Natural talent

Several students loiter outside room 219 of the music building, shuffling their feet and waiting for the haunting notes of the clarinet to cease so they can enter the room.\nTwelve-year-old Julian Bliss has no qualms about interrupting, however, because he has just come from his seventh grade class at St. Charles and is anticipating the meeting with his studio group.\nHe darts up to the door, knocks on it and crouches down, waiting for his mentor, Professor Howard Klug, to come let him in.\nBliss is still dressed in his school uniform: A white polo featuring a spaghetti sauce stain, rumpled blue khakis and worn-in, size seven tennis shoes. He has a slightly choppy English accent, permanently flushed cheeks, a generous spattering of freckles, disheveled brown hair, a warm smile and dancing brown eyes -- the overall demeanor of a child who has been busy or in trouble.\nIn Bliss's case, he's been permanently busy ever since last spring, when he and his mother, Maureen Bliss, moved from London, England to Bloomington so he could practice clarinet under Klug, Indiana University's Woodwind Chairman. Bliss is working toward an Artist's Diploma, which he can't actually receive until he graduates high school or gets a GED equivalent.\nBliss interacts well with his classmates and enjoys a sibling-type relationship with them.\nThe women in the group acknowledged he's a "flirt" and has already had numerous girlfriends at St. Charles, a charge Julian vehemently denied. He claimed to have no knowledge of these individuals. \nThe women also noted he looked up to the men in the group for guidance and companionship. Klug has particularly become a father figure to Bliss in the absence of his real father, who is back in London tending to his two other sons and his motorcycle business.\nFor anyone who's looking, this close relationship would be apparent -- one is never far from the other and both are constantly flicking glances to keep tabs on each other.\nKlug has thick spectacles, sandy blond hair, weathered facial features and a soft spot for Bliss. He gives Bliss extra time and attention because he understands children need to be taught differently.\n"I always strive for a balance between seriousness and lightheartedness…Julian responds to challenges so I like to throw down the gauntlet at him," Klug said.\nTime management alone is enough of a gauntlet for Bliss. Just trying to sort out time for an interview warranted a five-minute rundown of his neverending school and practice schedule. He laughed at the suggestion of having a break.\nSenior Shanna Davis said there's no animosity towards Bliss for being so young and talented, because the group has all been playing the same amount of years. Most of the group started playing the clarinet when they were nine or 10 because the clarinet is too large for small hands.\nBliss's parents purchased a special, smaller one for him after he heard a clarinet and decided, at age four, that his dream was to become a clarinet soloist.\nClassmates described him as verbal, good at socializing, curious, competitive, happy, normal, not at all conceited and much sweeter this year than last year, which they attributed to a year's worth of adjusting to his new life.\n"It's a really big challenge to keep the schedule of college students and spend time with us twenty-somethings instead of kids his own age," senior Leslie Eldridge said.\nKlug doesn't have any doubts about Bliss's ability to handle the pressures of practicing and fitting in.\n"Julian's an instinctual learner. He's learned quickly and learned young," Klug said. "His natural gifts, desire and work ethic have made him as talented as he is."\nThese elements are what have given Bliss the opportunity to perform on British television and in front of Prince Charles, Prince Philip and "some duchess," he said. Next up on his agenda is a recital at Bloomington South High School.\nBliss is a 12-year-old in all respects. He devours sweets whenever he gets the chance, struggles with the crucial etiquette of joke-telling and possesses an unparalleled amount of energy. His\nextraordinary talent for the clarinet is what sets him apart from others his age and holds the esteem of his colleagues.\n"We instantly have respect for him because we know what he can do," graduate student Marty Gold said.