DEL.ICIO.USMusical talent repeats in DeKalb family
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Monday, March 30, 2009
Tuesday night in Clarkston, three generations of Pinders — Harold the grandfather, Howard the father and 13-year-old grandson James — will perform in the DeKalb Symphony Orchestra.
Harold, a retired Dunwoody engineer and double-bassist, has played in community orchestras most of his life.
Hyosub Shin/hshin@ajc.com
From left James Pinder, Howard Pinder, and Harry Pinder talk as they play at Harry Pinder’s Dunwoody home Friday afternoon. Harry Pinder has played double bass in the Dekalb Symphony for going on 20 years. His son, Howard Pinder, a violinist, joined the community group a few years ago. Now 13-year-old grandson James Pinder has joined the orchestra as a violinist.
At 45, Howard is an electrical engineer for Cisco. He played with the DSO years ago and recently returned to his seat in the first violin section.
James, a skilled pianist and a budding composer, is in the orchestra’s second violin section, the youngest member in DSO history.
If three generations sharing the stage seems proof positive that musical talent is all in the genes, that’s only half-right.
Harold Pinder, 78, puts his finger on it. He accepts some genetic credit, but emphasizes that “the exposure to music brings out things in people that they don’t get otherwise — an aptitude only takes you so far.”
Hosting regular family dinners where piano duets are the entertainment after dessert, the senior Pinder calls himself “the enabler.”
“I’m the journeyman in this bunch — they’re much more talented,” he offers, adding that skilled musicians came from both sides of the family. “My wife dutifully took the kids to music schools. Six of my seven grandkids now play the violin. We built music into our lifestyle.”
Indeed, scientists increasingly find that isolating nature vs. nurture (how much is inheritance and how much environment and education?) — is going down the wrong path, said Dr. Irma Jarvela, a genetics researcher in Finland. They’re intricately braided, she said in an e-mail interview.
In the Journal of Medical Genetics, she and her team published a study last year that pinpoints specific musical gifts to specific genes. A chromosome named 10q is where you find pitch perception. Intriguingly, 18q holds traits for both musical aptitude and dyslexia.
The one called 4q22 is associated with what’s called “auditory structuring ability” — a site that might be a major factor in musical talent, according to the researchers.
Like many genes, Jarvela said, musical aptitude is a set of genetically determined traits that “needs a favorable environment and training to become ‘visible.’ “
While not common, rarefied talent across generations remains a subject of interest and speculation — from country music’s Carter family to gospel’s Winanses to the Mannings as NFL quarterbacks.
Johann Sebastian Bach, the keystone member of music’s most illustrious family, found his ancestry fascinating and puzzling. He prepared a genealogy called “Origins of the Musical Bach Family.” In all, the direct line of professional musicians covered more that 120 family members across two centuries.
At Monday night’s concert, the Pinders will perform with 60 other musicians under conductor Fyodor Cherniavsky, whose own family tree includes a great-grandfather who conducted in Ukraine, several virtuoso stars and the Cherniavsky Trio, celebrated in its time.
At home in Norcross, Howard and James Pinder often practice their DeKalb Symphony music together.
Preparing for Monday’s concert, they recently had Rimsky-Korsakov’s “Russian Easter Overture” on the music stand, and father Howard was having trouble with a rapid series of arpeggios.
In frustration, his fingers refusing to move so fast, he asked son James, the family prodigy, to show him a trick or two for mastering the music.
“Oh, Dad,” the young teen replied, “just practice it slowly then gradually increase the speed.”
Howard burst out laughing, brimming with pride: “That’s the exact same advice we’d given him for years. It’s all coming full circle.”
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