Posts filed under 'Emily Bear'
March 31st, 2010
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Hal Leonard Corp. of Milwaukee, the world’s largest music print publisher, is the exclusive distributor of the songbooks and other publications of Emily Bear, the 8-year-old composer from Rockford who has played played piano on “The Ellen DeGeneres Show,” at the White House and Ravinia and with the Rockford Symphony Orchestra.
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Two of her songbooks, featuring photos, are in stock: “The Love In Us” and “Once Upon a Wish: A Holiday Collection and More.”
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An interview with Emily will appear in the October/November issue of Hal Leonard’s “Music Express” classroom educational magazine that is read by more than 3 million students.
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Emily will play piano at the Assisi of the World Festival for a solo recital June 5 in Foligno, Italy.
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January 5th, 2010
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Ellen DeGeneres couldn’t have been more direct today in pitching sales of Emily Bear’s new songbooks for piano music she’s written.
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But first, DeGeneres set the stage on her TV show, “The Ellen DeGeneres Show.”
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She told viewers on Emily’s sixth appearance on the show that Emily, 8, of Rockford is “extra adorable.”
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She then complimented Emily on the long, pale, sleeveless dress she was wearing and learned from Emily that she got her tan vacationing in Mexico, swimming with the dolphins. A photo flashed on the screen of a smiling Emily with a happy looking dolphin.
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Next, Emily answered DeGeneres’ question about how many pieces she has composed in her lifetime: 350, Emily told her.
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And before Emily played a jazz song on piano that her grandmother taught her, DeGeneres noted that much of Emily’s music is available for purchase in new songbooks. And where would one find those songbooks, DeGeneres asked.Emily seemed embarrassed to say, replying almost with a question: “On my Web site?”
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“Don’t be coy about it,” DeGeneres told Emily, whom she hugged at the end of the segment as she has done the past five times Emily has played piano on her show.
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The show’s Web site doesn’t soft-pedal either: A headline directs readers to “Buy Emily Bear’s Songs!” at her Web site, saying that Emily is donating a portion of the proceeds of the songbooks to charity. The DeGeneres show site also notes that Emily has already donated $2,000 to Susan G. Komen for the Cure just from the sale of “Ellen’s Song” on iTunes. Emily wrote that song for her first appearance on the DeGeneres show.
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“How can you say no to that?” the site asks.
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Nov. 7, 2009, Register Star photo. Emily Bear, 8, of Rockford performs before dinner at the Black Magic Ball at Forest Hills Country Club in Rockford.
December 28th, 2009
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Music-related happenings fill my picks for top three local stories in 2009:
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3. Emily Bear of Rockford, who turned 8 years old in August, returns to perform on “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” for the sixth time, on Jan. 5. She last played piano on the talk show in April. Emily also was featured in 2009 on an Australian news magazine TV show featuring prodigies.
(Register Star photo Aug. 29, 2009. Pianist Emily Bear of Rockford holds her pet Winston, a miniature golden labradoodle, Aug. 18 at Mendelssohn Performing Arts Center in Rockford.
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2. Cheap Trick played at the Las Vegas Hilton for nine shows in September covering songs from The Beatles’ “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.” The 35-year-old Rockford-based power-poppers also played a new song of their own, “Sick Man of Europe” on “The Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien” that month.
(April 1, 2008, Register Star photo of Rick Nielsen and Bun E. Carlos of Cheap Trick Stockholm Inn in Rockford at first state-honored Cheap Trick Day.)
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1. On the Waterfront downsized its physical location, with music and food only on the west side of the Rock River in downtown Rockford over the Labor Day weekend. Still waiting for the tally on admission tickets sold.
(Sept. 4, 2009, Register Star photo. Jason Aspengren (from left) of Belvidere, Erin Palmer of Roscoe, Janel Palmer of Roscoe and Barry Palmer of Roscoe walk across the State Street bridge at On the Waterfront in downtown Rockford.
October 29th, 2009
The Oct. 15 Mendelssohn Performing Arts Center 125th anniversay fundraising dinner at Franchesco’s Ristorante in Rockford netted the group $46,000.
Coming up soon is Emily Bear, 8, of Rockford performing at 7 p.m. Nov. 19, at the center at 415 N. Church St. Cost is $15. 815-964-9713. She’ll play piano after a screening of the film, “Note by Note: The Making of Steinway L1037.”
August 17th, 2009
Emily Bear has played piano as the youngest solo performer at Ravinia Festival in Highland Park, a venue known for hosting classy on-the-lawn entertainment for adults.
On Thursday (Aug. 20), the 7-year-old from Rockford will be more at home in terms of her age group when she performs at a Ravinia-presented outdoor concert at a kids’ museum in Glenview: Kohl Children’s Museum of Greater Chicago. She’ll play a 45-minute solo.
By the way, Emily turns 8 later this month.
Emily was 6 years old when this photo was taken of her at King Gifted School in Rockford in 2007 reacting to the gym teacher becoming a human sundae. Alan Leon photo for the Register Star.
June 26th, 2009
Emily Bear, 7, of Rockford told Australian TV viewers Sunday who were watching an evening news show about three international child prodigies including her that she is “just a girl who plays piano” and that she really digs composing music. “It’s something you can do and nobody can tell you what to do or when to do it,” she said.
Go to Emily’s Web site to connect to the “Sunday Night” video of Emily and her family shot earlier this month in Rockford.
(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, where the “Sunday Night” crew was filming.)
Emily’s Mom, Andrea Bear, said the TV segment about her daughter was “a very beautiful, very classy story.” She told me today, though, that while Emily practices four hours a day a few days before a major concert, her daughter’s daily practices can be as short as 15 minutes a day. Emily practices piano an average of two to two-and-a-half hours a day, Andrea said.
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.
June 2nd, 2009
“The Ellen DeGeneres Show” gave young piano ace and composer Emily Bear a national audience on her five appearances on the talk show the past two years. Now, the 7-year-old from Rockford is getting exposure in Australia.
A television crew from “Sunday Night,” the Australian TV news magazine equivalent of “20/20″ in the U.S., filmed Emily this week in Rockford for a segment about three international child prodigies that will air in a few weeks.
This afternoon, the crew filmed her playing keyboard with the Jodi Beach Trio at Franchesco’s Ristorante.
(Photo by Eddy Montville, Rockford Register Star. More photos will be posted at rrstar.com/multimedia tonight.)
Yesterday, they were at the Coronado Performing Arts Center. The crew also captured Emily and her family on film at home.
Monique Wright, a “Sunday Night” reporter, said the program discovered Emily through research for a story about prodigies. And when they saw Emily on video, “she was just so captivating,” Wright said.
The other youngsters who’ll be featured on the program: a 2-year-old in London, the youngest person admitted to Mensa International, a group for people with high IQs; and a 6-year-old tennis wiz from Australia who has trained in Florida with the coach of Venus and Serena Williams.
May 22nd, 2009
While vacationing with family in Minnesota, Miriam Cecilia Carlson of Rockford collected pieces of mica from a mine and decided to use the mineral in making dresses.
Her collection of dresses including some featuring the mineral helped her win third place and $1,000 in at the Eighth Annual Driehaus Awards for Fashion Excellence competition in Chicago on May 18.
Carlson said she flaked off pieces of mica, sealed each with a polymer gloss and drilled little holes to be able to sew through and attached the mica to fabrics she used in her avante guarde Summer Storm collection: Lingering Glimmer, a short dress covered in the mineral; Tumbling Sky, a grey, knee-length dress with the mineral sewn to the waistband; and Wall of the Rain, which contains little pieces of mica sewn around the neckline.
Kacey Hahn models Carlson’s Tumbling Sky dress with mica belt.
Miriam Cecilia Carlson, right, with models wearing dresses in her Summer Storm collection. (Photos provided)
Carlson, who was home-schooled in Rockford in high school, is a 2009 graduate of Dominican University in River Forest and works at Zzazz Productions, assisting with backstage operations in fashion and bridal shows in the Chicago area. She is creating her own line of clothing, ranging from $45 high-waisted, pleated skirts to evening wear topping more than $500. She hopes to have her garments in boutiques this summer.
One of her first clients is Emily Bear, 7, of Rockford, who plays piano and has appeared five times on “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” and performed at the White House in 2008. Carlson said she will create three dresses for Emily to wear at upcoming performances.
Emily Bear modeling a piece Carlson made for her organic children’s clothing line called Simple Treasures.
“My desire to find meaning in life inspires not only the designs of my garments, but the process of construction,” Carlson said in an e-mail. “The development of each piece I create is a journey, where I allow the fabric to respond organically to my manipulation.”
Contact Carlson at miriamceciliacarlson@gmail.com.
April 30th, 2009
Pianist Emily Bear, appearing about 10 minutes ago on “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” for the fifth time in a year and a half, surprised DeGeneres on her 999th episode.
DeGeneres told the audience that every time Emily, 7, of Rockford, appears on the show, she plays a new piano piece she’s written for DeGeneres. But Emily, wearing a long white dress that she performed in at the White House last year, smiled and quickly, but politely, corrected DeGeneres. “This time it’s not for you,” Emily said. “It’s for the Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles.” She entitled the piece, “Tomorrow’s Wishes.”
After playing the dreamy-sounding, classical number for a minute or two, DeGeneres told Emily, “You’re amazing. Again, amazing.”
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