Relatively Popular : Guitarist Performing for Seniors Is Applauded but His Grandmother Is Envied

After a performance Saturday morning in Irvine by noted classical guitarist Christopher Parkening, audience members lined up to pay their respects--to his grandmother.

“Oh, to have a grandson like that,” was a typical compliment given a beaming Muriel Parkening by fellow residents of the Golden Creek Inn, a care facility for senior citizens. The guitarist gave the free recital, followed by another free performance at the Irvine Senior Center, where his grandmother is a volunteer receptionist.

Although this was Parkening’s first performance at the Golden Creek Inn, he has performed at the Irvine Senior Center each of the past six years.

“So, consequently, they like me very much down at the center,” Muriel Parkening, 88, quipped after the performance. “I’m a very grateful grandmother.”

Biggest Fan

“This is my biggest fan, right here in Irvine,” the guitarist said.

Parkening, 41, recorded his first album at age 19 and has twice been nominated for a Grammy award. But as a child, his grandmother recalled, his instrument of choice was her ukulele.

“He played it better than I could, and he was only 5,” she said. “It was amazing what he could get out of that thing.”

Introduced as “the greatest grandson in the world,” Parkening took the stage at the Golden Creek Inn and performed for about 75 minutes, finishing with a series of duets with his regular accompanist, guitarist David Brandon.

Parkening, who is planning a tribute album to Spanish classical guitarist Andres Segovia, concentrated on works by Spanish composers, introducing Fernando Sor’s Variations on a Theme by Mozart as one of his grandmother’s favorite pieces. After the recital, he gave her a bouquet of roses.

The audience included about 70 guests and 30 residents, many of whom took part in a buffet lunch after the recital. Residents Hazel Reamy and Molly Harvey said they both know Muriel Parkening but didn’t know about her famous grandson.

“We get a lot of entertainment, but this is by far the best we’ve ever had,” Reamy said. Harvey agreed. “Yes, this was something special,” she said.

“I’m very grateful to have such a wonderful grandson, musically and in other ways,” Muriel Parkening said. Despite his talents, she said, “he isn’t artistic in disposition, because he always thinks of the other person.”

Christopher Parkening departs this week on a solo concert tour, opening at the University of Oregon and returning to Orange County on Oct. 26 for a concert at the Performing Arts Center.

On Saturday, Parkening performed two works written by Segovia, several others arranged by him and a selection of music from the repertoire of the late guitarist.

The guitarist grew up in a musical household, he said, with a father who played clarinet with big band leader Horace Heidt and a mother who sang and played the piano.

“We try to do this at least once a year,” he said of his free Irvine concerts--a fact appreciated by his grandmother.

“Today,” she said, “has been a great pleasure in many ways.”