On a crisp, dark Monday night in New York City, 16 members of the Brinton family, including grandparents, parents, siblings and cousins, gathered in the warmly lit Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall to pray before the March 23 performance.
The Brinton family, who all played the piano, prayed for the audience to “uplift” them and “enable them to reach their full potential,” said Kate Brinton, 15. She also prays before performing individually.
Kate, who has won multiple awards in music competitions, sometimes worries, “What if I fail? What if I freeze? What if I forget?”
“All I know is that if Heavenly Father wants me to do a good job, and if there are people who need help, if I do my best and practice my best, Heavenly Father will help me do what I need to do,” Kate said.
music for a better world
The program began with a piece by the early 20th century Russian composer Dmitri Shostakovich, performed by 11-year-old Alexa Brinton, a very complex and fast-paced piece.
Thomas Brinton, 9, followed suit. Michael Brinton, 18 years old. Adeline Harris, 7 years old. Ella Parker, 7 years old. Nelson Harris, 10 years old. Marie Parker, 10 years old. Caleb Harris, 8 years old. Haley Parker, 12 years old. And 8-year-old Ruby Brinton took musical grandeur to new heights with works by legendary composers such as Beethoven, Rachmaninoff and Tchaikovsky.
Also that night, family matriarch Sally Brinton and her daughters Lindsay Brinton Harris and Stephanie Brinton Parker performed at Carnegie Hall for the second time since 2006. Both performed on their own and accompanied young pianists. Sally Brinton’s son, Jonathan Brinton, also accompanied the performers on cello.
“If you learn to serve others and you can pass on your talents to others, you can uplift them and make them happy. And what does that do? It just makes the world a better place,” said Sally Brinton.
Human resource development
Kate and her brother Jackson Brinton, 16, performed at the end of the show.
“The Chopin piece I played had two parts of a certain theme, so I played the first part louder and the second part a little quieter to create a contrast,” said Jackson, who chose his own music.
He loves playing, experimenting, and sharing classical music.
“Music brings a lot of peace into people’s lives,” he said.
Duchess Kate also added her own “Kate Brinton touch” to the music, she said, noting the artistic style of her rendition of 19th-century Hungarian composer Franz Liszt’s “Un Sospiro” (meaning “Sigh” in Italian).
“When I’m performing in front of an audience, I know they’ve taken the time to be here and I want to share my love of music with them,” she said.
“It brings them so much joy. I don’t even have to ask them to practice,” said Sally Brinton, who has tutored many of her grandchildren in both piano and life.
Her top lessons are developing “discipline and consistency” and “waking up with a grateful heart.”
inheritance of music
Sally Brinton, a mother of seven, 38-year-old grandmother, and great-grandmother of one, learned piano from her mother, Devota Mifflin Peterson.
As a child, Peterson saved money for the piano by selling quarts of milk for 5 cents.
When she became a mother, she noticed little Sally fiddling with the piano keys and decided to teach her how to play.
“It was a little painful,” Brinton said, recalling when she had to prioritize her daily 30-minute practice over playing with friends. Her mother drew the curtains to block out distractions, and when Sally was done playing, she let her play outside.
Recognizing her daughter’s talent, Peterson switched her to another teacher when she outgrew her mother’s abilities.
Brinton was grateful for the attention and nurturing. “I really appreciate her wisdom.”
These small, simple teachings had great results (Alma 37:6). Sally went on to attend the Juilliard School for the Performing Arts in New York City as a young woman, become a mother, and lead her family in sharing the light of Christ through music.
“Everyone has goodness”
On the evening of March 23, 12 of her 38 grandchildren displayed their musical talents in front of a sold-out audience of 250 people.
Sally Brinton paid tribute on stage to her grandmother, Sarah James, who left Wales for the American West as a newly baptized member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Although the trek was difficult, the relatives sang “Spirit of God” together, looking for hope.
Music, she said, gave her pioneer ancestors “the courage to go on another day.”
In addition to deceased relatives, there are still many members of the Brinton family. When a photo of the entire family was projected behind the stage, “there was an audible gasp from the audience,” Brinton said, noting that people aren’t used to seeing families of that size. But for the Brinton family, their deceased ancestors and living relatives alike, the musical experience has been unifying.
Brinton boldly shared his testimony to a Weill Hall audience that included piano teachers, New Yorkers, and Brinton’s family members.
“I wanted them to know that I know that God loves each of us,” she said.
“There is goodness in everyone,” he said, adding that he would never miss an opportunity without passing this message on.
