Beethoven’s Pathétique sonata mingles with the wash of the waves and the cry of the seagulls.
People strolling along the waterfront stop to listen, sitting on benches or gathering around the painted piano as retired physician Dr. Carl Ivey performs what he calls his “theme song.”
Classical Carl, as he is known, is a familiar sight — and sound — at the outdoor pianos at the Oak Bay Marina, Cattle Point and Loon Bay by the Victoria Yacht Club.
“The first time I sat down and played outside, I thought: ‘Is this legal?’ ” Ivey laughed. “This is just amazing. To play music that’s been around for 200 and 300 years, outdoors, in nature. Oh my gosh, it doesn’t get any better than that.”
Ivey, 70, bubbles over in conversations with people he meets at the piano. Before he plays, he often gives a little talk about the composer or the piece of music he’s about to play.
“Music is my passion. And these pianos are connectors. They’re magnets. I have met people from all over the world,” said Ivey.
Last week, a tour bus pulled up as Ivey was playing. He turned around and realized a group of tourists were having a picnic behind him on the grass.
“They were from Denmark. I finished the piece and welcomed them. I played one more piece, then they offered me a cold beer and an awesome sandwich,” said Ivey. “Music is a universal language. It brings people together. It’s just endless. It’s amazing.”
Most mornings, Ivey arrives, music in hand, at the marina about 7:30 a.m.
“But what happens once I get here and the weather is nice, I can’t leave. And people say: ‘Oh please, will you play something for us?’ I can’t say no. And this view and nature and the water — it’s amazing.”
The former pediatrician is happy to listen to and encourage other musicians, young and old. On Wednesday, he could barely restrain himself as he listened to 12-year-old Misha Young playing Chopin.
“Bravo. Bravo,” shouted Ivey. “You have a very special talent. The world needs that.”
Ivey was born in Alabama but grew up, after the age of nine, in Chicago. His father was a steelworker, his mother a public school cook. He took piano lessons as a child, but wasn’t really that interested in practising.
“I used to dread Wednesdays. Piano day, right? And I hadn’t practised.”
He played clarinet in high school, but became more and more curious about the piano when he realized he could play melody, harmony and chords on the instrument.
“With the clarinet, you can only play one note at a time. The piano is complete within itself.”
In 1971, Ivey graduated from medical school, then served as a doctor in the U.S. army for two years. He married his first wife, Agnes, and had two daughters, Carla and Lisa.
In 1981, he learned the hard way about the healing power of music.
“My life was completely out of balance,” Ivey recalled.
“I was working at five different hospitals. I was going to save the world and I thought I was invincible. I was missing meals, not getting enough sleep. I got really sick and wound up in hospital with a serious lung infection fighting for my life.”
During his illness, Ivey had a dream that he was sitting at a magnificent grand piano, playing the first measures of Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 4. “I knew there was something with me and the piano in my future. I knew it was at the soul level.”
After his health returned, Ivey studied piano for 14 years.
“It gave me a sense of energy and well-being that all was well. I had a sense of being empowered and complete and whole and healed,” he said.
In 1995, Ivey married a Campbell River woman and moved to Canada. They divorced in 2009, but during the marriage, he spent many long weekends in Victoria.
“I fell in love with Victoria. I didn’t envision coming back as a single person, but that’s life. I feel like I’ve died and gone to heaven. It’s perfect for me now,” said Ivey, who moved here in 2012.
Not everybody has enjoyed Ivey’s playing. His former neighbours at Barrington Manor objected to him playing his grand piano in his apartment.
“There was a temporary period where I wasn’t able to play the piano at the apartment until things settled. Fortunately, I was able to practise at Oak Bay Lodge. Then I discovered the piano in the atrium at Royal Jubilee Hospital. Where there’s a will, there’s a way,” Ivey said.
He’s now surrounded by piano-loving neighbours and can play from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Ivey said he uses music to nurture his soul and to inspire others. He plays concerts about once a month at several nursing homes, including Oak Bay Lodge.
“He has a passion for playing and giving joy to people,” said Carolyn Hoekstra, co-ordinator of therapy services at Oak Bay Lodge. “He’s a retired physician, so he’s always been in the helping field. It’s natural that he wants to give back. He wants to bring as much joy to people as he can.”
Oak Bay Mayor Nils Jensen said it’s wonderful to see Ivey playing — and the smiles he brings to others. “He lights up their lives for a brief moment in time when he plays this wonderful classical music,” he said.
“He’s a very friendly, compassionate man, who wants to contribute to his community in any way he can.”
