Siblings Achieve Success Not Often Associated With Classical Music

By Andrew McGinn Staff Writer

SPRINGFIELD — It happened to Michael Jackson and Donny Osmond. Hey, it happened to Keith Partridge, too. Will it happen to one of the 5 Browns? Namely, will one of them get too big for their own DNA? As the piano-pounding siblings from Utah prepare to hit Kuss Auditorium on Wednesday, Feb. 27, each of them says no. Not Gregory, not Ryan, not Melody, not Deondra and not Desirae. As if to ensure that no Brown sticks out, they all do phone interviews together — like the conference call from hell. The unified front is a nice effort. But at this point, the nation’s music critics can’t even agree on which Brown to anoint. "Sometimes they’ll pick out their favorite," Melody Brown explained, "but it’s always changing. "So it lets us know we’re all equal." Really, though, if any Brown secretly harbors thoughts of a solo career, now’s the time.

With three No. 1 albums in a row, the 5 Browns might just be the closest thing classical music has to pop stars.

Ranging in age from 22 (Ryan) to 29 (Desirae), the five pianists surely have to be the envy of that stereotypically hoity-toity world.

The Browns love to note that a third of their audience is young – - another third doesn’t even like classical music all that much. But those same people will plunk down the debit card to see five Mormons on five Steinways playing Rachmaninoff. "We’re not the stuffiest people in the world," Melody Brown said. "We’re not out there in gowns and tuxes." But, seriously now, how long can something like this last? The shtick of five 20-something piano virtuosos — all famously attended Juilliard at the same time — will eventually run its course. Like, in a year, when Desirae turns 30. Then they’ll have to go on talent alone. Luckily, they all have it. And luckily, classical music has always been a tad different than pop music. "If you look at anybody in the classical world, their careers last a little longer than people in the pop world," Gregory Brown said. "Hopefully that will translate to our career." He thinks it has something to do with fads in pop music. "Who’s in now probably won’t be in tomorrow," he said. Still, it’s not like Gregory and Ryan, for example, have it any easier than Michael or Jermaine did. "Being a family that plays music is hard, anyway," Gregory Brown said, "just because of the strain the work can put on the family." And the family’s getting bigger all the time. Last year, Melody became the most recent Brown to marry. (She’s now Melody Brown-Welch offstage.) All three women are married, and Ryan just got engaged. "As of now, we’ve been trying to balance everything," Melody Brown said. The Browns spend two weeks on the road, then get two weeks off. "When kids come along, we’ll change the schedule more," she added. So the 5 Browns might never break apart — they might just add more Browns.

Contact this reporter at (937) 328-0352 or amcginn@coxohio.com.

How to go

Who: The 5 Browns

Where: Kuss Auditorium

When: 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 27

Tickets: $25-$40; $18-$30 for students

For more information:

(937) 328-3874 or visit springfieldartscouncil.org

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