POMFRET —  Pianist friends and teachers of Patrick Wood (1982-2006) will perform in his memory at 2 p.m. Nov. 1 at Pomfret School. Called “Playing for Patrick,” the concert will take place three days after what would have been Pat’s 33rd birthday.  It will feature three original compositions, one of which will be a premiere performance.

“All of the performers represent the best of teaching.  They guided Patrick when he was alive, and now they are preserving his memory,” Lisette Rimer, Patrick’s mom 

“Playing for Patrick” brings an extraordinary collection of piano talent to the area,” said Rimer, Patrick’s mom.  “Pat studied with superb teachers, and we are grateful that they are performing in his honor.  Three of them have composed in Patrick’s memory.  We invite everyone who loves incredible music to attend.  Patrick had the benefit of great teaching.  We want to share that with the community.”

Performers include Howard Frazin, who will debut his composition for viola and piano.  Howard teaches composition at the New England Conservatory of Music where he is also director of the CPR (Composer-Performer-Repertory) Ensemble.  He taught music theory at the Longy School of Music in Cambridge, Massachusetts where he gave Patrick the excellence in music theory award at the Longy graduation in 2007.

 Ann Warde will be out of the country for the concert but wanted to take part by debuting her digital audio composition For hands vier Hände for Patrick David Wood.  She is currently a Fulbright Scholar at the Contemporary Music Research Centre at the University of York, England.  Ann began teaching Patrick in Dayville, CT when he was six years old.  She performed with him at the Vanilla Bean and helped him win his first competition at age nine at the Camerata Ensemble in Hartford in 1992.   Deborah Yardley Beers continued Patrick’s music education at Longy, preparing him for solo and chamber recitals.  She will play Through Tears and Beyond for piano either hand alone, which she composed after Patrick’s death in 2006.  It was recently performed at the Women Composers Festival of Hartford.  Deborah was a piano soloist with the Atlanta and Denver symphony orchestras.

Kathleen Stephenson Sadoff guided Patrick through high school recitals and the renowned Boston University Tanglewood Institute where he performed solo and chamber pieces.  She received a masters in music at Juilliard as a winner of the Gina Bachauer Scholarship.  She has performed with the Japanese Philharmonic and the New Albany Symphony in Ohio.  She will perform a ballade and étude by Chopin, one of Patrick’s favorite composers. 

Margreet Pfeifer Francis is co-chair of the piano department of The Hartt School of Music and a member of the Hartford Symphony where she plays piano, harpsichord, and celesta.  “Margreet was able to navigate the intense world of piano competition for Patrick to several first places.  She helped him prepare for the Tanglewood Institute and then Stanford where he would play during his freshman year,” Rimer said.

“All of the performers represent the best of teaching.  They guided Patrick when he was alive, and now they are preserving his memory.  They are donating their time and talent nine years after Patrick’s life ended.  He was a favorite student because he was bright and worked hard and because he was personable and funny,” Rimer said.  “Music and school meant a great deal to him, but I think most of us remember him for his humor and his laugh.  He could play piano with abandon one minute and then joke about it and get everybody laughing in the next.  He made his talent accessible.”

Patrick suffered severe depression and died at the age of twenty-three while working as a programmer for Siemens in Berlin.  He studied piano throughout his life and won first place in the Audrey Thayer Piano Competition three times.  He graduated as the top scholar from Pomfret School in 2001, winning nearly every book award possible.  During the summers he studied at the Boston University Tanglewood Institute.  He was a Robert C. Byrd Scholar and a National Merit Scholarship winner in 2001.  He went on to graduate cum laude from Stanford in 2005 where he majored in mathematics and was accepted into their computer science masters program.

“Playing for Patrick” will raise money for the Patrick Wood scholarship, which is awarded to day students at Pomfret School.  The suggested ticket donation is $20.  A reception in the Parsons Lodge will follow the concert.  Tickets will be available at the door or by emailing This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. More information on the concert is available at www.facebook.com/patwoodprize