Hawkinsville teen to perform piano solo at Carnegie Hall

A 16-year-old pianist from Hawkinsville will return to New York City this week where he will take the stage at the prestigious Carnegie Hall for his second solo performance there this year.

Hayes Way, a junior at The Westfield School in Perry, was one of 29 people who competed in the American Protege International Piano and Strings Competition on Thanksgiving weekend. He received an honorable mention award for performing an opus by Rachmaninoff. On Saturday, he will return to the famous venue to play in a competition featuring music from the Romantic period.

Though his mother used to play piano, Way wasn't exposed to the instrument until he was in the fourth grade, after he fell in love with making music with a plastic recorder, a flute-like instrument, at school.

"He would play it anywhere he could play it ... anywhere for anybody, he just loved it so much," his mother, Charlotte Way, said.

After he played at a church service when he was in the fourth grade, a woman asked him if he'd ever thought of playing the piano. He told her no.

That encounter sparked his interest.

Charlotte Way said she and her husband, Ramsey, went to a yard sale one weekend and bought their son a $50 piano. They also searched for a teacher and found, by word of mouth, Jane Bickley, who lived in Marshallville at the time but moved to Macon four years ago.

Bickley, who is still Way's teacher, said she knew early on that he had what it took to become a great musician because of "his love for it. .... He's just a teacher's dream student is what he is."

However, it wasn't until Way was in the seventh grade that he realized his love for the ivory keys was more than a temporary infatuation.

"I used to love building Legos and I wanted to be an engineer. ... I started taking karate lessons and I wanted to have a black belt," he said.

Those plans never materialized.

"I started taking piano, and I thought it was probably just going to be another thing that would flee away within a year, (but) I turned out to really like it and it actually stuck with me."

As he learned more advanced music by composers such as Wolfgang Mozart and Berg Mueller, Way said he became disenchanted with the yard-sale piano and "finally decided I needed a more adequate piano." His parents bought him a Steinway from a sale at Mercer University.

In 2013, Way performed in a blind audition for the Macon Youth Symphony Orchestra and was selected as the group's sole pianist. He has been chosen for three years straight.

Jonathan Baker, the orchestra's conductor, said some of his students in the past have been asked to play at Carnegie Hall but never as a soloist.

"He's always prepared, he works hard, he has a great attitude. ... It comes across in his music," Baker said.

He said Way demonstrates "mature musicianship beyond his young years."

Way and his mother discovered the American Protege International Piano and Strings Competition earlier this year while searching for more experiences and opportunities for him to network with other musicians. After being selected from a video submission, Way made his first trip to Carnegie Hall in November.

After exams on Friday, he will fly to New York to perform his favorite style of music in Saturday's competition at Carnegie Hall.

"I really like playing music from the Romantic period because that's just the most expressive period, and it has a lot of leniency in terms of what the performer can do with the music," said Way, who will be practicing Chopin's Waltz in C sharp minor Op. 64 No. 2 between studying for finals.

While the idea of performing a solo in one of the nation's most prestigious concert venues is exciting for Way, he said he's looking forward to returning for other reasons as well.

"I really enjoy being able to be backstage with 28 other people who are just like me and who have dedicated just as much to music, if not more," Way said. "I really enjoyed being able to see other people that are my age play at such an advanced level and be exposed to more people like that."

Way hopes to attend college at the University of Georgia or Georgia Tech. While he may not study music, he said he likely will continue performing.

To contact writer Laura Corley, call 744-4334 or follow her on Twitter @Lauraecor.

This story was originally published December 15, 2015 at 6:23 PM with the headline "Hawkinsville teen to perform piano solo at Carnegie Hall ."