East End Students Play Classical Music For Katy

Kivlan King unpacked his cello on Friday afternoon and took a seat on the Bay Street Theatre stage, pressing his bow to the strings.Then, the 16-year-old closed his eyes.

Slowly and deliberately, his left fingers stopped the strings into a deep scale, while his right arm drew the bow up and down, its sound humming through the rich wooden instrument.

Only when he was finished warming up did Kivlan open his eyes and look around the nearly empty Sag Harbor theater. First, he nodded to his friend, violinist Benjamin Hoertnagl-Pereira, and then eyed two unfamiliar faces—pianist Christopher Ritter and vocalist Georgia Bennett.

Even though it was the first time they’d met, the student musicians were all there for the same reason.

Katy Stewart.

On December 30, 2010, Katy died at age 12 after a battle with hepatoblastoma, a rare form of liver cancer. And this Sunday, a group of seven East End high school students and three graduates will sing and play classical music in the Sag Harbor girl’s memory.

All proceeds from the concert, now in its sixth year, will benefit the Katy’s Courage Fund, a not-for-profit organization dedicated to pediatric cancer research and providing families and children with scholarships, support and counseling.

“Katy was exceptionally bright. She had an incredibly bright, joyful aura about her,” organizer Stephanie Beroes recalled last week during a telephone interview. “She had this amazing smile and this amazing sense of being in the world, which is very rare for children that age.”

She also loved classical music, according to her father, James Stewart—“We listened to classical music at times, on the radio, while on road trips,” he said—and enjoyed playing it, as well.

Every Saturday morning, she would take violin lessons with David Fox, a music teacher at Sag Harbor Elementary School, where Katy attended. The Stewart family still owns Katy’s violins, her father said, as well as her piano.

“I think Katy would enjoy knowing her group of friends have excelled to such levels. She enjoyed the recitals they gave for the parents of Mr. Fox’s group on Saturday morning,” Mr. Stewart said. “They especially enjoyed playing in his yard and eating treats before they left for home and assorted play dates. She was passionate about the music in her own way.”

The 100-minute Bay Street concert will feature works by composers from Handel to Copland to Chopin, and chamber music to solos to opera. Pierson High School sophomore Christopher Ritter, who took violin lessons with Katy, will play “Toccata in E-Flat Minor” by Aram Khachaturian—a violent piece, with some soft, icicle-like moments, he said—while Southampton High School senior Benjamin Hoertnagl-Pereira will perform Pablo de Sarasate’s “Zigeuner Weisen,” or “Gypsy Airs.”

“It’s pretty virtuosic, in that it’s not very metered. It’s very free and open,” Benjamin said at the theater. “So the soloist does what he wants with it. But this wasn’t just about me being able to perform. It was about helping other people.”

Georgia Bennett, a junior at East Hampton High School, echoed the sentiment. While she said she didn’t know Katy personally, the cause deeply resonated with her. She wanted to help out in any way that she could—and, in this case, it was with her voice.

“I’m singing ‘Lascia Ch’io Pianga’ from the opera ‘Rinaldo,’” she said, standing on stage. “You can really tell what the character who’s singing is feeling. It’s sorrow. Most definitely.”

Cellist Kivlan King made his selection—the 1st movement of “Concerto in C Major” by Joseph Haydn—with Katy in mind. It’s bright. It’s upbeat. And it’s always very exciting, he said.

Just like her.

“I knew Katy personally. I grew up with her,” he said. “She was really kind. Despite what she was going through, she was really into whatever she was doing. She just had this energy to do everything. Just, to know everything.”

He sighed, packing up his cello.

“When she died, it was just surprising, you know?” he continued. “You never thought ... I don’t know,” he trailed off, and then regained his composure while zipping the case.

“It feels great to be able to do this,” he said. “It’s like closure. Finally getting it out there. But I’ll never forget Katy. Ever. I’ll never forget her.”

The sixth annual benefit concert for Katy’s Courage Fund will be held on Sunday, March 23, at 4 p.m. at Bay Street Theatre in Sag Harbor. Suggested admission is $15. For more information, call 725-9500, or visit katyscourage.org.