Plains alum gives special performance

A Plains graduate came back home last week to give a free concert at the Paradise Center, where he also attended school for nine years.

More than 100 people attended the special piano recital by Moses Swedberg, a professional pianist preparing for a prestigious summer music program in Ochsenhausen, Germany.

"It was absolutely astounding," said Kristen Cole, a Plains High School art teacher. "When I saw he was performing, I knew I just had to hear him play again. He was a standout years ago when he played in high school. That was the first time I had heard him play," she said.

The 38-year-old Swedberg planned to visit family in Plains and offered to give the free concert at the Paradise Center. The center in turn decided to put out a donation jar in an effort to help pay Swedberg's trip to Germany. Swedberg played almost a dozen classical pieces for nearly two hours and received a standing ovation at the end, which prompted him to do an additional encore piece, "Children's Corner," a suite by 20th century classical composer Claude Debussy. Swedberg performed pieces as far back as the late 1600s by Italian composer Domenico Scarlatti, into the 1700s by German composer Wolfgang Mozart, and to Olivier Messiaen, a French composer of the 1900s.

Swedberg started playing piano at age 4 by taking lessons from the late Katie Lou Rosenow of Plains before moving on to the Music Teachers National Association, a prominent organization in Missoula, where he studied under Molly Morrison, formerly of Plains. He won several state and regional piano competitions. At age 13, he made his first public performance with the Missoula Mendelssohn Club. It's been noted that when Swedberg was a freshman at Plains High School in 2002, he was called a prodigy by the conductor of the Mendelssohn Club.

Swedberg has deep ties to the former Paradise Elementary School, attending the school from kindergarten to eighth grade. Prior to the concert, Karen Thorson, a Paradise Center board member, gave Swedberg a tour of the center. Swedberg called it a "very emotional experience."

Swedberg recently applied for a position in the two-week program of the International Summer Academy of Music in Germany and was one of 12 pianists accepted. The academy's website said the school "expands the musical horizons of young and gifted musicians."

Swedberg turned professional in January and presently resides in Colorado Springs, Colorado, where he works as an accompanist at Pikes Peak State College. He performs classical, opera and chamber music in and around the Colorado Springs area. Classical music, including the Baroque period, is his favorite type of music. "I've always loved the piano and I love classical. I feel it just gives me the ability to express things. Music is therapeutic to me," said Swedberg. "I really love Mozart, but he's tough to play correctly," he said. But he said he would also like to get into light jazz and blues.

Swedberg practices one to two hours daily and about four hours a day when approaching a performance. He has done the same program as he did at the center twice before, in April at Pikes Peak State College and at Canyon City College in Colorado, for which he rehearsed some seven months. Nevertheless, he spent the previous day rehearsing on the center's piano for the recital.

"Moses has grown up to be an extraordinarily talented musician," said Ellen Childress of Plains. "I sat where I could see his hands moving over the keys so fast they were almost a blur. He offered a very complex set of pieces and did it all from memory," she said.

Swedberg said he was amazed by the reaction from the crowd at his recital and surprised that the donations totaled $1,764, which will cover his entire trip to Germany. "The whole experience at Paradise was incredible. It was kind of surreal because of the school and the support from the people," said Swedberg, who taught himself many classical pieces over the years. "It was incredible. You just never know how it's going to be received," he said.

"I thought the event was phenomenal for a variety of reasons. Moses played the entire concert without relying on sheet music, which is amazing," said Thorson, who added that she was thrilled when Swedberg offered the free concert. "The music was exquisite, moving, and mesmerizing. The audience was engaged and enthusiastic throughout," she added. "And, the fact that we were watching a former student of Paradise Elementary and Plains High School who perfected his musical abilities to a professional level was absolutely heartwarming." Thorson also added that she hopes Swedberg will be an inspiration to other students in the arts.

"It brought tears to my eyes to hear him play. He is an artist," said Cole, who also said she had the honor of teaching art to Swedberg in high school. "It is really just so wonderful to see a previous student pursue their passion and gift. His performance brought so much joy," said Cole. "Lovely for our community!"

Thorson felt the community showed "a shared pride in having Moses come home to share his amazing talents."