East End Arts student with Asperger’s hits the red carpet
You won’t see Brandon Boardman using sheet music when he plays piano. That’s because the 20-year-old Riverhead musician can bang out an entire tune — mistake-free — after hearing it just once.
Mr. Boardman, who has Asperger Syndrome, was one of just a handful of performers to receive a standing ovation during last month’s Long Island Music Hall of Fame Gala at The Paramount in Huntington. He received his after playing three versions of “Over the Rainbow.”
His mother, Patricia, knew how special the event was going to be. There would be a red carpet. He’d have to get his first tuxedo.
When asked during an interview last week about the source of his success, Mr. Boardman recited advice from his great-grandmother, Patricia L. Boardman, who helped raise him.
“Just be the best that you can be,” he said.
As for his latest performance, Mr. Boardman said he’s enjoying the spotlight.
“I was excited because I know that’s how it’s going to be when I’m famous,” he said.
Jim Faith, a founder of the nonprofit Long Island Music Hall of Fame, which provides support for young musicians and works to showcase the region’s talent and music history, said he invited Mr. Boardman to perform after learning of his talent from East End Arts executive director Pat Snyder.
“I listened to him and he was brilliant,” Mr. Faith said. “He was a pleasure to work with and very professional. We look forward to being involved with Brandon in the future.”
Mr. Boardman, who graduated from Riverhead High School in 2012, is the principal pianist and choir director at Goodwill AME Zion Church in Riverhead.
He currently studies music at Suffolk County Community College and learned he would play piano for the school’s Ammerman Jazz Ensemble the same day he tried out. He’s also a member of the Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society and is on the dean’s list.
Music runs in Mr. Boardman’s family. His grandfather, Ralph W. Boardman, was also a jazz musician, who played saxophone, keyboard, drums and piano. Mr. Boardman’s great-grandfather, Ralph O. Boardman, was a jazz musician in the U.S. Army and played with Nat King Cole at the Apollo.
In addition to Cole, Mr. Boardman said his other favorite musicians are Thelonious Monk and Chick Corea, mainly because he likes what he described as a sort of burst of music that occurs during their songs.
“I like all of the energy in their music,” Mr. Boardman said. “Especially in the runs that they do. It’s a very fast scale.”
Billy Johnson, a jazz bassist who’s been Mr. Boardman’s piano teacher at East End Arts for five years, said Mr. Boardman enjoys those types of songs “because it’s like an achievement.”
“You work really hard on your goal and you achieve it,” he said. “With music, it’s a spontaneous thing. You don’t have to wait a few years for your goals to come around — you can create more and of more it. You’ll see when he plays there’s a smile on his face when it happens.”
Mr. Johnson said although there is a wide range of different notes, the average person can only hear a small portion of them. Mr. Boardman possibly hears all of them, his teacher believes.
Matthew Lerner, Ph.D, an assistant professor of psychology, psychiatry and pediatrics with Stony Brook University’s department of psychology, said recent studies show some people with autism — Asperger’s is an autism spectrum disorder — can identify more details in music than others. He said his department has been conducting studies to learn more about those on the autism spectrum and to use those insights to learn how to improve their quality of life.
Although people with autism are able to pick up on emotions relayed in music, it’s sometimes harder for them to differentiate between “happy and sad voices” and they might have issues with dexterity, he said.
Dr. Lerner also said it’s important not to “token people with autism” and presume they are all musical prodigies.
“Nonetheless,” he said, “there’s good evidence that people with autism are extra good with identifying little details the rest of us miss.”
Mr. Boardman said he remembers developing a passion for the piano at age 2, when he first learned he “has perfect pitch.”
His mother, who’s worked as a special education teacher aide for 12 years and currently works with students individually at Aquebogue Elementary School, said she’s “really proud he was able to accomplish what others said he couldn’t do.”
“The secret is to just provide whatever he needs that will help him along the way,” she said.
All of the guidance Mr. Boardman has received — from his mother and family to the musicians he’s worked with — has taught him about perseverance and becoming independent.
He also credits East End Arts, where he has studied piano for 15 years, with developing his love of teaching and performing.
“It’s a great experience because this is a place where I can develop my techniques and experience playing in different styles,” he said. “Especially with Mr. Johnson, because he taught me a lot about improvisational style and how to experiment with it.”
As Mr. Boardman prepares to live on his own next year at Five Towns College in Dix Hills, where he plans to major in music performance and music education, Mr. Johnson said he’s helping his student develop another skill called “player’s chops,” which can only be obtained through performing regularly in front of an audience.
“He has everything else,” Mr. Johnson said. “Once he gets his player’s chops, there’s nothing on this planet that’s going to stop him.”
Click on the next tab for more photos of Brandon Boardman at the Long Island Music Hall of Fame Gala.
