Hendersonville – The elite, young classical pianist alternated his solos with accompanying bassoonist Emmalee Odom, his girlfriend of two years. Their hour-long concert was on Aug. 5, in the listening room of Freeburg Pianos at 2314 Asheville Hwy./U.S. 25 in Hendersonville. They performed five 20th century numbers, including “Cuatro Danzas Mexicanas (Four Mexican Dances).”
The program reflected Christopher’s varying musical emotion in concerts. This one had “lots of dance and song influence,” he said. “The music ranges quite a bit. Some of it is serene, and some of it is a little silly. Some of it is very introspective.” He told the audience that a flowing number would be an “accessible piece, easy to listen to. I hope you enjoy it.”
The 2019 Hendersonville High School graduate was in concert while home a mere week, between a festival in Maiori, Italy and heading to grad school. He combined “learning, performing, and watching” at the Amalfi Coast Piano Festival.
There, he took master classes from Dr. Douglas Humpherys, who’ll teach him one-on-one at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, N.Y. Christopher is transferring there, after a year at the Conservatory of Music of Brooklyn College. Emmalee is also studying at Eastman. Humpherys earned his master’s from the Julliard School in NYC.
Christopher received one-on-one tutelage from Dr. Read Gainsford at Florida State, where he earned his undergraduate degree and met Emmalee. He studied with world-class pianist Reiko Aizawa at Brooklyn College and is completing his master’s in piano performance, expanding to include literature, with plans for a doctorate in the same field.
Now 24, Christopher is in his sixth year of nearly a decade of collegiate studies and has won multiple awards as a teen. He debuted as an orchestral performer at age 13. Donations from the audience on Aug. 5 supported him and Emmalee in their studies.
Expressing Ideas
Christopher sharpens his mind on big pictures and details, both in playing chess and in playing piano. He keeps refining his music, both academically and with practice. He’s taking skills to another level through “lots of detail work,” he told the Tribune. “I’ve been getting into the fine details of performing, listening, as well as developing big-picture ideas — and communicating those ideas to an audience.”
Tavernier elaborated. “By making them feel something, that means I’m doing my job. It’s all about communicating the intentions of the composers through the score.” He feels the music. He often makes expressions and tilts his head when striking key notes. Bob Tavernier said that such subtleties “make it a stronger story in the pieces he plays.” Christopher’s parents are Bob and Kim Tavernier.
Christopher’s musical “dream job would be just to be touring in general. I love to travel and see places. I’d love to make music everywhere I go.”
His three favorite classical music composers are “Ravel, Mendelssohn, and Prokofiev,” above many other favorites. They are “very different. Ravel has a very fluid, watery sound that’s very refined. Mendelssohn is very flashy and technical, but also very poetic and introspective. And Prokofiev is sarcastic and witty and charming, in an unconventional way.”
He said that he hasn’t composed original music “in a long while.” But his interpretations of classics are very creative, Emmalee said. “Christopher is a very sensitive musician. You can hear so much thought and detail in his performances, which are always very engaging. It is so cool to watch the evolution of a piece — from when he starts working on it to the moment he performs. Over the past year, I have seen a lot of new and original ideas” in his performances. “I can’t wait to see where he goes from here.”
Mutually Inspiring
His romance with Emmalee spurs his musical creativity, Christopher said. “It always gives me some energy and inspiration — especially considering she’s a phenomenal musician, as well as a great person. She has a very distinct aura to her sound and playing. She also has a great musical instinct, in addition to playing the bassoon exceptionally well.”
Emmalee also described numbers and their thematic shifts to the audience, before playing them. One reflected “innocence. It’s not lost. It just changes.” Her eight-pound bassoon plays four octaves, for the widest range among woodwind instruments.
Emmalee is a good role model for musicianship, he said. “She never quits, regardless of the circumstances — whether it’s due to stubbornness or determination. I’m sure my personality has grown” by being around her. Emmalee said that “he has continued to grow in so many different ways.”
Emmalee said, “Getting to perform with Christopher is super rewarding! He is so easy to play with. He brings so much life and energy to the performance.”