Batavia teen to play at Grammys after entering YouTube contest

I had news and I was not above using it to raise my status as a cool mom.

"Did you hear that Andrew Pearson is going to play with the Food Fighters at the Grammys?" I said to my son. "How cool is that?"

When he was through rolling on the floor in laughter, he said, "That's Foo Fighters, Mom."

Well, let me tell you, I now know the error of my ways. I have listened to the Foo Fighters and they are a band that even a 57-year-old, un-cool mom could love. No wonder the group is Andrew's favorite group.

So how did 18-year-old Batavia teen's newfound fame come about?

He was online one night when his friend, Jason Peters, sent him an instant message.

"He told that the Foo Fighters were having this contest on YouTube, looking for musicians and that I needed to go for it and win it," said Andrew.

Luckily, Andrew took Jason's advice and entered the contest, playing the song "The Pretender" on his violin for the YouTube audience.

Some 17,535 YouTube viewings later, Andrew is a semifinalist and headed for the Grammys in Los Angeles.

"I was so excited when I found out that I had won," he said. "I was screaming and jumping up and down. I called all of my friends. It was just awesome."

Andrew started playing violin when he was 2 -- no lie.

"My parents got me involved in the Suzuki classes in Aurora," said Andrew. "At that age, you just learn basics, rhythms and how to hold the violin."

The classes paid off and Andrew's interest in the violin lasted until sixth grade. Then he traded his violin in for a cornet and joined the band.

"I was tired of the violin but playing cornet made me realize that I wanted to be playing in the orchestra, playing my violin," he said.

Rita Feuerborn was his teacher and she often told the kids that orchestra was just as much fun as the band. She instituted the first marching strings program and encouraged her students to go beyond the normal practice experience. She has an impressive resume of her own, having played with Kanye West.

"I am thrilled for Andrew," she said. "My advice is to him is .... savor the moment! The energy will be electrifying and like no other you've experienced."

For the time being Andrew is just living in the moment. He'll spend Grammy week in L.A. rehearsing with Led Zeppelin's John Paul Jones, who arranged the special orchestral version of "The Pretender." The segment will be performed at the Nokia Plaza outside of the Staples Center.

Playing the violin is something that Andrew does very well. However, he doesn't plan to make music his career. The extremely bright college student is studying computer programming and hopes to create video games someday.

For now it is just all a dream come true, meeting the band and playing at the Grammys. He is so glad that he took the step to try out for the contest. He's learned from it.

"If you have a dream, chase it," he said. "That's the only way you have a chance of capturing it."

Don't miss seeing him on the Grammys, at 7 p.m. Sunday on CBS.

king60510@aol.com