Tribute to Mr. David Ehrman

When I sat down for my very first collegiate piano lesson at Liberty University, I had never seen a true concert artist up close. That day, my world expanded instantly. Sitting across from me was David Ehrman, arriving fresh from the Cincinnati College Conservatory of Music — where he had entered at just seventeen, later serving as their youngest graduate assistant. He was disciplined, razor-sharp, and forged in the crucible of a demanding European tradition under a Madame who offered him merely three compliments across six years of study. Yet beneath his laser-focused intensity lived a genuine warmth, a dry wit, and a rare musical intuition that would reshape my life forever.

During that first lesson, he didn't just talk; he played. He tore through roughly forty dazzling snippets of masterworks — Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata, Liszt's St. François de Paule marchant sur les flots, and sweeping phrases from Brahms and Chopin. While my jaw dropped and my ears drank in artistry I had never before witnessed, Mr. Ehrman was doing something far more calculated: he was reading my eyes. In psychological terms, he mapped my nonverbal cues. He watched every flicker of wonder, every wide-eyed reaction, and every subtle breath. Without a single word spoken, he decoded my musical soul and intuitively mapped out the next four years of my repertoire in that single hour.

For four uninterrupted years, Mr. Ehrman poured thousands of technical and interpretive concepts into my playing. He was demanding because he believed in what was possible, pushing me past perceived limitations while refusing to let me settle for anything less than excellence.

That journey culminated on February 3rd during my senior recital — ten demanding works performed entirely from memory. When my hands touched the keys for Chopin's Fantaisie-Impromptu, the work didn't merely sound; it took off like an eagle and soared through the hall.

Now, after over five decades of teaching piano, Mr. Ehrman's voice, exacting ear, and generous spirit still guide my hands and my studio. He made the instrument come alive, saw greatness in me before I could see it in myself, and left an indelible imprint on my life for which I will always thank God.