Joe Belanger: piano teacher, vocal coach, music director, singer
International Falls musician Joe Belanger recalls the days when he would sit down to play the organ, and his feet would hardly reach the pedals.
At age 13, Belanger set out to teach himself how to play the organ so he could perform at his neighbor’s wedding and accompany the vocalist and other music. He took a few lessons from a local organist to start, then took the self-teaching path.
“It was challenging at first,” he said. “The incentive to practice and really devote to it and be diligent with that organ came from a neighbor of mine getting married, and she asked me to play at her wedding.”
That was Belanger’s first performance, and he didn’t realize it would be the first of many.
“I was scared to death,” Belanger said of his first time performing to an audience.
Already familiar with piano — he started taking piano lessons at age 8 — he was interested in the organ, having been around it and hearing it at church on a regular basis. He soon discovered that organ-touch techniques are not the same as piano, and the fact that both feet also have a whole keyboard, or pedals, to play along with the keyboard for both hands.
“They are very, very different to play,” Belanger said.
Today, Belanger is a piano teacher, vocal coach, music director for Zion Lutheran Church, and plays or sings at local weddings and funerals. He is also involved in two choirs in Fort Frances — The Fort Frances Choraliers and Fort Harmonies, is a singer in a local quartet — Border Borealis, and directs music for Rainy Lake Community Orchestra.
Belanger has formerly been in a couple bands, he said, and years ago, he played music at The Spot on 53’s lounge on a regular basis over the span of 10 years.
Although song and music account for many of his life activities, Belanger does not like to sing high praises of himself. He doesn’t call himself “talented,” he said, but rather, someone who works hard in music.
“I hate to use the word ‘talent’ or ‘gift,’ because people tell you that, but to describe yourself that way just sounds cocky,” he said. “I guess I don’t see it as a talent or a gift — it’s something you work for. And if there is something natural that you were born with, how do you know?”
He prefers to view his ability in music as a combination of factors, he said.
“As with anything else, if there is such a thing as talent, that would be a small percentage of what goes into what is produced — the rest is hard work,” Belanger said. “Composers and artists say it’s 10 percent inspiration, 90 percent perspiration.”
Steve Olson, the reverend of Zion Lutheran Church, where Belanger began as an organist at age 14 and is now the musical director, said he would consider Belanger someone who is “talented.” Belanger plays both the organ and piano for at least two church services each Sunday, in both contemporary and traditional music styles.
“He has an immense amount of talent,” Olson said. “I think Joe is a congruent musician. He’s well-trained in both organ and piano. He has a good sense of how the music flows and good sense of timing.”
Olson added that Belanger is not only the church’s organist and pianist, but also directs the vocal choir.
“Because of his extreme competency in music, he has made my job, not only in pastoral ministry, but also in worship planning, much easier,” Olson said.
Beginning when the then-minister in 1975 called Belanger at school to ask if he’d be interested in playing the organ at church, to now — directing and teaching music to others — Belanger said the years of playing at area churches is, to him, a big accomplishment.
“One of the things I feel happy with is the length of time I’ve been playing at area churches,” he said, referring to not only playing at Zion Lutheran Church but also St. Thomas Aquinas Church. “I feel it’s an honor to be able to do that.”
Performing a ‘spectrum’
Born and raised in the Falls, Belanger began his journey in music as “something to do” as a child.
“I was not athletic, and I was a shy kid,” he said. “This was something I could work on independently that produced a sense of accomplishment.”
At age 8, after taking a few piano lessons, his parents bought him an old, full upright piano to learn and practice on.
“They bought the piano for $25, and it cost $35 to move it into our basement,” he said with a laugh. “After the first couple of years (of playing piano), it seemed to be a good fit for me. There’s always a feeling of accomplishment with any new song learned. And even now, I tell my own students, with every song you learn, you are a little bit better.”
Belanger mostly considers himself a self-taught musician, he said; in learning piano he took a few private lessons with a local musician and studied privately with a professor at University of Minnesota - Duluth. He learned to play the organ and sing primarily through practice and working to improve, he said.
Belanger played music at school from sixth grade and on, he said, and has played the clarinet, saxophone, was a member of the Falls High School concert band, jazz band and marching band.
Learning a variety of instruments helped Belanger perform at the capacity he does now, he said. For anyone learning music, Belanger said, it helps to have a year or two of piano lessons as a basis for learning to read notes, counting when playing, and developing dexterity, he said.
“It’s much easier then to start learning new instruments,” he said. “It really makes a difference.”
He likes to play individually, with a group or for an audience, he said, adding that it provides a good balance. Belanger performs a wide range of music and music types, he said.
“I perform a spectrum of both secular and church music,” Belanger said. “The majority of the music I work with would be considered ‘sacred.’”
Scott Roberts, who plays in Rainy Lake Community Orchestra, for which Belanger directs music, said Belanger shapes the atmosphere when he walks into the room to direct for a performance or for practice.
“He’s very good at being in control of the music,” Roberts said.
Determination and persistence is key for anyone learning music, although a musician never stops learning, Belanger said. He has taught piano lessons to students ages 5 to 65 and older, he said, adding that no one is ever too old to learn.
“First and foremost, be prepared and try to do your best work, always achieving, regardless of your situation,” Belanger said. “Music requires a lot of focus and practice.”
Emily Slaubaugh, 13, who has been taking piano lessons from Belanger for about two years, said Belanger encourages her to play music outside of her regular lesson work, which she enjoys doing. She also likes to experiment by ear, without printed music, she said.
“I sit down and play piano if I’m frustrated with something, I play the songs that I know,” she said. “It’s motivating and encouraging.”
Belanger said his teaching style of pushing his students to experiment partly comes from his own experience of learning.
“You can watch someone play a song, and imitate that, also using what you read in the method books,” he said. “If I hear a song, I can enhance it or rearrange it and make it my own adaptation or interpretation.”
His students catch on faster when they learn to do this, too, he said.
“Often times, if a piece of music is very simply written, students can add notes and make it closer to their level of playing,” Belanger said. “You need to be willing to sit down and experiment with them.”
Although at age 8, starting to learn music, Belanger did not know where it would take him, or that he would later have a career in music, he is content with the way things turned out, he said.
“It’s not only a vocation, but it’s also a hobby,” he said. “There aren’t many things you can say that about.”
