HIGH LIFE : A WEEKLY FORUM FOR HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS : A Noteworthy Young Talent : Pianist Olivia Herman, 15, Wins Awards for Playing, Composing

Music--almost every teen-ager listens to it, those with talent can play it, and a rare few can write it. But 15-year-old pianist Olivia Herman can do it all--and more.

Olivia plays and writes music that calls to mind great Russian composers--music so good that within the past few months it has won her a concert debut and an impressive number of awards.

In her first venture as a professional musician, Olivia, a junior at University High School in Irvine, received a standing ovation for the rendition of Schumann’s Piano Concerto she performed with the Brea Orchestra in the Brea Civic Center. “It was the first time I had ever played with an orchestra,” she said, “and I was really thrilled.”

Certainly such musical success is unusual for a girl not yet old enough to drive. “She is only 15, yet she has such very nice sound,” said her piano instructor, Lina Baranov. “She is very mature and very, very talented. She learns music very fast and has such nice technique. But if I say technique, it is not right. She has her own interpretation. She understands the music. “

This understanding helps to make Olivia a top-rate composer too. She swept first place last month in the senior original music composition of the Disneyland Creativity Challenge for her six-minute “Suite for Piano and Cello.”

She worked on the three-movement suite from November, 1989, to April, 1990, scheduling her composing around time for schoolwork and friends. The suite, she said, was inspired by the Russian composers Shostakovich, Prokofiev and Bartok. “It took a while,” she said, “especially because I wrote a lot of stuff that I didn’t end up using.”

During that time, Olivia also devoted energy to another piece, her piano grand waltz solo titled “At the Ballet.” This waltz won her first place in original composition earlier this month in an annual statewide contest held by the Music Teachers Assn. of California.

The Library of Congress also recognized “At the Ballet” by naming Olivia one of nine national finalists in the Young Creators Contest, a one-time competition held this year in honor of the Library’s 200th birthday. She competed against hundreds of musicians who were composing for all instruments.

Olivia’s playing also draws acclaim. She was declared a 1990 California Arts Scholar and is one of 16 pianists in the nation accepted for a special program at Boston University’s Tanglewood Institute. Her first day was Sunday, and she’ll complete the program July 28. She competed against other high school musicians from around the nation by sending in a tape of four pieces, including “At the Ballet.” Winning a $600 scholarship will help with the $2,100 cost.

“I’m really happy and excited,” Olivia said. “I’m working up a new repertoire, but it’s been difficult because of all my finals and tests and everything.”

Olivia has had to make a special effort to remain committed to her musical studies at an age when most pianists let sports, clubs and homework take up a lot of their time. She admits, though, that she is not always able to give priority to the concert grand piano that fills her family’s living room.

Practice time “depends on how much homework I have, unfortunately. I practice an average of two to three hours (a weekday). On the weekends, I try to practice three to four hours a day.

“I like to practice in the morning. If I can get up early and practice, I’m in a good spirit and I’m awake and energetic. But once I come home from school and I’ve had a long day and I have a million tests to study for, then I’m not too enthusiastic about it.”

Olivia said her parents have never pressured her to continue playing. “Maybe I don’t want them to tell me to (practice), but I don’t feel pressured. They’re just really supportive.”

Most of the time, practice must take precedence over being with friends or just relaxing. “I feel bad that I can’t always spend more time with my friends,” Olivia said. “If I can’t do something after school, it’s because I have to practice. I guess that’s the toughest thing about being serious about something. . . . You don’t have all the time in the world to play.”

Olivia’s musical interest was sparked about eight years ago, when she persuaded her parents to let her start lessons on an old electric piano they had. “My dad used to play when I was little,” she said. “The fact that he could just sit down and pick out a piece and read it, I thought that was pretty neat, so I wanted to do the same thing.”

Her talent blossomed in New York, where she lived until two years ago. Her family moved to Irvine right before her freshman year of high school, and Olivia had to leave her studies at perhaps the nation’s most prestigious music program for young people, the Juilliard School’s pre-college division. She spent every Saturday in music classes, studying theory, solfege (harmonic dictation), performing techniques and chorus.

“The theory prepared me for composing, “ she explained, “because that’s where you learn all the techniques and structures and forms of the music.”

She did not try her hand at composing until she moved to California and enrolled in Yamaha’s Junior Original Concert program in Irvine.

“I hadn’t really intended to become serious about (composing),” Olivia said, “but once I got started, I really liked it.”

Now, once a week she meets with a composition teacher and attends various workshops. She also has a weekly lesson with Baranov, who is not connected with the Yamaha program.

“You can’t just play your instrument,” Olivia said. “You have to, I think, take theory lessons and other kinds of music classes, not just performing. I was trying to find something extra to add to my music.”

Though her move to California and the Yamaha program introduced her to composing, she sometimes still longs for the Juilliard School. In Irvine, she said, her school schedule does not permit her to take any orchestra classes, and sometimes she misses the camaraderie of other musicians.

“When I lived in New York, I had a lot of friends at Juilliard and we shared this common interest,” Olivia said. “It was like we had a special link. But here, no. I really miss it. It was just such a great atmosphere because everyone was good and it was encouraging. It was uplifting.”

Now, when she wants to be inspired, she often turns to the music of Russian composers or the impressionists. “I think it’s good to see if you can compose in a certain genre,” she said. “I do think that, as you become a more mature composer, you’ll want to establish your own style.” For her, she said, that point is many years away.

Olivia composes not only to win major contests, but also whenever she feels especially inspired. “I just composed a little piece last week. I’ve been listening to Satie a lot, and I just sat down and I was in the mood of this liquidy, watery, French style and I just composed something short and simple just for fun. It’s not a major composition that I would enter in a competition.”

She has a few general composing rules that she follows. “You have to be relaxed and you have to feel excited about composing at that moment. If you sit down and you’re just kind of bored or tired, that’s not a good way to do it. I have to be in the mood for it.”

Since not every score that flows from her mind to her fingertips is inspired genius, she plays and records what she composes, then listens to it later. “A lot of times it’s hard because you’re already so close to the music and so involved in it. You can’t judge it impartially,” she said. “But, maybe, if you set yourself apart from it, maybe not listen to it for a few days, then you can listen to it.”

Olivia’s talent may have taken her to new heights, but she feels she still has a lot to accomplish as a pianist and composer. A self-described big-band jazz fan, she hopes to follow the lead of a few of her favorite musicians--Duke Ellington and Theolonius Monk--and perfect her improvisation.

She also hopes to work on her chamber music, because in this style the piano is not as isolated as it is in an orchestra. “You can get a job in an orchestra and you’re always playing with other people, but the pianist is alone. I think that’s why chamber music is really special. That’s also why I composed the ‘Suite for Piano and Cello,’ because I wanted desperately to play with someone else.”

Olivia’s musical plans after high school include attending a university or a major conservatory. She said she would also love to study music in Germany. “So many of the great composers were German. . . . If you want to be a musician, you really have to visit Germany, Austria and Salzburg.”

Eventually, Olivia hopes to become a concert pianist, but she has a few reservations. “It’s so competitive, and maybe then you want to have a family. It’s hard to do that when you’re out performing. But I guess that’s (being a professional musician) every aspiring musician’s fantasy.”

Said Baranov: “She is only just beginning. Now she has to practice a lot and dedicate herself completely to her music. That is how it is for a musician.”

Does her piano teacher think she has what it takes to become a professional musician? “Absolutely. She is already.”