East Franklin Township Musician Performs with Musical Ensemble

By Jonathan Weaver

A former Kittanning Senior High School student has already enrolled in a Utah university to try and realize his dream of being a musician.

And, while Matt Janovsky, of East Franklin, has performed in front of large crowds locally – such as during Arts on the Allegheny performances at the John Murtha Ampitheater in Kittanning – his largest performance yet came two weeks ago.

Janovsky performed with band “The Piano Guys” as part of the band’s “A Family Christmas Tour” at the EnergySolutions Arena December 20.

Janovsky – founder of the band’s Facebook fan page – said he also had long rehearsals before the show with the band and corresponding orchestra.

“Since I’ve become good friends with them, I got to play with them at their show in Salt Lake City with a small orchestra,” Janovsky said. “The show was for about 15,000 people.”

The orchestra played a trio of songs with the musical group, including “Beethoven’s 5 Secrets,” “Silent Night” and “Angels from the Realms of Glory.”

A student at Utah Valley University this fall, Janovsky was two days removed from his finals and had to memorize the three songs in about a week.

“I’m getting to be really good friends with the cello player, Stephen Sharp Nelson, and the producer, Al van der Beek. They just invited me one day to be part of the orchestra onstage,” Janovsky said.

After performing, Janovsky got a backstage pass to the concert to watch the show.

Janovsky also dressed as one of the 1,039 angels – a Guinness Book of World Record - for the music video to “Angels from the Realms of Glory” filmed in Utah’s Rock Canyon Park earlier in December with other collaborating artists.

“It was a really fun experience. When you see everybody out there, I really didn’t really think about it because the stage lights were blinding me, so all I could see was the stage - but I know it was a sold-out crowd.

“I don’t have too much experience playing in front of large crowds, and I don’t know if I’ll ever do something like that again, but it was really fun to do.”

Janovsky – who transferred from Indiana University of Pennsylvania - left for Utah Valley University Saturday afternoon and said his new classes are challenging and motivating him to learn more in media composition and music technology.

“The Piano Guys” – who play a mixture of classical rock and popular music - visit Reading Eagle Theater at Santander Arena in Berks County this March and the Mann Center for Performing Arts in Philadelphia in August.