Martin Jenich
Brianna Ware played a captivating opening set for Branford Marsalis at Overture Hall.
When jazz great Branford Marsalis played Overture Hall on April 9, both musicians and audience were surprised by Marsalis’ opening act: Brianna Ware. The young pianist was the Grand Prize Winner in Overture Center’s 2017 “Rising Stars” competition.
Ware captivated the house with 20 minutes of jazz-infused contemporary classical numbers by Aram Khachaturian and Turkish composer Fazil Say, as well as “Borealis,” one of her own compositions. “The band said they really enjoyed the performance,” says Ware, 25, adding that Marsalis, who is classically trained, recognized some of the pieces she chose to play.
The native of Gadsden, Alabama, completed her master’s degree in piano performance at UW-Madison’s Mead Witter School of Music in May 2018. She has been accepted to the school’s doctoral program in musical composition, which she will begin this fall.
“My ultimate goal was to get my Ph.D.,” Ware says. “I couldn’t imagine a life without music.”
Her realization first came at age 12 while taking piano lessons from an aunt. She originally thought she should become a doctor like both of her parents, who are also musicians.
“My father is a family practitioner, but he also sings and plays the trumpet,” Ware says. “My mother is a retired OB/GYN who plays the saxophone and sings.”
Ware, whose full name is Lawren Brianna Ware, is their only child. As such, the family felt her full name should encompass elements of both parents’ names.
Ware got her bachelor’s degree in music from Samford University, a Christian college in Homewood, Alabama. While there she studied with Dr. Demondrae Thurman, an accomplished brass player. Thurman became Ware’s mentor and, when she asked where she should pursue graduate studies, the former Badger and UW-Madison graduate unequivocally recommended Madison.
Ware arrived in Madison for her application recital on what she said was the coldest day of 2016. It was -6 degrees. She was accepted, and, despite the chilly first impression, Madison is now her second home.
“I fell in love with both the campus and city,” Ware says. The pianist appreciates the faculty and facilities at the School of Music, which will open the Hamel Music Center later this year. The program’s diversity matches her own range of musical tastes and inspirations.
“My niche is contemporary classical, or classically structured music by contemporary composers,” she explains. “I am into tonal harmonies, some jazz harmonies, and choral work. I like to have a melody that I can latch on to.”
Although her focus is on classical music, Ware’s personal taste includes jazz, rap, hip-hop, and, of all things, movie scores. She counts film composers Howard Shore, John Williams, Hans Zimmer, Alexandre Desplat and James Horner among her favorites.
“My mom would always have the AMC or TCM cable channel on TV, and I found my love for composition in the old movies,” Ware says. “Films gave me a visual context for the music, and films without music are really boring.”
Ware also has a thriving business as a piano teacher; she instructs about 15 students through the B. Ware Works Piano Studio. She meets with her students, who range from age 4 to 60+, after her full-time job as a customer care specialist at Exact Sciences Laboratories.
“That’s my ‘big-girl’ job,” she chuckles. “I was raised to keep busy and be productive. You should see my planner.”
One day she’d like to transfer that productivity to a tenure-track professorship at a major university, but she has a few years of additional study ahead of her. In the meantime, we’ll keep an eye on this rising star.
