The story behind Patsy Cline’s ‘last photograph’
Video by NET Nebraska
Bugs and books become inspiration for this 11-year-old composer
OMAHA, Neb. — Winston Schneider started piano lessons when he was 5 years old. Before long, on his own, he was playing assigned pieces in different keys, a feat not typically within reach of a young musician. Soon after, he started composing his own songs.
“While I was practicing piano, the ideas, they just started coming to me in my head,” Winston, now 11, told NET. “I’m like, ‘Hmm. It would be sad if these ideas went to waste.’”
They didn’t. His first piece was “Snowman, Snowman Don’t You Melt.” Now the Omaha preteen’s classical composing credits include pierces like “Scherzo of the Feather Stars,” which took top prize at the 2018 National Association for Music Education Student Composers Competition. And then there’s Winston’s “Arousing of the Arrow-Jawed Ants,” which nods to some of the home-schooled sixth-grader’s favorite things — fantasy novels and insects.
“I write music based on what I think the insects would do,” Winston said. “If I was going to write a piece about, let’s say, a cicada. I would maybe have maybe a little loud and obnoxious theme, since cicadas are loud and obnoxious.”
Ken Meints, Winston’s composition teacher at the Omaha Conservatory of Music, said the young composer’s musical acumen is “in another class.”
“It just comes to him so naturally and he just has a curious mind. Everything just opens up for him.”
What’s next for the young composer? Winston said he wants to compose a piece for every element of the Periodic Table “because I like studying chemistry” he said. “I also collect the elements of the Periodic Table. It’s been fun,” he added.
He also wants to write an insect opera. “I’m not done with the idea about insects,” Winston said.
This report originally appeared on NET Television.
Support Canvas
Sustain our coverage of culture, arts and literature.
Most Popular
MerleFest celebrates music from the Appalachian region and boosts the local economy
New exhibit chronicles work of late painter Barkley Hendricks and his use of the camera
Five years after taking its last bow, Ringling Bros. is back – this time, without animals
Young playwrights use the theater to confront the trauma of gun violence
Ukrainian band Kalush Orchestra wins Eurovision with a show of support for a nation gripped by war
‘Faces Of COVID’ memorializes Americans who have died during the pandemic
Detention of WNBA star Brittney Griner in Russia extended another month, lawyer says
‘Philip Guston Now’ portrays art of controversial and confrontational painter
A Brief But Spectacular take on the power of documentary filmmaking
Top Stories
Watch
MerleFest celebrates music from the Appalachian region and boosts the local economy
MerleFest has been a mainstay on the music circuit since 1988. People flock to the foothills of the Blue Ridge…
Watch
New exhibit chronicles work of late painter Barkley Hendricks and his use of the camera
Barkley L. Hendricks was a contemporary American painter who made pioneering contributions to Black portraiture and conceptualism. Special correspondent Jared…
Five years after taking its last bow, Ringling Bros. is back – this time, without animals
"The Greatest Show on Earth" is making a comeback -- without animal acts -- five years after shutting down its…
Watch
Young playwrights use the theater to confront the trauma of gun violence
In 2021, more than 1,500 children and teenagers in the United States were killed by gunfire. Activists across the country…
Ukrainian band Kalush Orchestra wins Eurovision with a show of support for a nation gripped by war
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy welcomed the victory, Ukraine's third since its 2003 Eurovision debut, and said "we will do our…
Watch
‘Faces Of COVID’ memorializes Americans who have died during the pandemic
Each day the Twitter thread "Faces Of COVID" posts the names, images and a short remembrance of Americans who have…
Detention of WNBA star Brittney Griner in Russia extended another month, lawyer says
The lawyer for WNBA star Brittney Griner says her pre-trial detention in Russia has been extended by one month.
Watch
‘Philip Guston Now’ portrays art of controversial and confrontational painter
Two years ago, four museums were set to present a retrospective of painter Philip Guston. But then, in one of…
Watch
A Brief But Spectacular take on the power of documentary filmmaking
As wildfires continue to rage in the western United States, we look at how these increasingly common events are affecting…
Watch
Beyond the Canvas: Art is all around us
In the season three premiere of Beyond the Canvas, we feature five creators who prove that art is not just…
Celebrity chef Mario Batali acquitted of sexual misconduct allegations
Celebrity chef Mario Batali has been cleared of sexual misconduct following a criminal trial in Boston.
Coalition of librarians, teachers and publishers forms to fight book bans
The American Library Association, the American Federation of Teachers and more than a dozen other organizations have formed a coalition…
Atlanta rapper Young Thug arrested on gang charges
The rapper Young Thug is in Atlanta's Fulton County Jail, accused of co-founding a criminal street gang.
Warhol’s portrait of Marilyn Monroe sells for $195 million, most for any U.S. artist
Andy Warhol's "Shot Sage Blue Marilyn" has sold for $195 million, making the iconic portrait of actress Marilyn Monroe the…
‘Jeopardy’ savors a run of super champions after host stumbles
Three of the five players with the longest winning streaks in the show's history have competed during the past seven…
Most Popular
The story behind Patsy Cline’s ‘last photograph’
MerleFest celebrates music from the Appalachian region and boosts the local economy
New exhibit chronicles work of late painter Barkley Hendricks and his use of the camera
Five years after taking its last bow, Ringling Bros. is back – this time, without animals
Young playwrights use the theater to confront the trauma of gun violence
Ukrainian band Kalush Orchestra wins Eurovision with a show of support for a nation gripped by war
‘Faces Of COVID’ memorializes Americans who have died during the pandemic
Detention of WNBA star Brittney Griner in Russia extended another month, lawyer says
‘Philip Guston Now’ portrays art of controversial and confrontational painter
A Brief But Spectacular take on the power of documentary filmmaking