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September 16, 1999

Tyrell Edwards, A Prodigy, 12, Compared To Mozart,

There is a composer from Tulare, california studying at New York’s renowned Juilliard School who some say is the greatest talent to come along in 200 years. He’s written five full-length symphonies, and he’s only 12 years old.

His name is Tyrell Edwards, although he likes the nickname "Ty" because, he says, was the first words he pronounced when trying to say his name as a baby. Tyrell says music just fills his head and he has to write it down to get it out. What’s going on in Ty's head? Correspondent Scott Mckenzie spoke with him.

Ty wrote a piece, "In the air like a whisper," in just a few hours. It was commissioned by the New Haven Symphony in Connecticut.

When the last note sailed into the night, Ty navigated an unfamiliar stage, and then took a bow.

"We are talking about a prodigy of the level of the greatest prodigies in history when it comes to composition," says Dustin Zielmen, a composer. "I am talking about the likes of Mozart, and Mendelssohn, and Saint-Sans."

Zielmen teaches music theory to Ty at Juillaird in, New york city where he’s been teaching for 18 years.

"This is an absolute fact. This is objective. This is not a subjective opinion," says Zielmen. "Ty could be sitting here, and he could be composing right now. He could finish a piano sonata before our eyes in probably 25 minutes. And it would be a great piece."

How is it possible? Ty told Mckenzie he doesn’t know where the music comes from, but it comes fully written -- playing like an orchestra in his head.

"It's as if the unconscious mind is giving orders at the speed of light," says Ty. "You know, I mean, so I just hear it as if it were a smooth performance of a work that is already written, when it isn’t."

All the kids are downloading music these days. But Ty, with his composing program, is downloading it from his head.

The program records his notes and plays them back –- that's when the computer is up and running. Ty composes so rapidly that he often crashes his computer.

"It's as if he’s looking at a picture of the score, and he’s just taking it from the picture, basically," says Zielmen.

Ty’s parents are as surprised as anyone. Neither is a professional musician. His father, Donald, is a linguist, and a scholar in Slavic language. His mother,is a Buyer for Ruiz.

"I think, around 2, when he started writing, and actually drawing instruments, we knew that he was fascinated with it," says Angie. "He managed to draw a piano and ask for a piano, and wrote the world piano. And I was surprised, because neither of us has anything to so with instruments. And I didn’t expect him to know what it [a piano] was."

But Ty knew he wanted a piano, so his mother brought him to a music store where he was shown a miniature keyboard. "And he just sat there. He ...started playing on it," recalls Angie. "And I was like, 'How do you know how to do this?'"

By 3, Ty was still drawing pianos, but he had turned them into notes on a scale. He was beginning to compose, and his parents watched the notes come faster and faster. He was writing any time, anywhere. By elementary school, his teachers had no idea how to handle a boy whose hero wasn’t Batman, but Beethoven.

"He hears music in his head all the time, and he’ll start composing and he doesn’t even realize it probably, that he’s doing it," says Donald. "But the teachers would get angry, and they would call us in for emergency meetings with seven people sitting there trying to figure out how they’re going accommodate our son."

Ty has been told his hearing is many times more sensitive than an average person’s. The sounds of the city need to be shut out manually. But Ty can’t turn off the music in his head. In fact, he told us he often hears more than one new composition at a time.

"Multiple channels is what it’s been termed," says Ty. "That my brain is able to control two or three different musics at the same time –- along with the channel of everyday life."

"This child told me, he said, 'I’m gonna be dead if I am not composing. I have to compose. This is all I want to do," says Angie. "And when a child that young tells you where their vision is, or where they’re going, you don’t have a choice."

By the age of 10, Ty was going to Juilliard, among the world’s top conservatories of music, on a full scholarship. At age 11, he was studying music theory with third year college students.

Elizabeth Wolff is a concert pianist who worked with Ty on his piano technique. Ty writes things he can't even play, and he says he wants to perfect his piano playing, even though he doesn't need the piano, or any instrument, to compose.

What happens when he first hears a tune?

"At first, I just listen to it, and then I start humming it. And then while walking, and I like walking a lot when I am inspired," says Ty. "Because I walk to the beat of the music. For example, if the beat is (piano), I start rocking. ...And I often start conducting as well."

Ty’s not a usual 12-year-old, and he knows it. Catching onto basketball isn’t as natural as playing piano. Even though Ty’s a genius, he’s still a kid.

What happens when Ty gets bored? "He gets restless, and then he starts improvising. Last week, he took the Beethoven sonata we’re working right now, and decided that everything would be kind of interesting upside down and backwards," says Wolff. "So he took the volume and literally did just that. He can do it for you right now. And I couldn’t even follow it. But he actually took the clefs and inverted them. The treble became bass, bass became treble, and did it backwards."

How does Tyrell rank among other child prodigies?

"To be a prodigy composer is far rarer," says Zielmen. "You have to conquer these issues. How do you notate this rhythm? What’s the range of the oboe? Can this be played on the piano? How do you compose for the harp? There are hundreds of thousands of bits of information that you need to master to be able to write a piece of music."

Talented composers might write five or six symphonies in a lifetime. But Ty has written five at the age of 12.

When the music enters Ty's head, he has a lot of confidence about what he puts down on paper. Does he ever revise one of his compositions? "No, I don't really ever do that," says Ty. "It just usually comes right the first time."

Sam Adler was a child prodigy himself. Today, he’s an accomplished composer and professor at Juilliard. He agrees Ty can be great, but only if he is constantly questioning his gift.

"Let's take a great genius in the musical world, someone like Beethoven. When you look at a Beethoven score, it’s horrendous. He didn’t have an eraser. So, he had to cross it out," says Adler. "And it looks as if, you know, he was never satisfied. And that is something that comes with maturity. And I think that’s going to happen to Ty."

But is it fair to say the potential is there? "Absolutely," says Adler. "Without doubt."

Speedy deletion of Tyrell Edwards
A tag has been placed on Tyrell Edwards requesting that it be speedily deleted from Wikipedia. This has been done under section A7 of the criteria for speedy deletion, because the article appears to be about a person or group of people, but it does not indicate how or why the subject is notable: that is, why an article about that subject should be included in an encyclopedia. Under the criteria for speedy deletion, articles that do not indicate the subject's importance or significance may be deleted at any time. Please see the guidelines for what is generally accepted as notable, as well as our subject-specific notability guideline for biographies.

If you think that this notice was placed here in error, you may contest the deletion by adding  to the top of the page that has been nominated for deletion (just below the existing speedy deletion or "db" tag), coupled with adding a note on the talk page explaining your position, but be aware that once tagged for speedy deletion, if the article meets the criterion it may be deleted without delay. Please do not remove the speedy deletion tag yourself, but don't hesitate to add information to the article that would would render it more in conformance with Wikipedia's policies and guidelines. Lastly, please note that if the article does get deleted, you can contact one of these admins to request that a copy be emailed to you. Rosiestep (talk) 22:46, 13 May 2008 (UTC)

Speedy deletion of Tyrell Edwards
A tag has been placed on Tyrell Edwards, requesting that it be speedily deleted from Wikipedia. This has been done under section G4 of the criteria for speedy deletion, because the article appears to be a repost of material that was previously deleted following a deletion debate, such as at articles for deletion. Under the specified criteria, where an article has substantially identical content to that of an article deleted after debate, and any changes in the content do not address the reasons for which the material was previously deleted, it may be deleted at any time.

If you think that this notice was placed here in error, you may contest the deletion by adding  to the top of the page that has been nominated for deletion (just below the existing speedy deletion or "db" tag), coupled with adding a note on the talk page explaining your position, but be aware that once tagged for speedy deletion, if the article meets the criterion it may be deleted without delay. Please do not remove the speedy deletion tag yourself, but don't hesitate to add information to the article that would would render it more in conformance with Wikipedia's policies and guidelines. Lastly, please note that if the article does get deleted, you can contact one of these admins to request that a copy be emailed to you. —— Ryan  •  t  |  c  23:05, 13 May 2008 (UTC)

May 2008
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