Columnist Susan Snyder: Teen has keys to happiness

Tuesday, Feb. 13, 2001 | 8:35 a.m.

Susan Snyder's column appears Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays. Reach her at snyder@lasvegassun.com or 259-4082.

Alexandria Le will spend at least part of Valentine's Day with her first true love.

All 88 keys of it.

Le, 17, typically spends three hours of every weekday practicing the piano. On weekends, its four.

"I've been playing the piano since I was 3. But I've only been studying seriously since I was 10," the 17-year-old Las Vegas Academy senior said.

Yes, she said "only."

When she was 12 she spent part of her summer studying piano in Italy. And by ninth grade Le knew she wanted to play for competition and for keeps. On Thursday Le joins two other up-and-coming Las Vegas pianists for a master class with acclaimed Cuban-American pianist Santiago Rodriguez.

The class, sponsored by the Las Vegas Philharmonic, is designed to showcase the young people's talents and also give them a chance for some one-on-one critique from a professional.

The 90-minute session begins at 4 p.m. and is open to the public. It will be conducted in Studio One of the KNPR Donald W. Reynolds Broadcast Center, which is on the Community College of Southern Nevada's West Charleston campus at 1289 S. Torrey Pines Drive. Tickets are $15 each.

Le says having an audience there adds the opportunity for more opinions, which she welcomes. She has done master classes before, and looks forward to having her playing picked apart by an expert.

"It's pretty interesting. I'm pretty open to new ideas," Le said. "They're just expressing a different view, and you can learn something without being insulted."

Le has a mature attitude toward her playing, which is good because the other pianists in the class are older by at least five years, according to information provided by the philharmonic.

Isaac Strange, 22, attends the community college and already has his real-estate license. He began playing when he was 4 years old, but was about 15 when he decided to pursue piano seriously.

He is to perform a piece by Sergei Rachmaninoff's "Prelude in G Minor," which could bring him plenty of comments. Rodriguez is considered a Rachmaninoff expert, philharmonic officials said.

Xin Mai, a 29-year-old UNLV student, was born in China and came to the United States on a scholarship in 1996. The piano performance major graduates in May and plans to attend graduate school at UNLV.

Rodriguez is doing the master class in addition to his performance with the philharmonic Saturday. The concert is at 8 p.m. in UNLV's Artemus Ham Hall. Tickets are $20, $40 and $60 and may be obtained by calling 895-2787.

Le hopes to one day compete in international competitions and then work as a conservatory professor. She has set her sights on music schools in New York City or Indiana after she graduates from high school. Entrance auditions are tough. So in addition to taking lessons here, Le periodically travels to San Francisco for instruction.

She knows success means a lot of practice and giving up the things other teens enjoy their senior year.

"I just missed the Sadie Hawkins Dance, but I didn't care. My auditions are coming up," Le said. "I'll work hard now and party later."