A 28-year-old Cape Elizabeth High School alumnus who has made a living – and name for himself – performing piano globally continues to be honored for his work.

Henry Kramer, a 2005 graduate and recipient of the 2015 Cape Elizabeth Education Foundation Alumni Award, participated in the 2015 Honens Piano Competition in Canada in early September and was named one of three finalists. He was also one of three American participants to advance to the semifinals.

“The Honens competition is different from a lot of competitions because they select 50 people (from) around the world to audition, and only invite 10 people to go to the live competition,” said Kramer. “It’s more like a festival or series of concerts than an actual competition. I am just happy I showed myself well in such a high-profile event.”

Kramer said the Honens competition, held at the Jack Singer Concert Hall in Calgary, Alberta, Sept. 3-12, was a good stepping-stone in his career. He applied to audition for Honens in January. Tryouts were held in March.

“I think each competition – especially nowadays where everything is streamed and recorded – serves as a benchmark for where you are in terms of your playing,” said Kramer. “When you do a competition, you really have to rise to the occasion and push yourself.”

Kramer, a budding presence on the concert stage, works daily to network with other musicians, schedule performances, and manage his own website, www.henrykramerpiano.com. According to Kramer, time management is key to being a prosperous concert pianist, which is a “24/7” job.

Though Kramer has been practicing and performing piano for 17 years he spends three to four hours a day rehearsing despite his busy schedule.

“It’s about getting yourself out there,” said Kramer. “You have to be an entrepreneur, and practice a lot. It takes a lot of different skills, and a lot of multitasking.”

Kramer fell in love with piano at 13 years old while taking lessons with Portland-based piano instructor Elizabeth Manduca. According to Kramer, Manduca brought Kramer to the Music Teachers National Convention in Minnesota as a spectator, and that’s when he realized he wanted to play professionally.

“I heard this incredible piece by Maurice Ravel, and nothing had ever grabbed me the way that did,” Kramer said. “It was really, truly, one of those moments where I said to myself, ‘I have to be able to do that.’ I just sort of went for it.”

His father, Asher Kramer, who lives in Cape Elizabeth, said what he most admires about his son is “his relentless optimism and ability to persevere against the steep odds” in terms of “finding success as a professional classical pianist.”

“One thing is certain,” Asher Kramer said. “Henry will be a professional pianist for the rest of his life.”

Asher Kramer did not attend the Honens competition in person, but was able to watch his son perform online through the Honens website.

“His two concert performances with the Calgary Symphony (Orchestra) were magnificent,” he said.

Kramer and the other Honens titleholders – which include 22-year-old Luca Buratto from Italy and 27-year-old Artem Yasynskyy from Ukraine – were chosen from a field of 10 semifinalists. The nine-day competition consisted of several performances: a 65-minute solo recital, a 65-minute collaborative recital with soprano Isabel Baryrakdarian, clarinetist James Campbell and violist Hsin-Yun Huang, and two classical concertos with the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra.

Semifinals and finals took place in Calgary. Quarterfinals were held in Berlin, London and New York in the spring, and included 50 of the world’s finest emerging concert pianists.

During the finals, Kramer played Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 3 in C minor and Sergei Prokofiev’s Piano Concerto No. 2 in G minor.

“It was a very close battle,” said Kramer, “but it was a good experience. There were a lot of important people on the jury and I made some really good connections with them.”

According to the Honens website, the Italian pianist, Buratto, was awarded $100,000 Canadian dollars and an artist development program valued at a half-million Canadian dollars, while Kramer and the Ukraine pianist each took home $10,000. Kramer, who travels up to three times a month to perform, told the Current that he plans to use his prize money to travel to Europe.

Kramer looks at all of his performances through an objective lens, and constantly aims to improve on his skills, he said.

“I always want to be better than I was yesterday,” said Kramer, who last performed in Maine at Bowdoin College in March. He also performed with the Portland Symphony Orchestra at Merrill Auditorium in September 2014.

Kramer, who lives in Northhampton, Mass., holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in music from the Julliard School in New York City. He recently completed his Artist Diploma with instructor Boris Berman at Yale School of Music in Connecticut and is now pursuing his doctorate at Yale under Berman’s guidance.

Kramer recently joined the faculty at Smith College in Northampton, Mass., as the visiting artist in piano and music educator.

Among other accomplishments, according to his website, Kramer earned the 2015 William Petschek Recital Album Award from Julliard and the 2014 Harvard Musical Association’s Arthur Foote Award. He was also a top prizewinner in the 2010 National Chopin Competition, the 2011 Montreal International Music Competition, and the 2012 China Shanghai International Piano Competition.

While Kramer enjoys playing Beethoven, and other classical pieces, he plans to premiere some newer music in Portland, Ore., next month during a “Rising Star” series, he said.

“I try to stay connected with what’s going on in terms of piano music being written today,” Kramer said.

Kramer is scheduled to play at the Franco-American Heritage Center in Lewiston at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 15. In the coming months, he also plans to make a concerto debut at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts in Philadelphia, Pa.

Kramer’s advice for other aspiring pianists is “to be very disciplined from a young age.”

“To play an instrument takes a lot of focus and dedication,” he said.

Elizabeth Manduca, who runs Manduca Music Publications with her husband Mark, a trombonist, said when Kramer first began lessons with her it was clear that he had “a depth of musical understanding which is necessary for a person who wishes to have a career in music.”

Last March Manduca attended Kramer’s solo recital at Alice Tully Hall in New York and was “extremely proud of his stellar performance,” she said.

“He was everything I had hoped he would be,” Manduca said. “He has a deep soul, and it shows through all of his performances.”

Kramer feels “lucky” that his parents have supported him throughout the years, and that he found a career that is never boring.

“It’s always exciting,” said Kramer. “I never want to stop. I don’t think I’d be able to live without music.”

Henry Kramer, 28, is a 2005 Cape Elizabeth High School graduate who was named a finalist in the Honens Piano Competition in Canada earlier this month.Photo courtesy of Vanessa BricenoHenry Kramer, a Cape Elizabeth native, plays his solo recital during the 2015 Honens Piano Competition in Calgary, Alberta, in early September. Courtesy photo 

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