Pianist accompanies campus choirs

Many people have seen the campus choir perform and stun audiences but few know about behind the scenes. Two years ago, director Susan Ainley played the piano for her choirs while conducting them at the same time–every day. She needed an accompanist to help drive her choirs.

Two years ago, Ainley was fretting. It was the middle of the semester and she still had not found a worthy accompanist to help her choirs prepare for the annual Christmas performance.

“I had been looking around for an accompanist since the end of the previous year when I was informed that my assistant had to stop playing,” Ainley said. “At first it was not that big of a deal until I started to have trouble finding an accompanist during the summer.

“One evening at home, feeling very desperate, I called my nephew Ben Certain,” Ainley continued. “I pretty much begged him to come help me get ready for my concert and play for just the concert event. What he said next changed everything. He revealed that Central was not able to give him all the hours he needed and he had all day Wednesday and Friday available. It was remarkable since all my choirs had block rehearsals on Wednesday and I saw my elementary choir on Wednesdays and Fridays. It was a miracle in my estimation. He arrived on campus the next week, in time to learn all the music for our fall concert.”

Ainley has always used a skilled accompanist for her choirs because she believes it is not efficient to play while directing. Certain explains how he began playing piano.

“As a child, I sat at my family’s piano during commercial breaks on the television and I would figure out commercial songs on the piano,” Certain said. “When my family found me one time during the commercial breaks they decided it was time for me to have lessons. I was already very curious and was figuring out stuff by ear so I was also eager to be introduced to the piano.

“I took lessons since I was a young child,” Certain continued. “At five or six, the piano teacher wouldn’t take me at first because my hands were too small, and I do have fairly small hands. I waited a year, so when I was five and a half, she finally took me and I have been playing since then. I graduated with a degree in piano performance and music education and music composition.”

Certain advanced in his musical studies as he attended University High School and eventually, Fresno Pacific University.

“Through my schooling at University High School, I was in choirs, not as much piano,” Certain said. “I performed with the chamber choir and mixed choir. At Fresno Pacific, I played percussion, handbells, piano with some of the choirs and sang in some of the choirs.”

As well as playing piano, Certain helps by teaching the men their parts and composes his own music, oftentimes played by the FC choirs

“What I love about choral music is that it takes the entire group to be committed to something, especially vocally, to create a beautiful sound. The voice is so united with the spiritual part of someone because it is not just an instrument that is outside your body, but you are taking a group of people and devoting the core of their spiritual body and putting it into music. I think that there’s something special about that.”

Part of Certain’s previous life took place at others schools. Certain shares that this was very stressful and involved a lot of driving due to the fact he was playing for seven different schools on a daily basis. According to Certain, the hardest time of year was Christmas time, playing several programs and needing to attend rehearsals.

“I played as an accompanist out in Central Unified and I also currently play for the Mennonite men’s chorus and I play side gigs wherever I can find them,” Certain said. “I chose to come here because I was originally was playing for Central Unified and it was part-time but I wanted to have something more full-time.

“It was a lot of driving on a daily basis and it was stressful during holiday times,” Certain continued, “like getting double booked. It was pretty stressful. When Fresno Christian looked like they were offering something that looked like full-time I jumped at the chance.”

An opportunity to hear Certain perform is coming up as the junior high and high school Christmas performance in the Peoples Church auditorium at 7 p.m., Dec. 11.

For more music-related articles, read PROMO: Lessons and Carols concert, Dec. 11. For more profiles, check out Profile: Lauryn Tucker leads soccer, cheer teams.

This author can be reached via email: Andrew Rieker.