2023 Issue 6 Nov/Dec Focus - Mid-South Magazine

music
Duty of
an Artist
An Interview with
Pianist Lucas Smith
by William Smythe
all photos courtesy Lucas Smith
To shed light into the darkness
of men’s hearts—such is the
duty of an artist.
Robert Schumann
Garbed like a king, but with the grace of a queen, Lucas
Smith steps up to the Steinway. He nods to the conductor
after adjusting his seat, and the orchestra starts swinging,
flourishing their instruments gracefully. He listens intently,
his head in sync. Not a drop of concern crosses his face,
except a furrowed brow, as if he is waiting for the right
time to arrive. He waits as a man would wait for a train
that he’s taken every day and, by now, has gotten the
schedule memorized like the back of his hand. Speaking
of hands, Lucas’ fingers delicately play with the air, as if
he were the conductor himself, his nails waving the space
like a baton.
As the strings settle down, Lucas takes his cue and plays
a chord, as if plucking it from a ripe plum tree in an orchard
of sound.
Baby, it’s Beethoven tonight.
Lucas was born in Memphis in 1995. He always had a
special interest in the musical arts, playing trombone in
his middle school band. However, he grew a fondness for
the piano after getting an electric keyboard one year. He
played those keys until they broke to pieces or got jammed.
Even though he passed up the trombone, Lucas still credits
the instrument as a major influence on his classical training
later in life.
Lucas didn’t choose music as a career path initially. That
wasn’t until halfway through his first year of dental school,
where he found himself aimless during the semester. To
alleviate his ennui, he began to play his piano as an outlet. As
he grew more passionate in his playing, Lucas moved majors
and schools, going to the University of Memphis for piano.
Besides the piano, Lucas also has a specialty in playing
the harpsichord and has been the resident harpsichordist
for the Collegium Musicum at the university. Part of his
studies took him on a conservatory trip to Ochsenhausen,
Germany in the Bavarian countryside. There, he
marveled at the works of Beethoven and Bach while
learning lessons from modern-day masters in his craft. He
graduated in May of 2023.
During his time at the University, Lucas won the Rudi E
Scheidt Soloist prize, where I saw his performance which I
illustrated in the opening section. The magic of that night still
astounds me, and I’m certain Lucas would agree that that is
the beauty of art and music. There is a power that artists like
him wield, an ability to conjure emotions out of pure sound.
After our interview, Lucas has plans to practice with
a singer and flutist (for two separate events) as well
as prepare for his usual Sunday church service at First
Presbyterian in Somerville.
8 Music | Nov+Dec 2023 | focuslgbt.com