SCOTT GULLEDGE / Scroll
The 5 Browns performed in the Hart Auditorium on Oct. 15

The 5 Browns key spirited show to end week

Kadie Sharp SHA04007@BYUI.EDU A&E Assistant Editor

Five Browns and five Steinway pianos came together Saturday night to close Spirit Week with a “monster concert” of classical music.

Virtually every note on the piano was touched as the 5 Browns started their concert with “Flight of the Bumblebee” by Rimsky-Korsakov. They also played songs such as “L’Apprenti Sorcier” by Paul Dukas, more commonly known from the Disney movie Fantasia.

It was an all-family performance. Desirae, Deondra, Gregory, Melody and Ryan released their first album on Feb. 8, which also sold at the event.

Even Bryan Hernandez-Luch, the world-renowned violinist that sometimes tours with the 5 Browns, is Desirae’s husband.

Throughout the concert, the 5 Browns played solo or duet pieces with the crowd’s favorite being “Superstar Etude, No. 1” by Aaron Jay Kernis.

Throwing off his suit coat, Gregory rocked out “Superstar Etude, No.1” on the piano. The crowd could not help but feel the energy flowing through him as he used his hands, forearms and even his left foot to play the song.

The second half of the show started with a Q&A session with the Browns. When Desirae, the oldest Brown, was three-years-old, her mother started giving her piano lessons, and from then on, every Brown child was given lessons at the age of three.

The two oldest sisters went first to the Julliard School and liked it so much they told the last three siblings to come audition for Julliard’s pre-college program. All three were accepted and awarded scholarships.

This family bond was evident in the concert as the 5 Browns created a teasing family atmosphere.

“You’ll notice that I didn’t play in the first half because I’m the youngest and I got the shaft,” Ryan said as he started his solo piece, “Claire de’ Lune,” by Claude Debussy.

The last piece of the concert, a medley of West Side Story, is one of the Browns’ favorite because it is set in New York where Julliard is located today. They snapped their fingers and rocked back and forth. Their facial expressions changed to match the mood of the music.

“I thought it was marvelous. It impressed me how they all have such awesome talents. I wish I could do it,” said Janelle Cooley, a freshman from Oroville, Calif.

Their quick fingers, unified rhythm and composure impressed the audience as well.

“It was very good. They put a lot of energy into their performances which make it really good,” said Brian Schultz, a junior from Santee, Calif.