The artist here is composer Toni Beaulieu. She paints her storm complete with torrential winds, driving rain, and the usual thunder-and-lightning assaults that come with inclement weather. And she does so by employing only the palette of colors that are standard equipment with a Steinway. A full symphonic arrangement would no doubt be wonderful, but Toni lets her imagination suffice as her piano depicts all the elements of "Mother Nature on a rampage".
Born in Highmore, South Dakota, TONI BEAULIEU started piano lessons at age six, violin lessons at age eight, and was declared a child prodigy when she began performing in concert at age ten. By 14. she was attending the Academy Department at Huron College, studying under the head of Huron's violin department. She became a teaching assistant there as well as concert master of the Huron College Symphony while also playing in the string quartet there.
Ms. Beaulieu transferred to the prestigious MacPhail School of Music in Minneapolis, Minnesota the following year. There she studied under George Klass, head of the violin department and accepted a scholarship for classes with another prominent violin instructor. Her piano studies began around the same time with Evelyn Hansen and then Glen Dillard Gunn. By the age of 18 she had earned her Bachelor's, Master's, and Ph.D. degrees in violin as well as her Bachelor's and Master's degrees in piano. She then joined the faculty of the MacPhail School, becoming its youngest instructor in both fields.
