We honor the memory of piano student Emmanuel Trotter, 15, who passed away on Friday, January 17. We continue to send our love and support to the Trotter family at this very difficult time.
Emmanuel was a gifted musician who studied piano with Griffin Woodard here at CMS. His brothers Joshua and Solomon are also former CMS piano students. While he studied music formally for only two years, Emmanuel had a musical intuition that extended well beyond his 15 years. Griffin described him as “always over-prepared” and “an extremely talented young musician of the highest order.” Emmanuel was a sophomore at the Lehigh Valley Charter High School for the Arts in Bethlehem. He was very passionate about classical music and the piano. He aspired to be a music teacher.
A celebration of life for Emmanuel, was held on Saturday, January 25, 2025, at Bachman, Kulik, and Reinsmith Funeral Home in Allentown, one block west of CMS. Several CMS staff, teachers, and students attended and participated in the service. CMS Executive Director Jeff Reed spoke on behalf of the school. He shared memories of Emmanuel’s impressive dedication to his piano lessons and helping the family secure a donated piano for their home. They saw a Yamaha piano advertised in the CMS e-newsletter and fell in love with it. The move proved more difficult than anticipated, but just before Christmas, Jeff was able to coordinate the safe delivery of the piano to the Trotter home where it will be well-loved and well-played by Emmanuel and all his siblings.
Griffin shared memories of Emmanuel’s impressive dedication as a student. He then performed F. Chopin’s Op. 25, No. 1, Aeolian Harp on bass clarinet, accompanied by a video recording of Emmanuel playing the piano part. Family and friends shared many “Manny Memories” and recordings of his impressive piano performances. The musical program concluded with recordings of Emmanuel performing the piece he was currently working to perfect: Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata. The recording was followed with a skilled live performance of the third movement of the Moonlight Sonata by CMS piano teacher and Program Coordinator Kelly Hooper.
Emmanuel’s song will play on. He will live forever in the hearts of those whom he touched with his life and his music. Please enjoy some of Emmanuel’s CMS performance highlights:
Emmanuel’s full obituary is available to read here. The family has established a GoFundMe campaign to raise funds for Emmanuel’s final expenses. The campaign page also features a playlist with more of Emmanuel’s impressive piano performances.