Performance leads teen to regional stage

WASILLA — There’s nothing funny about the way Micah McKinnis tickles the ivories.

A senior homeschool student, the 17-year-old has been practicing and performing his way to being one of the top young pianists in the state. McKinnis won the Alaska Piano Competition in May, taking the top prize in the University of Alaska Anchorage event. And it seems that was just a tune-up for even bigger musical accolades.

McKinnis won the Senior Piano division of the recent state Music Teachers National Association competition in Anchorage. By winning the Nov. 13 contest, McKinnis qualifies for a seven-state regional to be held in January in Boise, Idaho. A win there would catapult him to the MTNA national competition.

“Last year I was with a duet partner and we went to regionals and placed second, so were the alternate to the nationals,” he said.

As a solo performer, a win a regionals would be a culmination of countless hours of practice and overcoming other distractions. Shortly before the May competition, the family home burned down. In the months since, McKinnis and his family have been living in a rental while their home is being rebuilt. With less space, it means the piano is in what he describes as “the living room/kitchen,” and he jokes that he’s had “a few complaints from little siblings.”

Leading up to the Nov. 13 contest, where he had to perform a variety of pieces in a 25-minute session with a judge, “I practiced more than I have in the past,” McKinnis said. “Leading up to that competition there were a couple days I practiced nine, 10 hours.”

He had to memorize all the music, but said he “wasn’t too nervous. It was a good atmosphere. I was able to concentrate, but you have the performance nerves. It brings an edge to the performance in a good way, I think.”

McKinnis credits a good support system for his musical success.

“This is how I express my emotions,” he said. “After the fire, that was one easy venue to express myself.”

Although he’s a senior and preparing for college (he doesn’t know where yet), McKinnis is still on the fence about how serious he wants to be about studying music as his life’s work.

“I definitely want to continue my music,” he said. “It’s something I enjoy, and if I didn’t enjoy it I wouldn’t be doing it.”

Contact Greg Johnson at greg.johnson@frontiersman.com or 352-2269.