Low Down Articles
Artist Profiles - Julian Geisterfer
Article 21 of 73
From the book Artists of the Gatineau Hill by Catherine Joyce. This article first appeared in the "Artist Profiles" column in the November 2, 2005 issue of the The Low Down to Hull and Back News.
Reprinted with permission. Search complete list of Low Down Articles.
o o o
Guitarist Extraordinaire
Some of you will have caught the Chelsea Days concert at St. Stephen's last June when a father and son duo played an astounding repertoire of classical, jazz and flamenco guitar. At one point the sound system failed and young Julian Geisterfer, age twelve, bent to his guitar and played alone while his father, Mike, attended to the problem. A hush in the audience as an exquisitely rendered classical piece filled the air and the smile of a young boy arrested our hearts.
Five years ago Julian had no idea of playing guitar. His older sister, Mikaila, wanted to learn the fiddle, so their father started her off by teaching her the basic chords on the guitar. Julian sat in on the lessons. Although the instrument was far too big for his son's small hands, Mike quickly recognized Julian's passion and for his ninth birthday bought him a three-quarter-sized guitar. Within six months Julian's fingers were dancing across the strings so fast that his father, a gifted, lifelong guitar-player, could not keep up.
"Music is a matrix of patterns. It became apparent to me that Julian had an innate understanding of how scales and chords fit together. It was as if he were remembering rather than learning the concepts. We signed him up with Gabe Bianchi, one of the top jazz guitarists in the region. Within weeks he was pushing new boundaries, mastering things that would have taken me months. Julian is a born musician - he has the passion, the technical skill and the theory. Love shines out when he plays."
Now in a special program, Julian spends mornings in grade 7 at de l'Isle and afternoons at the Conservatory in Gatineau. To win this honour he had to audition last March for the single spot available at the Conservatory. In preparation, Mike took Julian to the Outaouais School of Music to study with Dennis Donegani, a Member of the Canadian Guitar Quartet.
"Julian was preparing for the Senior Level at the Outaouais Music Competition as well as for the audition. At eleven he was so young, competing against others who already had ten years of classical training. One day in practice he froze. He couldn't remember his music. So much hinged on these opportunities. He burst into tears.
"I took him in my arms as his younger sister Annelise came up with a photograph of a big gorilla with a tiny kitten in his hand. I asked Julian, 'Who do you think this kitten is?'
'Me?'
'And the gorilla is your gift. He is holding you gently but he has such power, we all have to learn how to handle him properly."
That has been the challenge. Julian's gift has swept his young life to the heights so quickly - not only did he win the music competition against classical pianists four years his senior, he won the coveted place at the Conservatory.
Patrick Roux, the Head of the music program, came out afterwards to speak to Julian's parents, "It is unusual to see a young child play with such technical ability but to play with such soul - in twenty years of teaching, I have never seen it."
Music is the sea Julian swims in - his natural element. "I just love playing my guitar." He smiles his radiant smile, his hands performing imaginary riffs against his shirt. "I love performing. The audience is my friend."
This will be true for years to come.