God arrested my heart about why I am here in this life; I want to do nothing more than to point people to HIM and how great HE IS! He was very clear with me that He will share His glory with NO ONE. “Yes, Lord!” was my answer. Now, my desire is just to lead people to worship Him…using the gifts He gave me to point all people back to Him. I would like to challenge all musicians who may be reading this with this question: For whom or what are you playing?

I have known from a very early age that music would always be a part of my life. I discovered during my college years that music would be the focus of my life’s work. I took a couple of piano lessons when I was in the first grade until my teacher left the country. In Chicago while I was in the sixth grade, a man came to my school and demonstrated all of the instruments that were typically in a wind band. I knew I HAD to play the trombone. I was so fascinated with the slide and the warm, rich sound. So, that was it. I was in the band! I enjoyed it so much that it became all I thought about. My parents even arranged private lessons to keep me motivated and learning at an accelerated pace. They were very selfless to provide funds and transportation to professionals in the Chicago area who agreed to teach me.

All during this time, I was spending a great deal of time on the piano as well…on my own, playing by ear. It was not until I had music theory in college that I really began to understand how to make the piano do what I heard in my head. This unlocked my mind with the piano, and my playing instantly changed. I can remember like it was yesterday all of those Friday nights in college, just the piano and me. It was then I realized that I was playing for God. He was developing His gift in me for HIS service! I remember playing for hours…learning how to play…learning what it was to worship on an instrument.

Learn more about Eric at: https://www.ericterlizzi.com