Like most children who begin playing the piano, it is at a young age and at the urging of one’s mother. Reggie Berg was no different.

At the age of 5, in his hometown of Fort Wayne, Ind., he began taking piano lessons.

“At first I didn’t really like [playing the piano], but I was always made to practice and I couldn’t get away with not doing it, so that helped me to like it more.”

As he developed interest in the piano, Berg began toying around with composition at the age of 7.

“I actually didn’t know what I was writing sometimes, and I didn’t know what it would sound like.” Nonetheless, inspired by an admiration for Mozart, Berg would go to the library and read books about this talented composer and musician.

“When I read that Mozart composed first at the age of 5, I was jealous because I was 7,” said Berg.

Two years later, Berg entered one of his pieces in an elementary division competition. Although he made it to nationals, he was disappointed with his fourth place finish.

“[Finishing fourth] made me stop composing. I think my confidence was really blown, so I stopped,” Berg said.

As he transitioned into middle school, he played the trumpet in band. He also played the euphonium and various percussion instruments, like the xylophone.

“I still played piano, but my interests were getting scattered. I seemed to be losing interest in classical piano, and then jazz piano.”

For his first two years of high school, he continued to play both the classical and jazz trumpet, and was in the percussion section of his band, playing the snare drum and the marimba.

For his last two years of high school, Berg attended Interlochen Fine Arts Academy in Traverse City, Mich.

“Ever since I was 9, I knew that I wanted to pursue a professional music career. If you wanted to be serious about music as a career, this [was] the place to go,” Berg said.

Wanting to pursue a major in jazz piano, but still incorporate classical training, Berg applied and was accepted to Eastman School of Music in Rochester, N.Y. for only one year before transferring to the Lamont School of Music.

“I wanted to go somewhere that was a bit more competitive, but wasn’t as competitive [as Eastman].”

In his second quarter at DU, Berg was in a jazz arranging class and his professor asked him to write a piece for orchestra.

“When the performance was over, I knew that this wasn’t something I just wanted to do once. I knew right then that I wanted to be a composer. Then soon after that, I changed my major to composition,” Berg said.

Berg passionately shares his talents with the community. He plays piano at St. Bernadette’s Catholic Church and he has given some private lessons.

Berg aspires for a Master’s and a Doctorate degree in teaching composition, hopefully assuming a position at a university one day.

Aside from his life as a musician, Berg enjoys playing golf and seeing funny movies, like “The Hangover” and “Funny People.”

“I’m generally a pretty light-hearted person and really laid-back,” Berg said.

Make sure to catch Berg in concert at Lamont on Oct. 13.