Away in a Manger is one of the most loved Christmas carols of our time. And it’s easy to understand why! The beautiful lullaby describes that special night over 2000 years ago, using text and melody to create an emotional response in the listener. While Still, Still, Still is not as popular as Away in a Manger, it’s just […]
Read More
To celebrate the start of the holiday season, I am thrilled to announce the release of my own Christmas album: Christmas Piano. Listen to Christmas Piano The album consists of 8 tracks; 7 are arrangements I wrote of known Christmas carols, and 1 is an original composition. Over the next few weeks, I will be writing posts […]
Read More
In October 1814, 17-year-old Franz Schubert (1797-1828) wrote a lied (an art song with text from a German poem). It might not seem remarkable at first glance, but this composition – called Gretchen am spinnrade – helped change the course of music. History One of the first pieces of Romantic-era program music (a piece of music that tells a story […]
Read More
You know the feeling of being swept away by your own imagination? Of losing track of all things reality for a magical place of memories and thoughts and what-ifs? Well, many composers throughout music history have tried to capture this feeling of reverie in their music. From Madness to Daydreams But first, a little background […]
Read More
Let’s face it: playing the piano is hard. Not only do you have to know how the keyboard works, but learning how to read music or playing by ear takes time and effort to master. One difficulty many of us pianists face is unevenness in the notes when we play fast music. So here are […]
Read More
Michele Nobler is a contemporary composer I have had the pleasure of meeting through social media. He was kind enough to share his compositions with me, so I thought I’d write a blog post about his music! An Album From the Heart Nobler’s piano album “Suspended Souls” is a beautiful collection of modern musical art that […]
Read More
I’ve been listening to a lot of different styles of instrumental music lately. Instrumental music helps me think, relax, dream, imagine, create, and more! However, my music favorites constantly change depending on what projects I’m working on and what is going on in my life. Right now I’m creating a lot of my own music, […]
Read More
Ola Gjeilo (pronounced Yay-lo) (b. 1978) is a 21st-century pianist and composer who has changed the face of contemporary choir music. His compositions whisk the listener away on a journey full of emotion and beauty. Gjeilo is one of my favorite modern choir composers, so let’s learn more about him and his music. About Ola […]
Read More
Today’s post is so exciting because I will be discussing my latest piano composition and my first album! Let’s talk about the piano piece first. The Girl with the Fire A few months ago, my sister and I were talking about music during the intermission of this choir concert. She half-jokingly suggested I compose a […]
Read More
I’m so excited to share my latest piano composition with you, entitled Heartbeat: Heartbeat is a piece for solo piano that uses modern-day minimalism combined with beautiful melodies, lush harmonies, and driving rhythms. If you want to play it, download the sheet music here! Background A few months ago, I first heard the piece The Runner by […]
Read More