Philip Wesley, is an award-winning and best-selling solo piano artist. His compositions, which have featured prominently in radio, TV, and film, resonate with listeners worldwide and are easily accessible on platforms such as Pandora, Spotify, iTunes, and Amazon. Wesley has achieved impressive chart-topping success, including reaching #1 on iTunes and multiple Billboard charts.

He started out as a guitar player and then gravitated to the piano when it was required in his musical training. Philip entered the world of Music Therapy and his album "Dark Night of the Soul" has touched the hearts of many deeply, helped them deal with tough times and depression. You will see some of that evidenced in this interview.

For more information, visit his website: www.philipwesley.com

You will find over 30 complete songs on the website. In addition, he has a blog with wonderful insight into the musical chords he uses and the composer's thoughts behind the construction of some of his pieces.

Didi Stewart is an associate professor in the Voice Department at Berklee College of Music. A two-time winner of the Boston Music Award for best female vocalist, Stewart has been a longtime fixture on the Boston music scene. Her first original rock band, Didi Stewart and the Amplifiers, recorded the album Begin Here for Kirshner/Epic Records in 1983. Her second band, Girls' Night Out, was one of the top-grossing acts in New England and was named best unsigned band by Musician magazine in 1986. Throughout the 1990s, Stewart was known her ongoing series of songwriter tributes, celebrating such composers as Laura Nyro, Carole King, Randy Newman, Jacques Brel, Rodgers & Hart, and Cole Porter. The critically acclaimed An Evening of Burt Bacharach and Hal David won a Boston Magazine award for best club performance. A prolific composer for film and television, Stewart's songs have been featured on Melrose Place, One Life to Live, The Young and the Restless, Touched by an Angel, Dark Skies, Any Day Now, The Twilight Zone, and The Beast. Her most recent album, the country-pop excursion Harmonyville, was released in 2006. We will be covering a wide range of her music including some very topical political satire. You can find out more about Didi here: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100063706440404

Phil Young composes music in various forms, including symphonic, chamber, electronic, vocal, and film. His ability fusing Chinese and western elements in his music enriches his originality. His music has been performed at music institutions and venues throughout the United States and all around the world including Shanghai, Germany, Russia, Hong Kong, Barcelona, and England.

His music “Reverie” and “Reflection on a Tang Poem” have been published in exclusive anthologies of contemporary Chinese music. His composition for cello and piano “Consolation” (for all the people Suffering from the Pandemic) has been included in the KDFC Classical Music Station’s programing. “Fantasy for Orchestra”, “Lament”, “Suzhou River Fantasie”, “Sea Waves ” and “Fire Dance” have all received special recognition.

A graduate and a scholarship recipient of the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, Phil Young studied composition with professor Elinor Armer. Phil Young currently resides in the San Francisco Bay Area and has been involved with various local performing groups including as Music Director of the Chinese Performing Artists of America and Conductor of CPAA Youth Chamber Orchestra.

You find out more about him at https://philyoungmusic.com/

And you can find other interviews at https://www.acomposerscorner.com/

I interviewed David in Dec 2022. Born and raised in the small sylvan town of Mendham, New Jersey, David Tolk studied classical piano from an early age with his mother, Marilyn Tolk, who is a graduate of The Juilliard School. During his teenage years, David became more interested in learning to play the music of Rush, Journey, Van Halen, Kansas, Genesis, Yes, and other bands on the piano and his Korg synthesizers. He quickly discovered that he could play most songs on the radio by ear. He began composing peaceful instrumental piano music while still in high school.

David has released ten new age instrumental piano albums which have received national distribution and radio airplay. David's 2010 instrumental piano CD release, "David Tolk Christmas," peaked at #8 on the Billboard New Age Chart for the week of December 25, 2010. In February of 2022, David released his newest album, Blessings, which peaked as the #1 best-selling new-age album on Amazon shortly after its release. David's music has received more than 6005 million streams on Pandora His music has been featured on Public Radio programs including "Hearts of Space" and "Echoes." David has composed music for Warner/Chappell Production Music for licensing in film and commercials. David's music is available for purchase at www.davidtolk.com, iTunes, Amazon.com, and numerous other digital download sites. You can also listen to his music for free on Pandora, Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music and many other streaming sites.

You can see more of him here: https://www.davidtolk.com/

And more of my interviews here:https://www.acomposerscorner.com/

David Nevue is an internationally recognized pianist, composer, and recording artist. David has released seventeen albums of his original piano works and arrangements, including two "Piano Album of the Year" winners; Overcome (2005) and Winding Down (2015). His latest album of new works, 2019's In the Soft Light of Grace, went to #1 on both the Amazon.com and iTunes music sales charts for his genre and entered the top 5 on Billboard's album charts. David's music has surpassed 1.8 Billion spins on Pandora Radio, a remarkable feat for an independent artist. A seasoned performer, David has shared the stage with some of the genre's most recognized names, including David Lanz, Wayne Gratz, Peter Kater, Suzanne Ciani, Chad Lawson, Michele McLaughlin and seventy other pianists. David’s music can be heard virtually anywhere you listen to music, including Spotify, Apple Music/iTunes, Amazon Music, Alexa ("Alexa, play David Nevue"), YouTube, SiriusXM Satellite Radio, Music Choice and Pandora Radio. You can find out much more on his website: https://www.davidnevue.com/about.htm which includes samples from ALL his CDs and full tracks on this page: https://www.davidnevue.com/listen.htm You can find more interviews like this at: https://www.acomposerscorner.com/video-interviews

Kevin Tracy was born and raised in Rhode Island and now lives in Connecticut. He has taught at many levels, from grade four up through “grade fourteen.” Mr. Tracy is a teacher, a conductor, and a composer of music in a variety of genres, including classical, jazz, funk, avant-garde, and heavy metal.

For those musicians out there, we will hear a piece that was composed in the Locrian Mode and also one using the Octatonic Scale. I heard one of his compositions recently played by the Windham Concert band on the Windham Green called “North Windham Overture”.

Kevin is a trombone player in the Willimantic Orchestra.

You can watch more interviews here:

https://www.acomposerscorner.com/video-interviews

Born and raised in Borrisokane, County Tipperary, Ireland, Áine Minogue is an award-winning harpist, singer, arranger and composer who has entertained Presidents and Prime Ministers, as well as traveled extensively to perform at concerts across the United States and around the world. At the age of 12, while at boarding school in County Galway, Áine discovered her true love - the harp. After completing school, she spent three years developing her incomparable talent as a harpist at Bunratty Castle, one of Ireland’s most treasured landmarks and the perfect setting to accentuate the harp's emotional and lyrical connections to Irish history. With a dozen solo album recordings to her credit, Áine has been nominated for several awards for her work as a record producer. Her recordings include Were You at the Rock, To Warm the Winter's Night, The Mysts of Time, Between the Worlds, Circle of the Sun, The Twilight Realm, Celtic Meditation Music, Celtic Pilgrimage, Celtic Lamentations, and Close Your Eyes, Love. She also has collaborated on a series of music videos with filmmaker Michael Yip entitled Winter, A Celtic Meditation. Áine’s music, in varying styles including Celtic, World, Folk, Spiritual and New Age, has appeared on compilations for industry labels such as BMG, Decca, Universal, Virgin Records, Windham Hill and Putumayo. Many of these albums have topped Billboard Magazine’s World, New Age and Classical Charts for months at a time. In addition, she has completed extensive soundtrack work for PBS, NBC, CBS, ABC, FOX, and MTV. She has a Master’s Degree in Traditional Irish Harp Performance from the University of Limerick, Ireland. Her music is on Pandora, Spotify, iTunes, and Amazon. You can follow Áine on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. you can find more here: https://aineminogue.com/ and more interviews here: https://www.acomposerscorner.com/vide...

Marti Epstein (November 25, 1959) started studying composition in 1977 with Professor Robert Beadell at the University of Nebraska. She has degrees from the University of Colorado and Boston University, and her principal teachers were Cecil Effinger, Charles Eakin, Joyce Mekeel, Bunita Marcus, and Bernard Rands. Marti’s music has been performed all over the world by ensembles, which include the San Francisco Symphony, the Radio Symphony Orchestra of Frankfurt, the Atlantic Brass Quintet, and Ensemble Modern. She is Professor of Composition at Berklee College of Music, where she has taught harmony, counterpoint, and composition since 1991, and is also on the faculty of Boston Conservatory. Marti is a 2020 Guggenheim Fellow in Music Composition. You can find out more about her here: https://martiepstein.com/ You can see more interviews here: https://www.acomposerscorner.com/vide...

Pianist and composer Charu Suri treads fearlessly between genres, pulling global influences that range from the mood-anchoring Indian ragas, Sufi music, to the trio. Her ground-breaking albums, The Book of Ragas, and its sequel, The Book of Ragas vol. 2 have often elicited the response, "I've never heard this type of sound before."

One of the few female composers from India to perform works at Carnegie Hall, Charu has lived in four continents, and writes music that reflects her journey as both a traveler and her training as a classical music piano prodigy. She has been playing the piano since the age of five, and performing since the age of nine, and one of her best memories is winning an international piano competition at the age of 15.

Her last album, RAGAS & WALTZES has received a lot of praise from critics and reviews in magazines like JAZZIA and All About Jazz. "The New American Songbook" has garnered many awards, including a "Band Single of the Year" crystal trophy for her song, Bluesy, awarded by the International Singer-Songwriters Association (ISSA) in 2021.

you can find out more about Charu at: https://www.charusuri.com/

and see more interviews at: https://www.acomposerscorner.com/video-interviews

Christine Elise is a rising star in the music industry, gaining recognition for her emotionally powerful lyrics and distinctive vocal style. Based in Massachusetts, Elise has swiftly captured the attention of music enthusiasts with her evocative songwriting and dynamic stage presence.

Christine Elise’s journey into music seems almost written in the stars. As the granddaughter of the illustrious Italian opera singer Luigi Vena, who performed for President John F. Kennedy, Christine was steeped in a legacy of musical excellence from an early age. Her artistic path has been shaped by the influences of legendary voices like Anne Murray, Whitney Houston, and Mariah Carey, guiding her to develop a distinctive vocal style that beautifully balances innocence with sultriness.

A prominent figure in the Boston music scene, Christine Elise has graced renowned venues such as the Custom House and captivated audiences at high-profile events, including the “Blood: Water Mission” fundraiser at The Montage in Beverly Hills, where she shared the stage with Robby Fontana. Her performances are celebrated for their emotional depth and intimacy, reflecting her deep-rooted connection to a wide array of musical genres.

Christine Elise’s music is characterized by its emotional depth and her ability to connect with audiences through poignant storytelling and inventive soundscapes. Her artistic vision continues to evolve, and she is quickly establishing herself as a notable emerging artist in the industry.

You can see more about her at : https://christineelise.com/

and more archived interviews at: https://www.acomposerscorner.com/video-interviews

Ricker Choi has a successful career in financial risk management but his real loves are music and painting. Ricker began studying piano at age 13, after his family immigrated to Canada from Hong Kong. June 2019, he had a shocking awakening when 1 million, and then 2 million Hong Kongers marched in unity against the extradition law. Seeing Hong Kongers' bravery when faced with rampant police brutality and oppression from the Chinese Communist Party, Ricker decides to use art to honor Hong Kongers. He composed a solo piano work "Hong Kong Rhapsody" (香港狂想曲) in honor of Hong Konger's fight for freedom. He has also been using his protest art to raise money for organizations that help HongKongers seeking new lives in Canada, USA and UK. “Hong Kong Rhapsody” has been labeled by the Chinese state media as “separatist art and music”, and on April 20, 2022, Wen Hui Bao, a Chinese regime funded news paper, accused Ricker of having infringed on the National Security Law, thereby banning Ricker from entering Hong Kong and mainland China. You can see more of Ricker Choi at www.RickerChoi.com and more videos at www.RickerChoi.com/videos You can see more recorded interviews and live as well at www.AComposersCorner.com

J.J. Hollingsworth, who is of Native American descent, was born in Colorado Springs and has composed over one hundred works, including three musicals, a symphony, and a film score. JJ holds a masters degree in composition from the highly regarded San Francisco Conservatory of Music, where she studied with Elinor Armer, one of California’s outstanding composers.

She was named one of the 2000 outstanding musicians of the 20th century by the International Who’s Who in Music in the area of composition. She also won the Raymond Hubbell award from the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers.

Join Andrew Celentano, a talented local pianist and composer himself, for an interesting interview with David Vess: a composer, conductor, and musician, previously based in New England and how hailing from Florida. His music has been characterized by a sensitivity to sonority and unrelenting energy. His music has been commissioned and performed in the US, Canada, Italy, and Japan. He studied with renowned soloist Øystein Baadsvik. David holds degrees from the Boston Conservatory and the University of North Carolina School of the Arts. Before his move to Florida he was on the staff at the Boston Conservatory at Berklee and Boston Philharmonic Youth Orchestra. You can find out more about him here: https://www.davidvessmusic.com/music

Michael Dulin is internationally acclaimed as a pianist, composer and producer whose music is enjoyed by fans around the globe. Michael’s albums of original music have twice been awarded the Lifestyle Music Award. Four of his albums have reached the #1 spot on ZMR World Airplay Charts. His CD, My Beloved, won Best Solo Piano Album honors at the EPR Radio Awards concert at Carnegie Hall.

He has also toured as keyboardist with the legendary Motown group, The Temptations.

Andrew Celentano interviews 3 time Grammy Award Winner Paul Avgerinos for A Composers Corner

Leonard Bernstein said of pianist Jeffrey Biegel: "He plays fantastic Liszt. He is a splendid musician and a brilliant performer." These comments helped launch his career. He was chosen as the first pianist to record for the Steinway & Sons recording label. His 'Bach On a Steinway' debuted #3 on the Classical Billboard charts, followed by 'A Steinway Christmas Album' reaching the #1 spot on the Billboard chart. Jeffrey has commissioned more than 25 works for piano and orchestra by living composers, including classical composers like Kenneth Fuchs. Mr. Biegel has also featured works including Keith Emerson's "Concerto no. 1" and Peter Tork's (of Monkee's Fame) "Moderato ma non troppo."

Mr. Biegel appeared on ABC-TV's Good Morning America, where he performed the missing sections of George Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue. That was followed by a performance with the American Symphony Orchestra in New York's Avery Fisher Hall, which among other things, featured the World Premiere of Mr. Biegel's transcription of Mily Balakirev's 'Islamey Fantasy' for piano and orchestra. Jeffrey has performed with orchestras across the US including Philadelphia, St. Louis, Pittsburgh, Milwaukee, Buffalo and Cincinnati as well as around the world, including Tokyo, Oslo, Bergen, London, Singapore, Denmark, Ulster, Monte Carlo, Istanbul, Palermo, France and more.

see more at https://jeffreybiegel.com/

see more interviews at https://www.acomposerscorner.com/

You have probably heard of Keith Jarrett – an amazing Jazz player. But did you know he has an equally talented brother?!? I didn’t either. I met Chris online recently and checked out his 16+ CDs. His genre is more modern and classical. His technique is pyrotechnic and he has an avant-garde approach that is refreshing. He now lives in Germany and is married to concert pianist Martina Cukrov Jarrett. Chris Jarrett was born in Allentown, Pennsylvania in 1956 and grew up in the Appalachian Mountains to the east. He never doubted that he would become a composer, but things really clicked when he met his future and most important piano teacher, Vincenz Ruzicka. He went to the University of Oldenburg, first as a student, then as a teacher. At first, he composed smaller political piano works, but since then, Chris has written film music, symphonic ballets, choral dramas, operas, oratorios, as well as a huge library of solo piano music. His largest project to date comprises about 300 pages of "16 English Songs" to texts by great poets such as Dryden Donne, Wordsworth, Pope, Burns, Shelley, Fried, Eliot, Alvarez, Blake and others. Chris has toured all over the world including Ukraine, Tunisia, North Africa, Poland, Serbia, France, Canada, Austria, Croatia, Italy, Australia, Singapore, and Indonesia. Earlier this year he toured in the US, including Akron, Dallas, New York City, and Solebury, Pennsylvania. You can find out more about him here: https://www.chrisjarrett.de/ and for more of our interviews, visit us here: https://www.acomposerscorner.com/video-interviews

In this Composer's Corner Interview with Andrew Celentano, Dianne features her wonderful Christmas arrangements imbedding traditional Christmas music with the compositions of Chopin and Debussy. Dianne Davies explores the deeper meaning of music and human connection through a shared experience. Since earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in Piano Performance and earning Oregon music education certification for K-12 instruction, Dianne offers high-quality performances and cutting-edge education. Whether she is guiding students, drilling down into the deeper meaning of performance repertoire, or exploring innovative compositional devices, Dianne speaks from the heart and shares an impactful and inspiring experience. When she isn’t composing, playing, or teaching, you will catch her doing a jigsaw puzzle, snow shoeing in the cascades and reading Jane Austen. You can find out more about her at https://musiqpower.com/

Join Interviewer Andrew Celentano, a New England pianist and composer himself, as he interviews composer, Dr. Elizabeth R. Austin. Learn about her musical beginnings to becoming a talented contemporary classical composer with compositions ranging from solo piano pieces to chamber music to orchestral works to operas. Elizabeth’s education includes The Peabody Conservatory, The Conservatoire Americana in Fontainebleau, France, and The Hartt School of Music (University of Hartford) where she earned a Master’s in Music. While studying for her Ph.D. at The University of Connecticut, she won her First Prize in the Lipscomb Electronic Music Competition. Elizabeth’s awards have included a Connecticut Commission on the Arts grant, First Prize in The Mariam Gideon Competition and a Rockefeller Foundation residency at Bellagio, Italy. Dr. Austin was also the Vanderbilt University Composer in Residence in 2015.

Betty Wishart began composing while studying piano with Richard Bunger. After earning degrees in piano performance from Queens University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, she pursued studies in both piano and composition in New York City.

Since her music was first published, her music has been performed in France, Germany, Greece, Italy, England, Russia, South Korea, and throughout the United States. She has received awards from the American Pen Women, American College of Musicians, Composers Guild, Broward County Music Teachers Association, and special awards from ASCAP.

In March 2016 Ravello Records released Piano Sonorities, the debut album of Wishart’s piano music .…”an utterly beguiling collection of piano music (Classical Nowhere). MOODS, an album of piano music was released in November 2020 by Ravello Records. MOODS….. ” An exceptional endeavor in the area of solo piano music, each selection brings the listener on an exhilarating and enlightening journey that truly showcases the boundlessness of the piano”(Take Effect Review). Other recordings have been released by Navona Records, Sarton Records and Phasma Music.

We will listen to a sampling of her music including a special piece commissioned on the subject of Domestic Violence which is very moving.

PLEASE NOTE: The video portion of Night Vision I and II has been disabled per agreement with the performer. The audio is still intact for your enjoyment. go to www.bettywishart.com for more information you can download some of her sheet music here: https://www.connerspublications.com see more of my interviews here: https://www.acomposerscorner.com

Kimberly StarKey, also known as The Rogue Pianist, is a multi award-winning classically trained contemporary pianist, composer, and piano teacher born and raised in Southern Oregon's Rogue Valley. Her musical style can be described as powerful, radiant, and inspiring. Rooted in both romantic-classical and contemporary styles, her composition Approach to the Inmost Cave won Best Original Composition at the 2023 Lit Talent Awards, and her Composition Symphony of Angels won Best Original Composition. Kimberly co-wrote a contemporary double piano concerto named The Fire Within, the title track of Jennifer Thomas' album The Fire Within. She has been featured in 7 music videos including Pride and Prejudice, a Spoken Word piece by Journal awarded Best Music Video by the LA Independent Film Festival in 2019. Kimberly founded Keys Unleashed Academy, an online-based program that teaches adults and children of all levels to improvise and compose beautiful music on the piano. You can see more interviews here: https://www.acomposerscorner.com/

How do composers approach writing music? Join Andrew Celentano for an interesting interview with Jeff Berlin, an American jazz fusion bassist. Berlin, born in Queens, New York, studied violin for ten years. Then at 15 years old, he was inspired to play bass after seeing the Beatles. He attended Berklee College of Music and came to international attention in 1977 when British musician/drummer Bill Bruford handpicked him for his debut album "Feels Good to Me". As of this interview in 2022, Jeff had produced 11 Jazz CDs and has appeared in over 30 albums. Andrew Celentano, himself a pianist and composer, interviews talented musicians from all over the US and around the world that compose and (in many cases) perform their own pieces.

You can see more at https://www.jeffberlinmusicgroup.com/

And find more interviews at https://www.acomposerscorner.com/

Jacob “NTHNL” Rudin is a classically trained composer and pianist turned multi-flutist, producer and sound-healing practitioner. Having created electronic and acoustic music in a wide variety of contexts since 2012, Jacob works in both the healing and contemporary music worlds, drawing on a rich sonic practice that involves experimental sound design, field recording, and virtuosic performances on a wide range of instruments. He frequently holds meditative sound baths in the greater NYC area. You can find more on Instagram and https://www.nthnlsound.com/ Here is an overseas review: The American producer serves us a sumptuous instrument work that reminds us of Floating Points, Anenon and Nils Petter Molvaer for the approach at Ambient meditative qualities. Organic arrangements, with its recording of the surrounding sounds, juxtaposed with the Nippon -inspired flute and electronic sounds are moving away from the sempiternal New Age music with grace. You can find more interviews like this at: www.AComposersCorner.com

Music has always been a kind of magic for Dan, a portal to other realms. When he was young, he was inspired by fantasy novels such as The Lord of the Rings, and is still drawn to myths and legends. He has written works on themes ranging from the planets, the sorcery of Merlin, and the Callanish Stone Circle, to the Torngat Mountains. His aim is to write music that invites audiences into other worlds, so they can re-discover their own sense of wonder.

Although Dan always loved to compose, he was resistant to pursue composition as a career when he was young. As an undergraduate student, he hedged his bets by studying music and English. He also took numerous courses in psychology and neuroscience and even considered a career in law.

When he was awarded a Jacob K. Javits Fellowship to study music in graduate school, he threw caution to the wind and decided to go “all in.” It worked. Upon graduating with his doctorate in composition, he took a position as a music professor at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette and now teaches at Westminster College, where he is serving again as the chair of the School of Music.

See more on Dan at https://www.danielperttu.com/

Composer / pianist Ben Schwendener sustains a unique voice in contemporary creative music and is a leading authority on George Russell's Lydian Chromatic Concept of Tonal Organization, which he assisted Russell in teaching at the New England Conservatory from 1986 to 2004.

Schwendener’s latest book Organic Music Theory (Pumping Station, 2017, Heights Music International, 2020) presents a new direction in natural pedagogy and dialogue-based arts education, establishing Organic Music Theory and Universal Musical Elements as primary creative sources. He has given lectures, workshops and seminars at Universities and institutions around the world. Schwendener has been on the faculty at the New England Conservatory and Longy School of Music of Bard College for over 30 years. He has also designed classes for non-musicians, based on the inter-discipline correspondences of Organic Music Theory for the Creative and Critical Thinking Department in the Graduate College of Education at UMass Boston.

As a touring performance artist, his groups include FUGUE, with Domenico Botelho and Henry Godfrey, the Mobile Trio with drummer Kenwood Dennard and bassist Marc Friedman, LYRIC with singer Carley DeFranco, as well as collaborations with international musicians and dancers.

Ben lives in Boston with his wife Shari and three children Elodi, Uli and Blue.

Robin Ritz, hailing from Willimantic, CT, is a true renaissance woman. An artist, life-coach, business woman, community activist and singer / songwriter – she does it all. Tonight, we will explore her life journey as a musician and visit some of her music. We’ll get insight into her songs and appreciate them all the more within the context she presents. Her band is called Thankful Soul Revival.

The beginning of something real, Thankful Soul Revival first embarked on their musical voyage of discovery together as a cohesive Blues Rock Band in 2019. But their origin goes back earlier to when the band members grew up listening to a variety of music genres that played an influential role in shaping their paths as musicians and ultimately led them together. As Thankful Soul Revival, they have collectively found their signature sound, and offer something different and unique to their fans by creating and sharing original music they are proud to call their own.

Singer/Songwriter Krisanthi Pappas performs classic soft rock, jazz, swing and her original adult contemporary music throughout New England, New York City, the Caribbean and most recently in Greece. She has been in the top 10 of the World Indie Charts as well as having placed on the Cashbox Top 100. Krisanthi is in the 2022-23 Sony Pictures film Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance With Somebody playing the role of Rickey Minor’s keyboard player in Whitney’s band.

Krisanthi Pappas, has been compared to Norah Jones and Diana Krall by JazzTimes Magazine and to Karen Carpenter and Carole King by All Music Guide. Her jazz songwriting style has been compared to Randy Newman by Cadence Magazine, while her pop songwriting has been compared to Carole King by All Music Guide. As well as her vocal gentleness, she has the husky-voiced passion of Bonnie Raitt and the swinging playfulness of Ella Fitzgerald.

Based in the Boston-area, Krisanthi is a full-time entertainer playing an average of 200 performances a year at theaters, concert venues, singer-songwriter series, festivals, resorts, clubs and private events throughout New England and New York City. She has also performed throughout the U.S., Caribbean and parts of Europe.

In the retro-pop scene she has performed the Pre-Shows for Sheryl Crow, Heart, Queen with Adam Lambert, Hall & Oates, Squeeze, The B-52s, The Doobie Brothers, Steely Dan, Chicago and REO Speedwagon.

In the jazz and cabaret scene she has opened for or shared the stage with such jazz greats as Branford Marsalis, Chuck Mangione, The Yellowjackets, Manhattan Transfer's Cheryl Bentyne, Kevin Mahogany, Billy Stritch, Gary Burton and Makoto Ozone.

In the musical theatre scene, Krisanthi has been composer, lyricist, writer, director, and musical director as well as having held lead and supporting roles in several productions.

Krisanthi also plays piano and drums on some of her songs as well as writing her band's musical arrangements. She is fortunate to have spent many winters performing solo in the Caribbean.

Krisanthi has been the musical director and/or a performer for many prestigious events such as Governor Deval Patrick's Inaugural Celebration as well as benefits including the Faulkner Hospital Breast Center in Boston, Making Strides Against Breast Cancer, The Relay For Life and others. Her Sister Friends For Life Concert featured herself with other acclaimed singers and many Boston radio personalities from WMJX and KISS 108.

Since COVID, Krisanthi has been performing a popular weekly virtual piano bar concert on her station Krisanthi5 on YouTube Live.

https://www.youtube.com/Krisanthi5

I met Linda Marks at a BACA (Boston Association of Cabaret Artists) Showcase in 2013 and was impressed. A decade later, I ran into her performing at the Club Cafe in downtown Boston. She has a great stage presence and, at that time, had 14 CDs on the market. A prolific songwriter, her songs often explore powerful emotions and thought provocative themes.

Linda experienced a traumatic event as a young woman, and this shaped her life in a positive way. She has since dedicated herself to healing people and shares some of her stories in this video.

Linda has performed at Ryles, Skipjack's, Amazing Things Arts Center, Scullers Jazz Club, The Java Room, Club Passim, L’Aroma Cafe, Club Cafe, the Hearing Room, Grill 37, The Burren, City Winery and The Dedham Square Coffeehouse. Linda holds degrees from Yale and MIT and is the author of Living With Vision (Knowledge Systems, 1988), and Healing the War Between The Genders (Heart Power Press, 2004).

You can find out more about her here:https://www.lindamarksmusic.com/about.html

Sharon Chen studied violin at the Eastman School of Music and graduated from Harvard with degrees in both Music and East Asian Languages and Civilizations. Along the way, she became an accomplished pianist as well - and does a lot of composing. Her songs depict nostalgia and themes of darkness evolving into light. Sharon blends her classical background with different genres including electronic and jazz. You can find her works on my Bandcamp, One World Music Radio, Soundcloud, Spotify Twitter and YouTube.

Ms. Chen had serious health problems along the way and survived delicate brain surgery where she could have potentially lost some of her hearing, but she has thankfully persevered.

You can find many videos on Facebook featuring her playing. She has over 2.7 million Spotify streams to date.

David Ibbett, Ph.D. is a composer, educator and musical advocate for science. Based in Boston, he directs the Multiverse Concert Series, a project that combines music and science in live performance. In 2020, David was the first Guest Composer at Fermilab, the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory. He is now resident composer at Mindmics biotech.

David is Assistant Professor at Berklee College of Music and Visiting Professor at Worcester Polytechnic Institute.

Dr. Ibbett composes electrosymphonic music: a fusion of classical and electronic styles that interweaves influences from songs, symphonies, pop, rock and electronica. His Black Hole Symphony, an orchestral journey to the heart of a black hole galaxy, has been recently featured a the Charles Hayden Planetarium, Museum of Science, Boston.

Luanne Crosby has performed her original music for many years, beginning as a young teen, solo on acoustic guitar, and later, belting out her blues/rock originals in local bars. She writes in many different styles and genres.

With her group, The Luanne Crosby Band, Luanne entertained in popular Boston area rock clubs throughout the early eighties; and in 1984 moved to Germany, formed a 5-piece band, Lifeline, and went on to become a popular fixture on the national scene there.

Returning to the States four years later, she gave birth to her daughter. Sometime after that, she began gigging again, this time with The Persuaders who performed covers of artists such as Stevie Ray Vaughn and Bonnie Raitt, as well as some of Luanne’s originals. In the summer of 1999, she began working on her first CD.

Check out her website: https://www.luannecrosby.com

Sally began her career as a full-time touring musician in 1979, after encouragement from Stan Rogers, the legendary Canadian singer-songwriter. That was followed by an invitation from Garrison Keillor to appear on A Prairie Home Companion. She appeared more than a dozen times on that show, which launched her performing career. Her travels have since taken her to Europe, China, Hungary and Poland, England and Scotland and all across the United States.

At the heart of Sally’s work is traditional and contemporary folk music. Her music is like a quilt, made up of soul-stirring ballads, messages of hope, knee-slapping dance tunes and gentle lullabies.

With fellow songwriter Claudia Schmidt, they have recorded four albums together including Closing the Distance, While We Live, and Evidence of Happiness. In 2016, Sally and Claudia released their fourth collaborative album, We are Welcomed.

Born into a musical family in Ukraine, Marina Baranova began playing the piano when she was five years old. Just two years later, she was accepted into a music school for talented children in her home town of Kharkov. At age 11, Marina won first prize at the International Competition for Young Pianists in Ukraine, which preceded her first international concert tour in Finland.

In the late 90's she moved to Germany to begin studying with Professor Vladimir Krainev at the University for Music, Theatre and Media in Hannover. Throughout her studies in Hannover, she won at least one internationally renowned competition every year. Marina still resides in Hannover, her base with which she returns from international tours across famous concert halls in Germany, Austria, France, Italy, Spain, Benelux, Poland, Israel, Latin America and Thailand.

You can see more of her here: https://www.marinabaranova.com/

Santiago Bosch, born and raised in Barquisimeto, Venezuela, was inspired by his father, saxophonist Jaime Bosch, and began studying piano at the age of 9. By age 15, he started composing music and playing professional gigs, participating in album/recordings with diverse artists around the country.

He graduated from UPEL-IPB University with a professor's degree in Music Education. Santiago earned a Bachelor's degree in Piano Performance Magna Cum Laude from the Berklee College of Music, and a Master's Degree in Contemporary Jazz Performance from the Berklee Global Jazz Institute.

Santiago has been featured in live performances, master classes and recordings with artists such as Tucker Antell, Dave Santoro, Jack DeJohnette, Antonio Sanchez, Jacques Schwarz-Bart, Elliot Mason, just to name a few.

See his full bio here: https://www.santiagobosch.com/bio.

Join our host Andrew Celentano, a pianist and composer himself, for an interesting interview with Tom Beveridge, Music Director of the National Men’s Chorus. Mr. Beveridge is a prolific composer and arranger with over 450 compositions. He has been recognized for his multi-faceted abilities: singer, oboist, keyboard player, composer, arranger, teacher, and conductor. His works have been recorded on numerous labels, including Turnabout/Vox, Centaur, RCA, and Crystal. He attended Harvard College, studying composition with Randall Thompson and Walter Piston, and choral conducting with G. Wallace Woodworth.

Composing passionately about the human experience, composer Christina Rusnak works at the intersection of place, nature, culture, history and art to integrate context into her music from the world around her. A storyteller, she seeks to convey something meaningful about the human experience to both the audience and performers. An award-winning freelance composer living in the Pacific Northwest, Ms. Rusnak composes for diverse instrumentations with lyrical lines and organic rhythms and textures.

Her pieces address social and environmental justice, houselessness, immigration from 19th to 21st century perspectives, and more. Her choral work, Liberty’s Light, examines immigration from Ellis Island to the Texas border. “Water and Stone” explores climate, and the impact of water, heat and cold in sculpting Death Valley National Park. “From the Sidewalk”, addresses the invisibility of a homeless woman in New York City. In 2020, Rusnak was commissioned Fanfare for Justice (also Call for Justice) to commemorate the Black Lives Matter movement. In 2025, she is composing a multi-movement work for women’s choir, Women’s Rights are Human Rights addressing degrading rights of women globally.

Recent awards and honors include a 2022 Residency at the Visby International Centre for Composers; 2023 Bronze Global Music Award for Voices of the Land; 2024 American Prize 2nd Place Orchestra for The South Pass, a finalist for FREE LAND, and a 2025 finalist for the American Prize for Orchestra for Time After All. In 2019, she led the renowned Composing in the Wilderness Seminar in Denali for the Fairbanks Summer Arts Festival. An advocate for New Music, Rusnak currently serves as president of the International Alliance for Women in Music. Her essays on music and advocacy can be found on LandscapeMusic.org and New Music Box and more. Her works are available from Amazon, Naxos and Parma Recordings. Scores are available through her website http://christinarusnak.com and various distributors, and can be viewed via ISSUU.

Join our host Andrew Celentano, a pianist and composer himself, for a enlightening review of the works of the talented Eva Gertz, a multi-faceted musician, born and raised in a Boston suburb. Eva has been making and recording original music for 12 years. Her background lies in classical and jazz piano training, which later developed into arranging, directing, composition, and production at Berklee College of Music. Following school, she worked in New York as a music educator, accompanist, and composer’s assistant for Broadway level professionals. She also delved heavily into entertainment as a dueling pianist onboard cruise ships and in Manhattan, and as a wedding band singer and keyboardist with Silver Arrow Band. Currently Eva is working on her next album which is crowd-funded and inspired by a big road trip she undertook in 2021. Eva works at Berklee teaching arranging, and lives in Massachusetts.

With over 37 years of design and manufacturing experience, Michael Bourque is a Boston-based inventor driven by a passion for turning bold ideas into reality. We crossed paths online and have never actually met, even though we worked for the same company for a short period of time.

Unable to afford college, he embarked on a journey through trade school, emerging as a skilled machinist. Diligence propelled him to swiftly ascend the ranks, ultimately achieving a prominent programming position at MIT's Lincoln Laboratory.

Shifting into software leadership, he became a Vice President at PTC, a distinguished $1.3 billion high-tech software enterprise based in Boston. Along the way he also founded a product company, raised $7.5 million, and negotiated a profitable exit.

I consider Michael to truly be a renaissance man. He excels at everything he touches, and has a wide variety of interests. When not working, he channels his creativity into painting, music composition, filmmaking, and artistry. In my interview, we will touch on his many pursuits, but focus primarily on his songwriting skills. Although his musicianship is largely unknown to the world, it is my hope that this hour interview will give viewers an appreciation for his artistry.

Michael Bierylo is an electronic musician, guitarist, composer, and sound designer. He was a faculty member at Berklee College of Music since 1995 and is chair emeritus of the Electronic Production and Design Department. He is also active with Berklee Online, Berklee’s online school, where he coauthors and teaches music technology courses.

Bierylo has performed throughout the U.S. at venues as diverse as the Knitting Factory, Honolulu Academy of Arts, Duke and Emory universities, and Dartmouth College as a member of Birdsongs of the Mesozoic. Bierylo's compositions are featured on the releases Dancing on A'A, Petrophonics, The Iridium Controversy, and Extreme Spirituals, all on Cuneiform Records. As a solo electronic artist, Bierylo has performed with a laptop computer and modular synthesizers in the U.S., Germany, China, and Poland, including at the DAT Festival, the Shanghai Electronic Music Festival, the Krakow Audio Art Festival, and at concerts with Grammy-nominated electronic musician BT and Terence Blanchard. His composition “Koralate" appeared on The $100 Guitar Project.

Bierylo's commercial work includes music and audio production for Hasbro Interactive, the Smithsonian, Nickelodeon, and the Oxygen Network, as well as music and sound design for the Incredible Hulk attraction at Universal's Islands of Adventure. As a commercial composer, Bierylo's work has been featured on A&E's Biography, the Learning Channel, and Martha Stewart Living. Recent projects include work on the films Granito, The Reckoning, and Traces of the Trade, all featured at the Sundance Film Festival.

Thomas Hojnacki has had an unusually varied musical career. As a keyboard player, he has worked with the national touring productions of A Chorus Line, Altar Boyz, and the Big Apple Circus. He has appeared with the Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Claflin Hill Symphony Orchestra, and the New Bedford Symphony Orchestra; and as a chamber musician in performances of the music of Brahms, Schubert, Bartók, Messiaen, and Shostakovich. As a jazz pianist, Hojnacki has appeared with Billy Pierce, Joe Lovano, Jimmy Giuffre, George Garzone, and many others. As a conductor, he has led numerous performances of ballet, opera, musical theater, and symphonic repertoire.

Hojnacki has written more than 50 compositions, including works for musical theater, orchestra, band, chorus, and various chamber ensembles. He has made a number of recordings, most notably "Symphony No. 1" with the Dvorák Symphony Orchestra (Prague) and Julius Williams, conductor. He has taught at Dean College and the New England Conservatory of Music. He is currently the assistant chair of the Harmony Department at Berklee, where he teaches theory, composition, piano, and conducting. Hojnacki is coauthor, with Joe Mulholland, of The Berklee Book of Jazz Harmony.

"I've had some astonishing teachers over the years. One of them, trumpeter Marcus Belgrave, who worked with Ray Charles, was a formative influence when I was a teenager in Detroit. He really explained swing articulation to me one night so that I got it, and that made all the difference to me. He was also very encouraging, and to be encouraged as a young person by someone that legendary gives you the courage to pursue music."

"My whole career as a professional musician has been about playing diverse styles of music. I've been fortunate enough to have the kind of training that lets me move pretty easily from one kind of style and performing group to another. So when I teach harmony, I try to show how much of the harmonic structure of music is the same from one style to another. The things that differentiate styles are often superficial."

"I often give my students the form of a tune and a specific chord progression and ask them to pick a key and write their own piece—to choose a style and create a rhythmic motif that will serve as a basis for the melody. It always astonishes students to hear all the stylistic diversity that comes back into class from the same chord progression. Students get three things from this project. First, they're working hands-on with the material in creating their own piece; second, by hearing the same chord progression over and over again, and having worked with it themselves, they learn to hear it and recognize it in other music; and third, they begin to appreciate the stylistic diversity that's possible from the same harmonic font of possibilities."

Rami Bar-Niv is one of Israel’s most acclaimed and sought after pianists.

He travels extensively and has become an international citizen, concertizing all over the world. Born in Tel-Aviv, he graduated with honors from the Rubin Academy of Music, and was the recipient of many prizes and scholarships. He won the America-Israel Cultural Foundation Competition and was awarded a scholarship to further his studies in the United States.

After graduating from Mannes College of Music in New York, where he studied with the renowned Mme. Nadia Reisenberg, he won numerous competitions and embarked on a highly successful concert career. He performs regularly in North, Central and South America, Europe, Africa, Asia, Australia, New Zealand and of course Israel, where he received the “Best Performer Award” from the Israeli government. He appears on TV and radio, in chamber ensembles, solo recitals, and as soloist with orchestras. He is always received with great enthusiasm. Often sent abroad by the Foreign Ministry to represent Israel in concerts, he has become an ambassador of goodwill for Israel.

Rami Bar-Niv made history by being the first, and so far the only, Israeli artist to perform in Egypt following the Begin/Sadat Peace Treaty.

Rami’s recordings for CBS and other labels in Israel and abroad have met with praise and popularity. His recordings and videos have also been very successful on the Internet and he has often been at the top of the charts.

His compositions are published, recorded and performed all over the world. Rami Bar-Niv offers music of great variety and contrast in style, and is an extremely versatile performer. Rami’s master classes, workshops, and private teaching are loved worldwide and he is constantly invited to teach in five continents.

You can see more here: https://rami.ybarniv.com/

And you can see other Composer Corner interviews here:

https://www.acomposerscorner.com/

Lisa Swerdlow is an accomplished pianist and composer who lives in the Sierra Foothills of Northern California. Born and raised in Los Angeles, she grew up in a progressive Jewish family. Her mother was an elementary schoolteacher and her father worked in the garment industry. Her childhood home was full of music thanks to her father's piano, accordion and mandolin playing.

Lisa studied classical piano from the age of six playing Fur Elise by Beethoven for her first piano recital at seven. She began writing and performing songs on piano and guitar at sixteen and went on to study music theory and composition at Humboldt State University and College of the Redwoods.

In the 1970’s Lisa performed in coffeehouses on Fairfax Avenue in L.A. and went on to play piano in a rock 'n' roll band in San Francisco. In the 1980's she performed at the West Coast Women's Music Festival and for three years, she toured Northern California with a ten-piece all women salsa band called Las Malandras.

Lisa's earliest musical influences range from Laura Nyro and Carole King to Harry Belafonte and Burt Bacharach. Later in life, she was drawn to the piano music of Keith Jarrett, David Lanz, Eddy Palmiery, Antonio Carlos Jobin, Barbara Higbie and Mary Watkins. After an extended hiatus from composing and performing, she returned to the piano and produced her debut album, Equus Rising in 2017.

go to Lisa's website here:

https://www.lisaswerdlow.com/

See other Composer Corner Interviews here:

https://www.acomposerscorner.com/

Bill Lipner aka William Edge, was born and raised in Tallahassee, Florida. He was surrounded from a young age by the roots sounds of the Deep South. First studying classical piano at the tender age of six and switching to jazz upon entering his teens, his muses included such legendary influences as Dave Brubeck, Ramsey Lewis and Stevie Wonder. After receiving an MBA from Florida State University, he embarked upon a brilliant and successful career in computer technology, but his love of electronic music still remained a dominant force in his life.

His passion soon morphed from that of an avocation to lifelong profession, when he began composing the first of a series of works on the computer and creating his own record label, Sounds Blue Music, both of which culminated in the conception of his new trilogy, representing mans journey to the end of the universe and perfectly paralleling Edges own sojourn through life.

The lush and transporting sounds created by the American composer WILLIAM EDGE epitomize the beyond-the-curve outer space sub-genre of ambient music. Not simply technicality or performance, but instead the combining of sounds and music to create an extraordinary and individual experience for the listener, this music is also perfect for TV and movie soundtracks as well as advertising commercials.

A combination of Smooth Jazz, chilled ambient vibes and relaxing blues grooves is what makes William Edge's music so inviting - take cool atmospheric beats and add sensual Smooth Jazz and you've got the recipe for Bill's music.

Ever wonder how composers approach writing music? Join interviewer Andrew Celentano for an interesting discussion with guest Nathan Asher Sherman who is the guitarist of Floral, a math rock band originally from the Bay Area. Nathan Asher Sherman graduated from the Berklee College of Music for Electronic Production and Sound Design and now lives in Los Angeles.

His music is high energy and multi-rhythmic. His riffs are vibrant, textured and exhilarating. In our interview, he’ll talk about working on new electronic projects growing up in Palo Alto, listening to math rock for the first time, and finding meaning in life through growth. Andrew Celentano, himself a pianist and composer, interviews talented musicians who compose and often perform their own pieces.

Deborah Offenhauser is a world renowned pianist and composer with more than thirty years as a professional entertainer and recording artist.

She has performed on stage with artists such as Isola Jones, The Four Lads, The Moody Blues, The Diamonds, Frankie Laine, and many more.

Deborah has released over a dozen album/CDs worth of originalsolo piano and music orchestrations ranging from movie themes, to soundscapes, love ballads, religious hymns, Christmas music, as well as cover arrangements.

Her music has been performed on TV Shows including Madame Secretary, The Big Bang Theory and Desperate Housewives.

To say that Schmidt is simply a performer with a talent to entertain would be a miscarriage of understatement. Schmidt takes her audiences into her world as easily as the child who discovers the endless universes that exist in a cardboard box.

Schmidt weaves her way through her concert in much the same manner as a jester. Interwoven anecdotes, revealing her past and present, bring people to expect a relationship between themselves and memories driven deep with the passage of time. The concert is an endless display of self-realization through humor and longing, leaving audience members yearning to become an integral part of her world. Having performed on stages across the country, Schmidt has developed the ability to remain fresh. She enjoys her talent to entertain as much as the audience enjoys being entertained.

Find out more about her at www.claudiaschmidt.com

One of UK's most sought-after and versatile composers, pianist Will Todd is well known for his beautiful and exciting music.

His anthem, The Call of Wisdom, was performed at the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee celebrations with a TV audience of 45 million people.

His breakthrough work, Mass in Blue (originally titled Jazz Mass), has been performed hundreds of times all over the world.

His arrangement of Amazing Grace was performed at President Obama’s Inauguration Day prayer service in 2013 and as part of the BBC’s Nelson Mandela Thanksgiving Service.

His music is regularly broadcast on Classic FM, and on BBC Radio 3.

Will Todd’s music is valued for its melodic intensity and harmonic skill, often incorporating jazz colors, and his choral music is much in demand from amateur as well as professional performers.

You can find out more on his website

https://willtodd.co.uk/

And find more of his music on YouTube

https://www.youtube.com/@WillToddMusic

Simon Hester was born in Sheffield and studied at the Royal Academy of Music with Geoffrey Pratley and Jean Harvey winning many prizes for his performances both as a soloist and accompanist.

His career has covered a wide range of musical worlds, and his versatility is much admired in both classical and jazz repertoire. He gives recitals throughout Great Britain and has appeared at the Bath, Edinburgh and Exeter festivals and has toured throughout the UK and abroad with the highly successful show “All You Ever Wanted to Know about Opera”

Simon performs frequently with the violinist Carmine Lauri, and has also worked with the distinguished violinist Maurice Hasson having appeared with him in recitals throughout Europe.

You can find out more about him on his website, YouTube, and SoundCloud:

https://www.simonhestercomposer.com/

https://www.youtube.com/@SimonHesterLonelyPianist

https://soundcloud.com/simon-hester-sistermusic

Dan Pallotta hailed from Malden Massachusetts and inherited a love of music from both sides of his family. As a young man, he went to Los Angeles and tried his luck at country music song writing. He impressed Clive Davis and ended up writing a song for Edgar Winter called “Stranger to Love”.

But things didn’t work out - and instead he created a non-profit spanning 16 states and employing 400 people, raisings nearly $600 million in 9 years to address AIDS, breast cancer, and suicide. He has given a very popular TED talk on why so many charities are ineffective - and he has a documentary film out now based on his first book “Uncharitable”.

He is now in his early 60’s and is returning to music after a 30-year hiatus. Dan has beautiful music videos that we will review that often explore the struggles people face in the world. Please join me for an enlightening experience with the multi-talented Dan Pallotta.

You can find out more here: https://www.danpallotta.com/

Composer & cellist Barry Phillips has been performing folk, new, classical and Indian classical/crossover music for many years. As a cellist, Barry has toured worldwide with Ravi Shankar's daughter's group - The Anoushka Shankar Project. Venues have included the Hollywood Bowl, The Royal Albert Hall-London, The Music Academy-Budapest, Sydney Opera House, Bangalore Palace Grounds, London's LSO St. Lukes, CRR Concert Hall-Istanbul, as well as the Royal Concert Hall-Glasgow as soloist (along with four top fiddlers) with the Scottish National Orchestra.

Barry has arranged quite a lot of Northern European folk music exploring American and Celtic folk tunes. Barry's CD, "Tråd." is a collection of Scandinavian tunes arranged for cello, nyckelharpa (Olov Johansson) and fiddle. Many of Barry's recordings can be heard in various Ken Burns documentaries. In 2012 Barry received a Grammy as producer/engineer of Ravi Shankar's CD The Living Room Sessions Part 1.

You can find out more about Barry here: http://www.barryphillipsmusic.com/