BHHS Alum Connects London Composer with Joel Pressman

One Beverly Hills High School alum took it upon herself in October to surprise her dear friend and mentor, choral teacher Joel Pressman, with a visit from one of his favorite composers.

Pressman, who has been sick with cancer, taught at BHHS for nearly 40 years and has received an outpouring of support from family, friends and former students, including Melanie Abrams, a 2010 graduate with Thespian honors and as the titled Minnesingers' outstanding member and president.

"Like many others, I have been driven in my life by the effect his passion for music and his teachings had on me," Abrams tells Patch, who's now an actress currently filming a new television series, as well as a film editor and an "executive princess" at Beverly Hills Princess.

During Abrams' time as president of Minnesingers, the high school's award-winning choir, they sang a song by one of Mr. Pressman's favorite composers, Eric Whitacre. The piece was Seal Lullaby and its haunting beauty really touched everyone who sang or heard it, she said.

"To this day, it is my favorite song," Abrams added. "I knew that it would tickle Mr. Pressman pink if Eric Whitacre were to contact him, perhaps via email or video message."

Abrams took to Whitacre's fan page, telling him of Mr. Pressman's story and how his music, particularly Seal Lullaby, had really touched the community. She asked Whitacre to reach out to Pressman in any medium possible, even if it's just to say a brief "hello."

Whitacre currently lives in London, and is a Grammy-award winning composer and conductor, writing for the scores of films such as Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, and winning a Grammy in 2012 for his choral album Light and Gold.

On Oct. 22, Whitacre was in Beverly Hills at Pressman's doorstep.

"They talked for hours and regaled each other with tales of this choral world they both live in so avidly," Abrams said. "Mr. Pressman was enthralled, and insisted on wearing his beret 'for company.' I was able to witness two musical idols of mine in the same room, speaking of their personal experiences with musical pieces, fellow choral legends they both knew and laughing at jokes only composers and conductors would understand."

Whitacre said it was "an honor" to meet Joel Pressman, and that after reading Abrams' letter, which he said was "the most genuine thing to ever be sent to him," he just had to meet him.

"He said he so admires teachers, especially those of music, and that Mr. Pressman had clearly brought people together with more than just notes and bars and harmonies but with humanity and love, and he could not have been more correct," Abrams said.

Abrams said her former choral teacher influenced her on so many levels, not only on how to be a better musician, but also, and more importantly, how to take time to laugh, to work hard, to never settle for anything less than the best, to accept that things happen for a reason and to always love everybody.

"The best part is that his lessons don't stop when you graduate," Abrams said. "He still teaches me things to this day. I am the person I am today. An encouraged, confident, positive person because of him."

With the sadness surroudning Pressman's illness, Abrams said she wants the community to see that he is still living positively and happily, and to see what an incredible impact he really has had on the musical world.

For more information on Whitacre, visit his website here: http://ericwhitacre.com/.