Music is in the blood
Nearly 200 years ago, Felix Mendelssohn toured Europe and performed music with his beloved sister, Fanny.
The young composer was one of the most acclaimed German prodigies of the 19th century, and Fanny, also a talented musician, composed several pieces of music using her brother's name.
Influenced by Mozart and Beethoven, Mendelssohn's work includes symphonies, concerti, oratorios, piano and chamber music.
Although Fanny was the elder sibling, there is a similarity to the Mendelssohns and Colusa siblings George, 22, and Emily Hayes, 13.
Like the Mendelssohns, George and Emily, the oldest son and daughter of Dr. George and Christina Hayes, developed their passion for music at a young age.
When the younger George Hayes was 4-years-old, he began to study violin with Ingrid Gaston in Yuba City, after seeing Oscar the Grouch and friends perform on the children's television series, "Sesame Street."
"It was captivating," Hayes said of the animated performance. "I was drawn to the idea of playing the violin."
At 12, he began studying under the tutelage of William Barbini of Davis, the former concertmaster of the Sacramento Symphony.
Hayes soloed with Sacramento Youth Symphony in the Tchaikovsky and Beethoven Concerti. He also played Mozart and Bach Concerti with the Yuba-Sutter Symphony and the Tchaikovsky Concerto with the Sacramento State University Symphony. He performs regularly with the Sacramento Philharmonic, Sacramento Choral Society, North State Symphony, Modesto Symphony, and Camerata Capistrano.
Emily Hayes started Suzuki violin lessons at the age of 2, also under Gatson, and began piano lessons at 4 with Lavinia Livingston of Yuba City, and later Jana Olvera of Woodland.
"I followed my brother's lead in the violin, but piano is my primary instrument," Hayes said. "When I was little, I would put music up — sometime upside down — and pretend I could sight read."
Hayes recently performed Mozart's piano concerto No. 21 with the Yuba-Sutter Symphony. She has also performed in small chamber music ensembles as a student in the Sacramento Youth Symphony Summer and Winter Chamber Music programs, and fills in as pianist at the First Christian Church in Colusa.
George Hayes is a 2005 graduate of the Colusa Unified School District home school program. He played competitive soccer and played for Colusa High, where he also was the kicker on the football team. He attends California State University, Sacramento, where he is a pursuing a bachelor's degree in music.
Emily Hayes is a home schooled eighth grader who also plays competitive soccer.
Both plan to pursue music as a career, but neither has ruled out the study of medicine. Their father is an orthopedic surgeon.
"No matter what they chose, their father and I will support them," said Christina Hayes. "We are so proud of both of them."
In celebration of the bicentennial of Mendelssohn's birth, the siblings' first performance together before a large audience will be as the featured soloists for the North State Symphony on Nov. 14 in Chico, and on Nov. 15 in Redding, bringing Mendelssohn's Concerto for violin, piano and strings to life.
The music is considered one of Mendelssohn's most "youthful" concertos, composed when he was only 14.
"It's a fun piece," said Emily Hayes. "I'm looking forward to performing it with my brother."
Although their first major concert together, the pair doesn't expect to experience stage fright.
"You get a little nervous, but it's not stage fright in the traditional sense," George Hayes said. "Your fingers get cold, but that's about it."
In addition to the Hayes' performance, the concert will include the Sonata for string Orchestra by Carlos Gomes (1836-1896), Béla Bartók's (1881-1945) Divertimento and Ralph Vaughan Williams' (1872-1958) Fantasia.
Contact Susan Meeker at 458-2121 or smeeker@tcnpress.com.
