PERFORMANCE BIOGRAPHY
István "Steve" Hernek is a virtuoso pianist, composer, educator and multi-instrumentalist residing in Orchard Park, New York. He was born in St. Ignace, Michigan on March 24, 1962. His father, also named István, was a Hungarian-born competitive canoeist and silver medalist in the 1956 Summer Olympic Games. The elder Hernek shocked the international sports world when he defected during these games in Melbourne, Australia. Emigrating to the United States and determined to raise his children with a deep respect for the opportunities provided by freedom. He also instilled in his children an understanding and appreciation for the rich musical culture of his native land, exposing them to the age old folk music, czardas and the great masterworks of the Hungarian composers.
Largely self taught as a musician, young István began creating music at the piano early in his life. At age three, not yet having learned to formally read music, he used graph paper from his father's office to devise his own method of music notation, similar in concept to the player-piano rolls of yesteryear, and was rather analogous to the current system used in computer sequencing today. Obviously there was something unique in the way the young musician was able to represent music in this visual medium, clearly indicative of multi-sensory perception, a useful skill in the performance arts overall. This extra-dimensional quality is something very much reflected in István's formal compositions and spontaneous classical fusion improvisations. This ability is rarely developed in modern musicians, although it was well practiced by some of the Great Masters such as Bach, Beethoven and Mozart.
Rapid musical development continued. By age 11, István found himself steeped in another passion, the cathedral pipe organ. Within a year he was performing masterworks from the French Romantic period repertoire, most notably Symphony No. 5 for the organ by Charles-Marie Widor, including the famous Toccata in F Major. He also composed an elaborate symphony of his own in 1973 which he dedicated to his mother. That same year István transcribed Rimsky-Korsakov's Flight of the Bumblebee for the organ, playing the challenging solo melody on the pedals. His talent was quickly recognized by Randy Piazza, a well known theater guru in New York, who offered the young virtuoso an annual income starting at $75,000.00 to perform theater music concert tours in the United States and improvise live soundtracks to silent movies. The young artist would have nothing of the sort. He was instead interested only in elite classical music and composition so, much to the dismay of his practical minded father, István declined the offer.
With a rapidly increasing awareness of István's rare musical talent and creativity, his father decided to take him to Ohio for an adjudication under the well known President of the Royal School of Church Musicians, Dr Robert Quade, who recommended him to concert organist James Bigham, director of music at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in Buffalo, New York. Mr Bigham came well equipped to motivate and inspire István to new and higher levels, as his instructional lineage traced back to the one and only Franz Liszt, whose music had already creased a profound influence on István's developing musical style.
At age 12, István was appointed to his first position as organist at St. Mary's Church in Langford, New York. At this time he also took up the guitar, forming a rock band with several of his seventh grade classmates at St Bernadette's School in Orchard Park. This was to be an important step in his diversification into a much wider range of music beyond his classical studies, which eventually became a major influence on István’s unique style and in his compositional development to date. Still, he stayed close to his roots, and as a high school junior and senior continued on to study voice with Helen Rupp, MS, and conducting under Dr. Harry John Brown, orchestral director, SUNY at Fredonia.
In 1981, at age 19, István began touring as lead guitarist, vocalist and road manager for the rock band Majesty, sporting a Niccoló Paganini-like flare with his facility on the guitar and dynamic showmanship. Several major record labels became interested in István’s pop and rock stylings, and he found himself entertaining several potential record deals. István’s new marriage to Edna Rose Lee, from the small town of Perrysburg, New York, coupled with his passionate occupational interest in multi genre music prompted him to decline a record label contract with its artistic confinements. István soon found himself seeking a more stable life for his wife and growing family, and after over 6,000 grueling live performances decided to conclude his touring regimen in 1995. For the time being, they settled in the small, quaint town of Lawtons, New York, where he took on the next major facet of his career.
István began teaching piano, voice and guitar on a full time basis, and was appointed organist/choirmaster at Holy Spirit Church in North Collins, New York. It was there in 1999, that István with the help of a very prayerful, spiritual and generous woman, Tracy Tremblay and her inspirational friend, liturgist Marge Awald, founded the not-for profit 501(c)3 organization Paraclete Conservatory. This creative, hard working and committed trio began holding clinics and workshops in the underutilized former school building of Holy Spirit Church with a mission of becoming an integral part of bringing the cultural focus of communities back into the local churches where it had been and belonged for ages. István, Tracy and Marge passionately felt that the transition of cultural focus from local churches to Hollywood and New York had been one of the most destructive processes of modern times. The term “Paraclete,” meaning “advocate” or “counselor,” is actually a title for the Holy Spirit.
The birth of Paraclete Conservatory has resulted in the creation of numerous beneficial programs such as Mozart Munchkins, Supervised Group Rehearsals, new teaching methods and resources as well as many other progress accelerated programs now available to those embarking on a musical journey. István has never eschewed the hours of travel throughout the western New York region to serve his student clientele, active sacred music career within the Christian community, and the eventual central location of the Paraclete Conservatory in beautiful Orchard Park, New York. Other church positions include St Francis in Athol Springs, St John the Baptist in Lockkport, and St Johns Parish in Olean. In Orchard Park, the piano teaching regimen was developed into a program featuring supervised rehearsal for students from 6:00 to 8:00 AM before school each morning. Originally the program was housed at Nativity School. In 2004 István was appointed full-time director of music at Orchard Park Presbyterian Church and the program was relocated there. After a period of five years, he moved operations to the Full Gospel Tabernacle, where a welcoming home was found in the sanctuary for the conservatory's newly acquired Kawai concert grand piano and three manual Johannus classical organ. Most recently an additional recording, teaching and practice facility has been set up at the location of the famous Butterwood Bakery in West Falls, New York.
István conceived and continues to operate the conservatory on the principle that all children are capable and worthy of music instruction, and thus when challenged will rise to the occasion and deliver. István believes that “A student’s propensity to learn is proportionate to the teacher’s belief in what the student can learn”, and each student receives the commitment, dedication and encouragement that would be given to an aspiring performing artist.
Right out of the gate each student begins to learn a classical piece, oftentimes composed by István himself. His students have performed works as varied as Bach, Beethoven, Mozart, Chopin, Liszt, Rachmaninoff, and even Chick Corea. These quality compositions are featured each year in the conservatory’s annual recital, generally held on the first weekend of the summer. For motivated students who want to learn, the school will go to any extent to mentor. Some fifty students are involved in the piano program, taking instruction from 2 - 6 days per week. There are also approximately 30 voice students. Additionally, a pod of students is focused on contemporary progressive electronic keys, and drums. On a typical morning, either bright and early or in pre-dawn winter darkness, up to fifteen or so students can be found practicing at neatly lined up keyboards. István and Mr. Kunz move from one to another, offering technique and performance advice, error correction, and detailed feedback. Over half of the students sing in the Paraclete Schola Cantorum, an elite children’s choir, which in 2010, after only two months of post-formation training, appeared at Christ the King Seminary performing César Franck’s Panis Angelcus. The choir subsequently released a holiday CD of Christmas carols replete with István’s own arrangements.
István continues to compose at a prolific rate, over 2,000 of his piano vignettes, études, and free form improvisations have been posted on the internet. His output also includes sonatas for piano and organ as well as the soon to be debuted performance of the Orchard Park Concerto for piano and orchestra and two flute concertos that he is composing for the brilliant child prodigy flutist Emma Resmini. The Paraclete Conservatory is a thriving institution which has greatly enriched the community and will continue to do so for years to come.
This post is a breath of fresh air in a crowded digital space.
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