Winter 2012 - Wayland Baptist University Alumni Association

Fountain releases
‘American Ivory’ CD
Story by Jonathan Petty
It was a couple of years in the making, but on
Thursday, Sept. 27, Dr. Richard Fountain released
his first professional CD featuring himself, a Steinway
Model D grand Piano and original compositions by
his friend and colleague, Dr. Gary Belshaw.
Both professors in the School
of Music at Wayland, Fountain and
Belshaw began discussing the
idea of collaborating on an album
a couple of years ago when a
school-sponsored visit to Germany
and the Czech Republic sparked a
creative fire in Belshaw.
While sitting in the practice
room for the Prague Philharmonic
Dr. Richard
Fountain
Orchestra, Belshaw, Professor of
Music Composition, said he should
write something for piano, “some-
thing virtuosic.”
“[Fountain] said I should write a sonata,” Belshaw
said.
Belshaw wrote the first movement of a sonata that
he hoped to finish through the course of the summer.
However, he was unable to complete the piece so he
called it a rhapsody and gave it to Fountain, Assistant
Professor of Collaborative Piano, to premiere on the
Wayland performance stage. Following the performance,
the two began discussions on recording several of
Belshaw’s compositions.
When the School of Music purchased a new Steinway
concert grand piano as the initial phase of its move
to an All-Steinway School designation, Fountain thought
the time would be right to actively pursue a professional
recording. After raising more than $7,000 through the
help of kickstarter.com and “the generosity of friends,
family and total strangers,” Fountain and Belshaw began
the technical process of producing the recording.
The compilation features the works of renowned
composers Edward MacDowell, Samuel Barber and Aaron
Copland and six original pieces from Belshaw.
Both professors and other members of the School
of Music say having the recording really validates what
the school is trying to accomplish. And it hasn’t gone
unnoticed by students.
“I’m really excited about it and I think it is great for
the School of Music,” said Wayland senior music major
Aaron Prentice. “It makes me that much more eager
to study under someone when I can actually listen to
a professional recording. It’s much more evident how
good a musician he is.”
Belshaw said Fountain was definitely the right person
to perform the selected pieces of music.
“Having my music played by someone of his caliber
is a rewarding experience,” Belshaw said. “I think he is
the most gifted pianist I have ever shaken hands with.”
For information on purchasing a CD for $15, contact
the School of Music at 806-291-1076.