Pianist-engineer putting dramatic coda on Rose years

May 7—Coasting isn't Andrew Romano's style.

As a high school music student, Romano decided to learn piano pieces he'd never before performed for the Mid-America Music Association Festival — a showcase of young talent. He chose to play the challenging and legendary "Piano Concerto in A Minor" by 19th-century Norwegian composer Edvard Grieg.

Romano performed the concerto's second movement, accompanied by his piano instructor, LeAnn Halverson. The judge gave Romano a perfect score.

"He just did a wonderful job," Halverson recalled by phone Monday from her music school in Columbia, Ill.

Four years later, Romano is about to graduate with a mechanical engineering degree from Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology in Terre Haute. He's also kept busy performing music with various campus ensembles, including the Rose Symphony Orchestra. The symphony's annual Spring Concert at 7:30 p.m. May 10 will include Romano performing his finale as a collegian, soloing while accompanied by the full Rose symphony. Admission is open to the public and free.

Once again, Romano isn't coasting through the moment. He'll play Grieg's "Piano Concerto in A Minor," but this time, all three of its movements.

"I don't know that something like this has been done at Rose-Hulman before," said Norm Hanson, director of the college's bands and ensembles.

Rose-Hulman's notoriety, of course, comes from its reputation as a premier engineering college. Its students major in engineering, science and math fields, but can also minor in music. Dozens perform in ensembles, including about 75 in the campus concert band, 50 in orchestra, 25 in the jazz band, 25 in the choir and smaller numbers in chamber combos and pep bands, Hanson estimated. "We've got kids all over campus that will just knock your socks off with what they can do," Hanson said.

Still, a student pianist tackling Grieg's "Piano Concerto in A Minor" solo with the symphony stands out.

"Nothing like this has ever been done before, at least from a piano aspect," Hanson said. "And we've had some incredible musicians come through Rose-Hulman."

The piece's high degree of difficulty isn't lost on Romano. "It's kind of daunting going into it, but it's going to be such a major accomplishment for me once it all happens," he said.

Romano could've studied at a music college.

The 21-year-old began piano lessons at age 5 and practiced 30 to 45 minutes a day before school, and another half-hour later in the day, if his drum and percussion duties in the Millstadt, Ill., schools didn't run too late. But Romano also participated in his school's STEM (science, technology, engineering, math) activities, such as scholastic bowl, mathematics team and robotics competitions. The latter pursuits prevailed when the time came to search for Romano's college destination.

"I could really go either route, but I was kind of pushed by my family to go the STEM route," Romano said.

Rose-Hulman shined for the caliber of its engineering education, but also for the strength of its musical groups and activities. "I feel like Rose does a really good job of that," Romano said. "While there's also a recreational part [to music] here, there's also a lot of soul behind what we do."

Hanson remembers meeting Romano's mother and hearing her assure her son, "Norm, here, says you'll get to play as much [music] as you want." As he recalled that moment four-plus years ago, Hanson replicated Andrew's wide-eyed reaction to that news.

Since then, Romano has become Hanson's "right-hand man" in numerous musical events on campus. "As far was working together, I couldn't ask for a better musical partner," Hanson said.

Sitting in the audience seats of an otherwise empty Hatfield Hall — Rose's versatile performing arts theater — the two men reflected on Romano's exploits since arriving at the college. They were preparing for last month's performance by the Rose Drama Club of the musical "Mamma Mia!" — a production centered on the songs of the 1970s pop band ABBA. Romano played keyboards with the pit orchestra for that show.

Eighteen days after "Mamma Mia!," Romano will play Grieg's famed composition.

"Hitting the same chord over and over again [in 'Mamma Mia!'] is easier than a concerto," Romano said, "but it's fun."

Grieg's "Piano Concerto in A Minor" would "probably be a virtuoso-level piece," Hanson explained. Romano knew the second of its three movements from his high school days, but learned the first movement last year, and then more recently added the third movement.

The first movement contains a "hell passage," as Romano jokingly called it, when the pianist continues a theme previously carried by the orchestra, as well as a piano melody.

"It's kind of like a call-and-response between the two of us, and pulling that all together is kind of difficult," Romano said.

At one point, the orchestra swells to a dramatic chord, then leaves the piano to itself. In another passage, the orchestra takes over. "There's a three-minute section where [the pianist] just listens to the orchestra," Romano said. "And, I enjoy that."

Grieg's concerto ranks among classical music's most revered pieces. "It's part of that library," Hanson said.

Romano likes the idea of performing the difficult concerto just weeks before he graduates with a mechanical engineering degree.

"I think this is a good chance for me to prove to a lot of people here at Rose who know me, and even those that don't, that the orchestra and I can make really beautiful music," Romano said.

"I feel like this is a good way to close out my musical career here at Rose," he added.

Upon graduating, a job awaits Romano at Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico. He's anxious to delve into aerospace, theoretical and research work, and emphasized, "I do really enjoy engineering." He'd like to build room for a music studio in his apartment. As he described that opportunity, Romano also explained that he'd backpacked in New Mexico, drawing an incredulous look from Hanson.

"He's a concert pianist. He's a research mechanical engineer. And he's a backpacker," Hanson said, shaking his head in amazement. Romano grinned.

Back in Illinois, Romano's former music teacher — LeAnn Halverson — said she is proud of her pupil's accomplishments.

"He always just enjoyed learning new things," Halverson said. "And, yes, he definitely could've been doing the music path, and still could."

Indeed, Romano mentioned possibly adding a master's degree in music someday. "I think that would be really cool," he said.

Mark Bennett can be reached at 812-231-4377 or mark.bennett@tribstar.com.