• (left to right) Kenzie and Kai Laird, Joyce Zhou and Jordan Cheah.
TAYLOR Swift, Pitbull and Flo Rida’s “Apple Bottom Jeans”.
Pfft, forget about all that.
A group of child musicians are debunking the myth that classical music is for old fuddy-duddies with a concert at Saint Patrick’s Basilica on October 3.
The performers at Pipe Organ and friends have an average age of 11 and the youngest, violinist Kenzie Laird, is eight.
His big brother, 13-year-old Kai, is leading the concert on St Pat’s majestic pipe organ, one of the largest in Australia.
A prodigy on the instrument, Kai studies under Alessandro Pittorino and Holly Broadbent, and attends regular masterclasses with Stewart Smith.
Kai took up piano aged four and has played the pipe organ in prestigious venues across Australia, including the Sydney Opera House.
Melody
“I started playing the pipe organ when I joined the Young Organist Programme at St Mary’s Cathedral when I was 10,” Kai says.
“My dad thought I would enjoy playing the pipe organ because he felt the piano wasn’t big enough for me.
“The main challenge of playing the pipe organ is coordination, because you have to play with your hands and feet.”
The young musos are a tight-knit bunch.
Flautist Joyce Zhou (13) is Kai’s best friend and they have been duet partners since they were five.
“When we first met, I was delayed in my speech and Joyce could only speak Mandarin. So we communicated through playing music together,” Kai says.
“I met Jordan Cheah through the Western Australian Youth Strings Orchestra towards the end of last year. I am the piano accompanist of WAYS and Jordan is the concertmaster.”
Kai and his brother Kenzie have performed all over the globe, including at the grand opening of St Peter’s Church in Kuching, Malaysia.
The concert will feature solo organ performances by Kai, including Bach’s Toccata and Fugue in D minor and Shostakovich’s Waltz in C minor, as well as duets with flautist Zhou and violinists Cheah (10) and Kenzie.
Grand opening
The duets include Greensleeves, Gaubert’s Madrigal and Dvořák’s Allegro Moderato.
“My favourite composers are Bach, Boëllmann and Stravinsky,” Kai says.
“I like playing the Toccata and Fugue BWV 565 by Bach because it has a big grand opening that everyone knows and the fugue is quite unique.
“I also like playing the Suite Gothique by Boëllmann, especially the Toccata, because the iconic melody is in the pedals and I never seem to get bored of it.”
All proceeds from the concert will go towards Kai’s dream of participating in the 2028 Oregon Bach Festival, an annual shindig that celebrates all things Johann Sebastian Bach.
“If I go, I will play Bach’s Trio Sonata No. 1 in E-flat major BWV 525, which is by far the hardest set of pieces I have ever learnt on the organ,” he says.
Away from the keys, Kai enjoys swimming, going to the chess club and playing video games like Super Metroid.
And yes, he will be cheering on Fremantle in Saturday’s Grand Final—“Go Dockers!!”
Kai Laird – Pipe Organ and friends is at Saint Patrick’s Basilica, Fremantle on Saturday October 3, 2pm-3.15pm. For tix see events.humanitix.com and more info at facebook.com/KaiPlayzPipeOrgan.
by STEPHEN POLLOCK