wil is also an avid fisherman who likes to compete in tournaments (and he often does very well in them.) You'll notice that his YouTube id is PianistFishermanGuy.

Wil has a lot of natural musical talent but he has also worked tremendously hard to develop his skills. He has poured untold hours of his young life into daily practice. Our community is very proud of him, and we wouldn't be a bit surprised if he's famous someday.

2 comments:

Runawayimagination said...

Thanks for the post on Will Houchens. I watched some of his videos and was astounded! He is truly amazing and should have a great career ahead of him.

Genevieve Netz said...

Yes, Wil is incredibly gifted, and he's also a very nice young man who's had a good upbringing. I hope for many good things for him.

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CONTENTMENT: Keep your heart free from hate, your mind from worry, live simply, expect little, give much, sing often, pray always, forget self, think of others and their feelings, fill your heart with love, scatter sunshine. These are the tried links in the golden chain of contentment.
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