By Whitey Lewis
Special to The Star

Jennifer Williams/Star feature photo PRODIGY PROFESSOR: Washington Garcia, assistant professor of piano, has gained great notoriety for his talents ever since he first played publicly at age six.

The list of accolades, awards and recitals preceding Washington Garcia’s appointment as assistant professor of piano this fall is far too extensive to list in its entirety.

Garcia played piano for the first time publicly at the age of six. Now, Garcia, 29, has performed across the globe, beginning in his hometown of Quito, Ecuador. He earned a master of music degree and is the youngest Latin-American recipient of a doctor of musical arts degree from the prestigious Peabody Institute at Johns Hopkins University.

In his office, Garcia has a 2-inch thick binder full of programs, invitations, awards and press clippings documenting the high points of his career. He jokingly estimates the scrapbook contains only a quarter of all he has saved. But the page of the collection that inspired the biggest smile from Garcia has little to do with his career as a pianist.

“I have to show this — my dear nephew. I saw him being born. He’s so cute,” said Garcia as he opened the back cover of the binder to reveal a three-year-old picture of his sister and her newborn son, who still live in Maryland where he attended college.

Garcia performed for the president of Chile at the age of 14 and visited Texas for the first time soon after when he was among five artists presented by the Texas Conservatory for Young Artists. He once performed a public show on the beach at an air force base in Ecuador on a piano flown in from another city.

Garcia was also chosen among candidates from 33 countries for the Kennedy Center Fellowship of the Americas, along with one other pianist, for a career development grant in 1996.

Garcia credits his family for the support and guidance that allowed his success as a musician. At the age of four, his grandmother was his first piano teacher. She played Ecuadorian folk music, and the family bought her a baby grand piano Garcia said he loved to play.

“One day she decided, ‘If you’re going to mess it up, you might as well mess it up playing a nice tune,’ so she started teaching me my first song with one finger,” he said.

Garcia said his mother’s side of the family is made up of naturally gifted musicians, but in Ecuador, music is not encouraged as a profession.

“When I said to people ‘I want to be a pianist,’ they just said, ‘Yeah, and what else?’” he said.

Often rehearsing for 10 hours a day — sometimes only breaking for food or sleep — Garcia said his life was full of sacrifice, but he considers himself lucky because he knew what he wanted to do with his life at an early age.

“In many ways, it’s just destiny, as well. It’s what God wants from a person, and you just have to believe in the gift you’ve got and do it,” he said.

The Van Pelt Auditorium at the Philadelphia Museum of Art is among the many venues that have hosted Garcia’s solo recitals.

“I was teasing everyone, ‘I’m just going to warm-up. Instead of playing my arpeggios, I’m going to run up the stairs and take a picture of myself,’” he said, making light of the staircase at the museum’s entrance, immortalized in the Rocky movies.

Recently, Garcia delivered a lecture at the museum on “Nationalism in Argentinean Music.” He said his background and heritage play a large part in his career choices, and they are part of his reasons for coming to Texas State.

“The arts aren’t supported like they should. That’s one of the things I would like to change. It’s one of the things I would like to support more, not only in South America, but with people who share my Hispanic background,” he said.

Garcia moved to San Marcos just three days before the fall semester began but already had visions and ideas for the future of Texas State. He looks forward to new music facilities, an increase in piano majors, competitiveness of the program and continuing the motto of “The Rising STAR of Texas” at the university.

Committed to accomplishing the goals he has set for himself, Garcia challenges his students to do the same. He said he expects every student to put forth the same amount of effort he himself puts forth.

“Getting started in music is not easy. It’s not an easy road, but it is possible,” he said. “All it takes is that push of somebody that says, ‘Yes, it’s possible, and I’m here to help,’ and I’m hoping that I can be that somebody.”

Patricia Ruiloba, a cello performance graduate student, said Garcia helped her realize her abilities as a piano player.

“I didn’t know I was able to play the piano the way that I can now,” Ruiloba said. “Even though I am not a piano major, he has pushed me to be my best.”

Ruiloba, who is attending Texas State from Panama on an orchestra scholarship, shares a similar background with Garcia and supports his desire to recruit more students from Latin America to study music here. She said she appreciates Garcia’s passion for his job and his ability to push students to progress.