BYU professor performs with family at Carnegie Hall

Brigham Young University professor Stephanie Brinton Parker joined three generations of the Brinton Family Pianists to perform at Carnegie Hall on March 23.

The Brinton Family Pianists have performed worldwide, including in Germany, Russia and now New York City at one of the worlds most prestigious venues.

The family has won numerous musical and academic awards, including first-place finishes at the BartkKabalevskyProkofiev International Piano Competition.

16 family members, including grandmother Sally Brinton, Stephanie Brinton Parker and the grandchildren, will perform on Monday.

Sally Brinton, family matriarch and Juilliard piano alumna, has guided her family in spreading uplifting messages through music at every step.

When you think Tchaikovsky himself performed in Carnegie Hall and the Beatles performed in Carnegie Hall, I mean, this is such a storied, beautiful venue, and we just feel honored to be able to play there, Brinton said.

Before every performance, Sally Brinton tells her grandkids to be concert ready through practice and preparation.

Though there is a high standard required, she remains compassionate and understanding. She knows how hard it can be to stay focused.

As a child, she once had to prioritize practice over other desires, spending hours at the piano and working hard to develop her musical talent.

Getting 16 people concert-ready is as hard as it sounds. Grandkids as young as seven will perform, requiring focus and passion from everyone involved.

The two traits that I think are absolutely essential to be able to play an instrument at a high level are discipline and consistency, Brinton said.

Behind the music is a message based on four pillars: Family, country, heritage and faith.

These pillars all originated from one simple principle that she lives by.

My motto is awaken with a grateful heart, she said. This concert is a concert of gratitude. We designed it to be that way.

Gratitude is at the heart of the messages Brinton's music conveys.

She and her family began sharing these messages through music while serving as mission leaders for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Eastern Europe.

Throughout their lives, the gospel of Jesus Christ has remained central.

One of the familys first major performances together was in Eastern Europe, where the Brintons performed and distributed 169 copies of the Book of Mormon.

This is our way of sharing our talents to help bring people to our Heavenly Father and His Son, she said.

The messages that the Brintons share go beyond language and cultural barriers, touching hearts without words.

You can not speak a lick of another language, and yet play a beautiful piece, and it can touch someone's heart as if you'd actually spoken with them about beautiful things, Brinton said.

Her children have also achieved academic and musical success, with five attending Harvard and two attending BYU.

Parker, a Harvard graduate, now teaches nutrition, dietetics and food science in the College of Life Sciences at BYU.

She has earned significant recognition as both an academic and pianist, winning multiple major piano competitions, being named to the USA Today All-USA Academic First Team, and serving as former president of the Utah Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.

She expressed pride in her role as a BYU professor.

I love teaching at BYU and I love the students. I think theyre really special people, and it's had a big impact on my life, Parker said.

She said her love for the piano started young, but blossomed when she attended Harvard as a young student.

It was really in my college years, once I was not studying piano, ironically, where I realized how much I loved it, she said. I realized how much of an impact music had made on me.

Three of Parkers daughters now study piano, and her gratitude reflects that of her mother, Sally Brinton.

Its a joy for me to perform, but then to see them perform, and to perform with them is a type of bonding that is hard to replicate, she said.

15-year-old Kate Brinton also enjoys performing music with her family. She echoed the gratitude-based message of her grandmother, Sally Brinton.

We're doing more than just playing. We're also trying to spread a message of heritage, family, gratitude and faith, and we want people to learn from that, Kate Brinton said.