Music teacher Dave O'Brien doubles on keyboards as Polar Park's pianist/organist

Craig S. Semon - Worcester Telegram and Gazette - May 18, 2023

WORCESTER - Not only is he the club’s pianist and often guest organist at Polar Park, 37-year-old Dave O’Brien of Shrewsbury is a music teacher and head of the music department at Abby Kelley Foster Charter Public School.

“From very early on, I was exposed to a variety of music and got hooked onto the piano,” O’Brien said. “And, from there, I really just took off with it.”

Not only did he take off with it, O’Brien also took it to the ballgame, or more specifically WooSox home games at Polar Park.

Earlier this week, O’Brien explained how his personal passion of playing the piano led him on an unexpected career path, first as an educator, then a piano player and now an organist for the WooSox.

“Pianist, keyboardist, I kind of use them interchangeably,” O’Brien said. “I have a pretty easy policy: If you want me to play organ, if you want me to play piano, if you’re paying, I’m playing.”

Growing up in Wilbraham, O’Brien’s father was the guitarist for a Springfield-based, female-led cover band, Cutting Edge, which played selections from popular female rock singers of the ‘90s, including Alanis Morissette and Melissa Etheridge. Despite playing a six-string, his father urged O’Brien to pursue piano rather than the guitar.

“My dad was like, ‘Guitar players are a dime a dozen. Why don’t you play the piano? Here’s what you can do with the piano,’ ” O’Brien recalled.

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Polar Park organist/pianist Dave O’Brien of Shrewsbury

From there, O’Brien’s father introduced his son to several popular albums of the day, including Bruce Hornsby and the Range’s “The Way It Is” and Toto’s “Toto IV.”

“Toto’s ’Africa’ was a huge influence, that song specifically. I listened to the keyboards and now it has become more my theme song,” O’Brien said. “It was really neat, keyboard-driven stuff. I was like, oh, I can be a rock ‘n’ roller on the piano.”

Although he started pounding the skins on a drum kit, O’Brien shifted to tickling the ivories in second grade. He was initially attracted to the keyboard because it made “really neat sounds,” he said.

“You have all the notes of the orchestra there, from the very low to the very high and everything in between,” O’Brien said. “There’s so many bells and whistles. You can change the sound. There are backtracks that you can play with. It’s pretty incredible.”

Before becoming an educator, O’Brien used to play in a big band, Charles Neville & the Skeletones Big Band, and the Springfield-based wedding band Fever.

“Fever, that was a big commercial-function band. We played wedding, corporate events, Block Island,” O’Brien recall. “I live in Shrewsbury now. I’m local to this area. I fill in the gaps with solo gigs in this area.”

In February 2008, O’Brien ,who holds degrees in music education and jazz studies, started teaching at Abby Kelley Foster Charter Public School. Despite signing on for a temporary job, he’s been there ever since.

“I had my 22nd birthday here as a teacher,” O’Brien said. “What happened was, there was a school out here in Worcester that needed a maternity sub. And I was fulfilling that role for that time period and that lovely lady ended up moving to Chicago with her family. And, they were like, ‘How would you like just to keep the job?’ And I said, ‘Neat.’ ”

Sixteen years later, not only does he still have the job he expected to hold for only a few months, music education has also become his career. Today, O’Brien teachers music classes to about 200 students a week, as well as a performance choir and an international baccalaureate program for music.

“I love sharing my passion for music,” O’Brien said. “The kids that are performers, I hope that they can take that passion for music with them. And the kids who are not performers, I hope they can take some sort of joy of music with them.”

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As for playing piano at Polar Park. O’Brien started late in the WooSox’s inaugural season, also as a lark.

“We went up to the DCU Club. I was like, ‘This is neat.’ And I was like, ‘There’s a piano,’ ” O’Brien recalled. “I talked to one of the bartenders, ‘Who gets this gig? Ha, ha, ha.’ And he was like, ‘Oh, you can talk to Dr. Charles.' ”

That is, Dr. Charles Steinberg, president of the Worcester Red Sox.

One night, O’Brien went up and introduce himself to Steinberg. The two men started chatting about music. And that led to O’Brien playing the piano at the DCU Club and filling in as organist at Polar Park.

“Dr. Charles is a great advocate for music. That’s for sure. Down in Pawtucket, he was the organist. He’s super sweet, loves music being part of the programming,” O’Brien said. “For the first season, it was basically from about August to September, for the last couple of homestands. And then the next season, about February, I said, ‘Hey, what about doing it again this year?’ So the second season was like, ‘Yeah, great let’s do it.’ And the rest is history.”

For the third season’s home opener on March 31 at Polar Park, Fenway Park’s organist Josh Kantor christened the new organ stationed at the DCU Club, which can be heard through the ballpark.

Whether he’s sitting down playing the ballclub’s Yamaha baby grand piano or Lowrey organ, O’Brien said, fundamentally it’s the same, just a different feeling.

“Pianos look really elegant. It’s in the background. It sets a nice tone, while the organ has that classic ballpark sound, which is the best. It sounds so neat outside. You can party on with that thing,” O’Brien said. “Both are fun to play in their own way. There’s sort of magic for both. The team seems to really enjoy it. They keep having me out. I have a blast doing it. It’s such a privilege and an honor to be asked to do things like that over there.”

On Tuesday night at Polar Park, O’Brien was playing the organ for 20 minutes nonstop, seamlessly shifting from Hall and Oates, Rob Thomas and Santana, and Jimmy Buffett tunes without missing a beat.

“I always try to think of a theme for the evening. I think in that position it seems to be situational,” O’Brien said. “If it’s raining, I play songs about rain or not wanting it to rain, ‘Have You Seen the Rain,’ ‘On a Rainy Day’ or ‘My Girl.’ If the team losing, I’ll play something like ‘Don’t Stop Believing’ or ‘Living on a Prayer.’ It’s fun because it can be on the spot.”

In addition to Polar Park, O’Brien will be playing the piano from 4 to 7 p.m. May 27 at Hardwick Winery, Hardwick; 6 to 9 p.m. June 2 at Skyline Beer Company, Westfield; 6 to 9 June 10 and July 29 at The Mill 185, West Boylston; 5 to 8 p.m. June 17 at 266 Park Ave., Worcester; and 2 to 5 p.m. June 21 and July 26 at the Lost Shoe Brewing and Roasting Company in Marlborough. For more dates, visit https://www.daveobrienmusic.com/