Abrams, who was born in Berkeley, and has lived in Oakland and Piedmont, began piano lessons at the age of 5 and clarinet lessons at age 8, after a school band was begun when he was a third-grader at Head-Royce School in Oakland.

"My school didn't have an elementary school band, and they started this. I jumped at the chance. Well, I thought I'd just play saxophone like everybody else, but it was too big for my hand. The clarinet fit much better. I really liked it," said Abrams.

He almost quit the piano at age 11, but his new conducting teacher, San Francisco Symphony Music Director Michael Tilson Thomas, wouldn't let him.

"I decided I just wanted to do clarinet and forget the piano, but then I began studying with MTT, and he said to me, 'You must not do this.' I said, 'The piano is such a mechanical instrument.' And then he went and played Ravel's 'Pavane for a Dead Princess,' and he said, 'Does that sound mechanical to you?' I remember that because I couldn't say 'yes.' It certainly was not mechanical."

Six years later, he's the featured soloist for Beethoven's popular Piano Concerto No. 5 with Symphony Parnassus. The group will perform an all-Beethoven program on Sunday at the Phillips Temple CMC Church in Berkeley. Also on the program are the Symphony No. 5 and the "Egmont" Overture.

Guest appearances

Abrams has appeared as a clarinet soloist with the San Francisco, Oakland East Bay and Berkeley symphonies, and the Berkeley and Oakland youth orchestras. He has toured Europe twice with the San Francisco Youth Symphony, and spent two summers at the Boston University Tanglewood Institute. Since 1998, he's also played the clarinet in the San Francisco Symphony Youth Orchestra, and conducted the orchestra in rehearsal. He's also led Tilson Thomas' New World Symphony at concerts in Carnegie Hall and Washington, D.C.

Following elementary school, Abrams' education took an unconventional turn. He never attended middle school or high school, but went straight to Laney College in Oakland after fifth grade. He transferred to the Conservatory in 2003, joining about 50 other piano majors, and now studies with Paul Hersh.

Abrams studies privately with David Breeden, principal clarinetist with the San Francisco Symphony. Breedan sits next to Steve Paulson, the principal bassonist of the symphony, and conductor of the Symphony Parnassus.

In 2001, Paulson invited Abrams to play Copland's Clarinet Concerto with the Symphony Parnassus. The performance of the Copland piece and his current focus on the piano led Paulson to invite Abrams to choose a piano concerto to play with Symphony Parnassus.

Given all his musical experience, the young artist approached the decision from a practical point of view. "You have to take into account many factors. There's the piano side and then there's the orchestra side of it," said Abrams.

"I love the 'Emperor' Concerto. There's something about it--it's such a natural piece. Even though it's such an expanded piece, people love listening to it. It has great, large expressions that people take to," said Abrams.

Dedication to art

Paulson has great respect for Abrams' abilities, his humility and dedication to his art. "Teddy's a real musician. It's all about the music for him. He's not someone seeking fame for himself. You can't be that good and not focus on the music," said Paulson.

The Jan. 30 concert will be the second time he's played the "Emperor" concerto with the orchestra -- the first time was just last Sunday at a packed Jan. 23 concert at Herbst Theatre in San Francisco, the home of Symphony Parnassus. The "Emperor" is an ambitious piece for any pianist, but Abrams handled it well in his debut, playing it as almost just another member of the orchestra who had extra solo parts, and without the flashiness of many pianists.

Abrams served the music; the music didn't serve him.

Abrams said playing the clarinet as a member of many orchestras and as a soloist has helped him be a better pianist. "It helps on the piano because when you get into the concerto environment, all of a sudden your timing is affecting a lot of other people. You can't just do whatever you want."

"It's artful playing that's truly logical," said Paulson of Abrams' piano playing.

While he's focused on graduation from the Conservatory in May, Abrams is also looking toward the future, although he doesn't want to think about choosing between the clarinet, piano or conducting until he has to.

"I don't think I'm going to be a concert pianist. That I know," said Abrams. "I want to play the piano as well as I can because it's great for composition and score reading. I know MTT plays the piano very well. Leonard Bernstein played the piano. Many, many conductors and composers have been pianists."

He plans to pursue a master's in conducting after he completes his bachelor's degree in May.

"That's the idea. I'm thinking 18 is a little young to be all by myself and on my own, especially since I really do want to go on the conducting path. That's the thing I'm most interested in."

Wherever his musical pursuits take him, Abrams hasn't forgotten the chance he had to join the band at Head-Royce. "That's how people get their start in music. Otherwise, there are Bachs and Mozarts that'll probably never be discovered. I always think, 'How many people with talent never got the opportunity?' So, it's all about opportunity."

And a little talent.