Young pianist Emily Bear to appear on Good Morning America on Monday

3 comments June 11th, 2009

Emily Bear, the charming 7-year-old piano player and composer from Rockford, is adding another television appearance to her resume: On Monday, she’ll play piano on “Good Morning America.”

The ABC show starts at 7 a.m. on WTVO-17 (Comcast 4).

Her mother, Andrea Bear, said show staff learned about Emily through the Internet and invited her to play. It is her first appearance on a national morning news program.

Earlier this month, an Australian crew filmed Emily in Rockford for a segment on child prodigies that will air down under soon on “Sunday Night,” a news magazine show. Emily also has appeared five times on “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” and has played at the White House.

EDDY MONTVILLE | RRSTAR.COM
Emily Bear takes a break Tuesday, June 2, 2009, from playing with the Jodi Beach Trio at Franchesco’s Ristorante in the Sinatra Room in Rockford as an Australian crew films her.

All black-box talk reminds me of Sundstrand

6 comments June 11th, 2009

I didn’t realize that the “black box” flight data recorder that is being searched for to reveal clues in the Air France plane that crashed near Brazil last week killing 228 people is actually orange in color, like they all are.

But I do remember that Rockford-based Sundstrand used to make those black boxes in Redmond, Wa., until in 1993 it sold its Data Control division, which manufactured the devices. And I recall that every time there’s an awful plane crash.