WATCH: LSMSA’s Franklin Ingalls (’27) Performs Beethoven’s “Moonlight Sonata” at Houston Grand Opera Fundraiser

On September 7, 2024, LSMSA student Franklin Ingalls (’27) sat down to deliver his second-ever public performance of the difficult third movement of Beethoven’s Piano Sonata No. 14, also known as the “Moonlight Sonata.” Ingalls—who grew up in rural Woodworth, LA, in Rapides Parish—had previously performed the piece during a Make-A-Wish Foundation fundraiser held in Houston six months earlier. In September, Ingalls took the stage at the White Oak Music Hall for a privately organized concert benefiting the Houston Grand Opera.   

“I've played around with piano since I was very little, because of the spinet piano that we owned, but I didn't learn any pieces until about 2019,” Ingalls said. “I learned an easy song off of YouTube … after that, I just started learning what I felt like learning. The third movement of ‘Moonlight’ was one of my stretch goals. Just looking at it, I was intimidated.”

 

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That intimidation is not apparent in a video of his performance shared with LSMSA by the Ingalls Family. Throughout the seven-and-a-half-minute video, Ingalls appears intensely focused on the piece’s elaborately timed hand movements. When the performance ends, he appears relieved and proud as the crowd bursts into applause.

“The ‘Moonlight Sonata’ is a marathon and at the same time a sprint,” Ingalls said. “I struggled, and still struggle a lot, on the coda. When I finally reached (the coda), after learning the other seven minutes of music, I had only ever had to learn and practice the arpeggio technique displayed at the beginning of the piece with my right hand. In the coda, while all the pressure is on to finish strong, you must simultaneously perform that same crazy technique from the beginning with both hands. It took a lot of work to get to that point shown in the video.”

 

 

 

Ingalls’s performances in Houston would be an impressive accomplishment for any pianist, regardless of factors like their age, health, or experience level. When you learn why Ingalls was performing at a Make-A-Wish Foundation fundraiser in the first place, his accomplishment becomes even more remarkable.

Ingalls refers to himself as a “Wish Kid,” a child who has been diagnosed with a critical illness and is eligible to have a wish granted by an organization like the Make-A-Wish Foundation

“I had a genetic disorder called Hemophagocytic Lymphohistiocytosis, or just HLH,” Ingalls said. “The treatment plan is very similar to that of leukemia, with immune suppression, chemotherapy, and a bone marrow transplant. The whole process ended up taking a year.”

Early on in his treatment, during a visit to Oschner Children's Hospital in New Orleans, Ingalls was invited to sit and play for a moment on a grand piano in the hospital's atrium.

“I had never touched a grand piano before,” Ingalls said. “I was immediately captivated by how amazing it sounded. I felt as if I’d just played the best I’d ever played.”

When it came time to make his own “Wish Kid” wish, Ingalls knew exactly what to ask for. Today, the baby grand piano delivered by Make-A-Wish Texas Gulf Coast and Louisiana sits in the living room of the Ingalls home in Woodworth. Ingalls plays it as often as he gets the opportunity. He is currently learning Chopin’s “Minute Waltz.”  

This story was written with permission of the Ingalls Family.

ABOUT LSMSA
LSMSA is a tuition-free, public high school for high-achieving sophomores, juniors, and seniors with a nominal room and board fee to cover housing, meals, and campus activities. The LSMSA Foundation offers assistance for families so that no eligible student is denied the school’s 42-year legacy of a college-level living/learning experience. For more information about LSMSA, or to apply for the Fall ‘25 academic school year, visit www.LSMSA.edu.