Our concerts will resume
soon, in hybrid form (both live
and virtual).
Look to this website for
information as it is available.
Seeing outdated information?
You may be viewing this page from cache!
Refresh your browser and you will view the
current webpage.
If you do not know how, click HERE to learn.
[Click on photocollage to view full size.]
The Painted Pianos were back in Walnut Creek! In the Downtown area were several grand and vertical pianos with fanciful and creative paint jobs that have been placed on sidewalks and in plazas for the public to enjoy.
In September and October of 2019, the Jazz Piano Artists and Piano Composers mixed it up with two Flash Mob performance events in Broadway Plaza. It was a lot of fun, lots of folks paused and listened, and I have been looking forward to doing this again. Today we had our Flash Mob.
Mary Fineman was there, as was Dwight Stone, and Jennie Landfield, with Ira Feldman and Hank Holmes from CCPAS Jazz. Our own Christopher Johnson, of course, made it all happen. We enjoyed originals, covers and, naturally, some free improvisation (and I remember when you had to pay for it!).
Walnut Creek Downtown Association is keen on this idea and inviting us to perform at two other piano venues soon. Join us next time!
These
aren’t just strange times
These are awful times,
beyond imagining. I can take
only take so much coronacrap
(cvc). How
’bout you? As pianists,
composers and arrangers, we
regard masters of the crafts
with deep respect and
admiration. Such are two
pianists/arrangers whose
singular works I would like
to hold up for your
appreciation, enjoyment and
even inspiration for the
possible, the whimsical. The anti-cvc. I thought that I
had heard “Three Blind Mice.”
Then I discovered pianist/composer/orchestrator
Stanley Black in partnership
with the London Festival
Orchestra. Figuring that jazz,
the uniquely American musical
form, is really the
culmination of the art/craft
of composing/performing, I
went to the source and came up
with Art Blakey and his Jazz
Messengers. Whimsical,
fanciful, if a picture is
worth a thousand words, this
is worth, rough estimate,
.00314 GB (3,371,549.32736
bytes, to be precise)
Our concerts have
been on hiatus
for
too long, due
to the Bay
Area Counties
Directive to
limit spread
of the
coronavirus
and the
disease,
COVID-19.
However, they
will resume.
We'll let you
know when the
next one is
scheduled.
Meanwhile,
please be
careful, stay
safe and
healthy.
Composingly,
Daniel and the
Piano
Composers
Perhaps
in the jungle,
the quiet
jungle, the
lion sleeps
tonight, but
not our
composers!
Jul 3, 2021 2:38 PM, Paul Hansen writes: “Hello All -— If you are in need of
a little
diversion this
weekend,
below is a set
of Theme and
Variations
which I
recently put
together. A
few of the
variations
gave me an
opportunity to
work with
musical idioms
I particularly
like.
Jan 1, 2021 6:59 AM, Mary Fineman
writes: “You
made it
through one
hell of a
year, and
maybe you're
feeling some
optimism for a
better year
for everyone.
I've had a
tradition of
sending out
music on New
Year's Day,
and as we
slowly emerge
from this
remarkable
time, I
definitely
wanted to keep
the constancy
of that
tradition. ‘A Gift of Music for New Year’s Day’.” Here’s the
email she
sent, with a
fuller
explanation: Backstory
From the Editor: “My first
grand nephew,
Matthew, had
just been
born. I was in
the studio
with
a fabulous
group of a
cappella jazz
singers. And I
wrote this
song. We ran
out of time,
but my singers
recorded it on
their own in
rehearsal!
They emailed
the mp3 with
Happy Birthday
wishes for
Matthew
David-Dean
Brown.” “Happy
Birthday,
Matthew!” —Daniel
ben Avrám,
January 1,
2021
Christopher
and Dwight
are members of
an acoustic
guitar trio the
360s,
which can be
found at www.the360s.com. Visit them to view the three new
videos they've
posted.
December
12, 2020, this
from Doug:
Christopher
writes of this
offering from
Doug
McKechnie “Santa Claus is off limits to many of
us, and,
egads!, the
unfortunate
children can’t
visit him this
year. Our
favorite Santa
reaches out
via YouTube: "Christmas Song."
“Serious”
use of the
Moog
Synthesizer
is often
thought to
have begun
when Wendy
(then Walter)
Carlos
released her
groundbreaking
Switched-on
Bach in
October of
1968.However,
in that same
year, a
locally based
experimental
musician named
Doug McKechnie
began tracking
his
exploratory
tunes on the
then-brand-new
machine. As
part of the
San Francisco
Radical
Laboratory,
McKechnie was
an early
innovator on
the device,
created by
Robert Moog
and first
released in
1964.
October
14, 2020, Paul
Hansen
writes: “If you are looking for a few minutes
diversion amid
the lockdown,
[here is] a
piece which I
finished
recently —
another
rhapsody,
this time for
piano and
orchestra (or
at least midi
orchestra).
After writing
a few pieces
that tried to
capture
something of
the atmosphere
of Hawaii and
the American
West, I
thought it
would be
interesting to
write a piece
that
attempted,
with the
exception of a
few
interludes, to
evoke an urban
noir
ambiance. is a
a meditation
on the
mysteries of
the universe
beyond our
common worries
and
understanding
… .”
September 13,
2020
Mary Fineman
offers these
two gifts:
“Savlanut — I wrote this for piano (and
future string
quartet). It
is Hebrew
(pronounced
Sav-la-noot)
for patience
or endurance.
How do you
define
patience for
yourself? I
was studying Mussar,
a Jewish
spiritual
tradition that
dates back
many
centuries,
with esteemed
teacher and
scholar,
Estelle
Frankel. She
defined “savlanut”
as the ability
to tolerate or
endure the
present
moment.
“Still
is the second
piece.Though
I’ve sent an
mp3 before, I
thought you’d
enjoy the
video from
pre-Covid
days. Months
ago when I
requested your
thoughts for a
title, so many
of you
responded.
“Still” became
its name.
(Many of my
pieces have
two
titles...This
may yet be
joined by
another
moniker
“Tikkun
Halev”, or
Repair of the
Heart. We’ll
see…)
August 19,
2020, Daniel
Zwickel ben
Avrám writes:
“I have been re-imagining the mass I
composed in
light of the
destruction
that surrounds
us on so many
fronts. I
invite you to
visit:”
June 8,
2020, Paul
Hansen writes, “Amidst all of the seclusion I
finished
another piece
written in the
Americana
mode. I added
some pictures and put it up on YouTube.
By the way, if
you haven't
heard it yet,
David
Erskine's new
CD "Mist" is
terrific!
Hope this
virus
situation
settles down
quickly and I
can see
everyone again
soon!”
April 10,
2020, Lauren
de Boer wrote:
“I’ve set up a
YouTube
channel where
I have begun
posting music
videos of my
piano solos
put to images.
Here are the
first two,
offered in the
spirit of
healing, and
in solidarity
with each
other and the
Earth
Community.
Please
consider
sharing.”
January 1, 2020,
Mary Fineman
wrote:
“Dear Friends
and Music
Fans, Happy
New Year!
Here’s a piece
of music of
mine I’d love
to share with
you on this
New Year’s
Day. I
recorded the
piece recently
during a day
of torrential
rain. This
particular
recording is
in its “rough
mix” form, and
I plan to
release it as
part of an
album later
this year. In
the meantime,
I wanted you
to have it.
Regarding the
title
[“Still”] —
this word has
so many
meanings, the
most obvious
one of calm.
But it also
implies a
certain
yearning … .”
January 4, 2020,
Paul Hansen
wrote: “I
have been
rather
derelict in
presenting new
pieces at the
recent
composer
concerts as I
was
preoccupied
with finishing
a tone poem
about Hawaii,
the state in
which I grew
up and about
which I have
very fond
memories. I
have finished
the piece and
culled a few
images from
the Internet
to accompany
the music and
have put it up
on YouTube, if
you would care
to view it —
if nothing
else you might
enjoy images
of warmer
weather. There
is a section
of the piece
entitled Menehune — for those unfamiliar with Hawaiian
culture, Menehune
are basically
the Hawaiian
version of
Irish
Leprechauns.”
—Cheers and Happy New Year!
Paul Hansen
March 1, 2020, Dwight
Stone wrote:
“Greetings,
Friends! I
just finished
writing this
rap song —
yes, it’s
political. But
I could hardly
help myself.
There’s so
much to
announce, and
you just wish
that everybody
had the same
information.
So here it is.
I hope you
find it
pertinent. If
you like it,
please feel
free to
share.”
—Best wishes,
Dwight Stone
March 13,
2020,
Paul Hansen
wrote: “In
what seems
like a million
years ago, I
had an
orchestral
piece read by
a student
orchestra
while I was in
music school.
I ultimately
gave the piece
a somewhat
expansive
title I
finally got
around to
putting it up
on the
internet
accompanied by
a few
pictures.
It might
appeal
especially to
those who feel
they haven’t
seen enough
John Wayne
movies lately,
or simply need
a break from
the current
headlines (and
who doesn’t
need
that?).”
—Cheers,
Paul Hansen
“3 Miniatures for Megan Ashley Brown”
by Daniel Zwickel ben Avrám
Piano Composers
is a
collective of
improvisers,
composers, and
arrangers for
whom the PIANO
is an
essential
place to
create and
perform. It
was formed
under the
auspices of
the Contra
Costa
Performing
Arts Society (CCPAS), a non-profit,
tax-exempt
organization
that provides
many benefits
to volunteer
musicians
performing
without
compensation,
and audience
members alike
by providing
free public
concerts and
workshops for
adults and
children.
Among
the concerts
offered, in
addition to
the Composers
Group, are
Master
Artists,
Students,
Recital
Pianists, Jazz
Artists and
Piano
Improvisation
Concerts. Our
venues
include: Grace
Presbyterian
Church near
Rossmoor,
Lafayette
Library and
Learning
Center and St.
Paul’s
Episcopal
Church in
Walnut Creek.
Our
composers
include a
leading
authority on
ragtime music,
those whose
compositions
are informed
by, and
reflect their
ethnic
heritage, are
jazz-inflected,
and virtuoso
improvisationalists.
You will hear
music that
would be at
home on any
concert stage
in the world,
new music
striking,
beautiful,
challenging
and imbued
with passion.
They are both
rooted in
skillful,
studied
technique and
in the aural
tradition and
innate
creativity.
Contra
Costa
County
— and beyond,
throughout
the East Bay —
is rich in
compositional
talent, from
which we
derive
pleasure in
sharing.
[You may view the photos below full-size by clicking on
them.]
Christopher
Johnson,
composer,
arranger,
accompanist,
singer,
guitarist
works full
time as a
Piano
Technician and
tunes pianos
at many
concert halls
and recording
studios in the
SF Bay Area.
He has worked
as Music
Director for
the Vivian
Perry Quartet,
and
accompanied
Vivian Perry,
jazz vocalist
for many
years. He
enjoys playing
jazz for
parties.
Before jazz
grabbed his
attention,
there was his
career as a
rock
guitarist/singer/composer.
Daniel
ben
Avrám (Zwickel)’s
parents used
to take him to
hear the
symphony, so
it’s all their
fault, violin
lessons and
all. His first
composition,
for flute and
piano, titled
“Piece
for Flute and
Piano”
garnered him
an Honorable
Mention from
the San Diego
Symphony in a
Young
Composers
competition. A
few years
later he began
writing songs
and never
stopped. He
composes in
fits and
starts. Once,
he began to
write a solo
piece for
contrabass,
and a
six-voice a
cappella piece
with lyrics
came out the
other end. Go
figure. He
harbors the
illusion that
he’s the one
creating, then
his Muse
reminds him
who’s boss by
totally
ignoring him.
Oh, and he
designed this
website. You
may listen to
his music on a
website he set
up for a
friend at: JazzSacra.com/.
David
Erskine is
a self-taught
composer who
began
composing as a
child.
He makes his
living as a
scientist
developing
optical
measurement
techniques,
including
techniques
that help
astronomers
find planets
around stars.
After
hours, he
enjoys hiking,
nature
photography,
and composing
music. Around
the house
growing up,
his father
played a lot
of Bach and
Handel, so
Dave’s earlier
compositions
featured
counterpoint.
Then in his
20s Dave
listened to a
lot of Chopin
and
Rachmaninoff,
Debussy and
Ravel, and
these
influenced his
style toward
the romantics
and
impressionists.
He has
composed and
performed many
pieces
celebrating
the weddings
of friends and
family.
Listening to
the
programmatic
music of Holst
about the
Planets
inspired Dave
to write
Sierra
Passage, a
suite of seven
movements
describing an
imaginary
journey to the
mountains.
Dave is also
an avid
photographer
and artist,
and for the
Sierra Passage
he created
drawings and
poems to
accompany each
movement. His
CDs may be
purchased at CD
Baby.
Contemporary
classical
composer,
pianist,
painter and
poet, David
Thomas Roberts,
was born in
1955 and began
composing,
painting and
writing at age
eight. He has
composed over
150 works for
piano, chamber
ensembles,
voice and
electronic
keyboard, 40
of them
commissioned,
and his pieces
have been
recorded by
soloists and
ensembles from
Japan to
Norway since
1981. His own
recording
career began
in New Orleans
in 1978 and
includes five
LPs and over
20 CDs. His
visual art has
been featured
in the leading
Outsider/Visionary
art magazine,
Raw Vision. More info at DavidThomasRoberts.com.
Dick
Bertrand
delights in
sharing his
natural talent
for creating
and performing
his beautiful
piano
arrangements
of popular
ballads. He
counts on his
ear for most
of his
arrangements.
His
arrangements
are full of
interesting
chords, and
chord
positions.
While leading
with a clear
melody line,
heavy use of
tempo,
phrasing, and
dynamics,
offer a full
spectrum of
drama,
passion, and
emotion to his
arrangements.
Dick is a
retired IT
executive. You
could say he's
turned from
one keyboard
to another in
his retirement
and is
delighted to
share his
gifts. He is
humbled and
thankful to
CCPAS Composer
Group for
warmly
welcoming him
into the
group, hoping
that his
arrangements
add to the
overall beauty
of the many
concerts the
CCPAS
Composers
group share
every year.
Dick can be
contacted at
(925) 698-2155
An
active
participant in
the Bay Area’s
creative
community for
over four
decades, Doug
McKechnie began
his film
career helping
to create the
award winning
documentary in
1967, “This
Time the
World,” about
the American
Nazi Party. A
pioneer in
live
performance
with the Moog
synthesizer
McKechnie
began creating
scores for
film,
television and
theater,
creating
Soundtracks in
1974 with
partner John
A. Lewis. One
documentary,
“Spaceborne”
was nominated
for an Oscar
in 1977.
Another film,
“Women For
America, For
the World,”Â
won an Oscar
in 1987.
Program
Director of
Intersection
Theater in San
Francisco in
1977,
publicist for
San
Francisco’s
Fort Mason
Center in ’78,
entertainment
producer for
two Beaux Arts
Balls in SF
City Hall in
the early
’80s,
McKechnie went
on to produce
the first four
years of
entertainment
for Festival
at the Lake in
Oakland. From
1990 to ‘96 he
was PR person
for Fleet Week
in SF. Also in
the 1980s he
created the
San Francisco
Synthesizer
Ensemble
creating the
Golden Gate
Bridge
Anniversary
Suite in 1987
for the
bridge’s 50th
Anniversary.
These days
Doug plays
piano most
Wednesdays at
the Marsh Cabaret in Berkeley. And how many people
do know who
have an IMDb page? You may contact Doug at: (510) 910-3684
(cell) or at dougmck@pacbell.net.
Dwight
Stone (b.
1951 in
Pasadena,
California)
Composer and
pianist Dwight
Stone,
choosing from
an early age
to follow his
own compass,
has been
governed by
inner guidance
on matters
musical.
Improvising on
the piano as a
young child,
at age seven
he turned to
guitar.
Singing in the
family, at
school, and at
church, he
frequently
competed with
his sister to
find the most
pleasing and
exciting
harmonies. In
his
adolescence he
pursued guitar
and
songwriting,
and taught
guitar during
his student
years in
Europe.
When Stone
shifted his
studies from
language to
music he
already had an
extensive
background of
singing,
theory, ear
training,
arranging and
composing. In
composition,
he was soon
given free
rein to pursue
his own style,
evoking
harmonies
beyond the
traditional
realm, with a
penchant for
the aesthetic
dissonance of
polychords.
Irrepressible
individuality
with an ear
for aesthetic
is a hallmark
of Stone’s
sound and
musical idiom.
Dwight Stone
studied in
Europe and
northern
California,
and spent
twenty years
in Los Angeles
as performer,
composer,
conductor, and
singer. He
holds degrees
in French from
l’Université
de Grenoble,
B. Music in
voice and
Master of Arts
in composition
from
California
State
University,
Sacramento,
and film
scoring from
the University
of Southern
California.
Morten
Lauridsen,
Paul
Hindemith,
Aaron Copland,
and Pat
Metheny figure
among Stone’s
favorite
composers and
influences. He
has recently
won first
place and
multiple
awards for
composition
and
improvisation
in the Music
Teachers’
Association of
California
(MTAC) State
Composition
Competition
and the United
States Open
Music
Competition
(USOMC). In
2017 he was a
Finalist in
the Third
International
Ravel
Composition
Competition.
He has
composed over
60 pieces for
piano,
available in
books 1–6, and
a collection
titled “The
Light”.
Commissions
include
Whither Thou
Goest (piano
solo), An
Irish Blessing
(SSAA a
cappella);
Awake! Awake!
(TTBB, 2
French horns,
pianoforte),
winning first
prize in the
Jewish Music
Competition of
Los Angeles.
Dwight Stone
is a
self-published
artist
performing as
solo pianist,
accompanist,
in duos and
ensembles, and
available for
engagements as
a guest
performer.
Dwight Stone’s
choral works
and
arrangements
have charmed
singers,
conductors,
and audiences
alike. He
currently
resides in
Walnut Creek,
and serves as
Minister of
Worship and
Music and
Producer of
the Trinity
Concert Series
at Trinity
Lutheran
Church,
Pleasanton.
K.
Lauren de Boer.
One of the
earliest
photos of
Lauren shows
him seated at
the piano at
about age 3
(photo bottom
right, with
older sister
Kristin),
joyfully
banging away
on the keys.
That early
impulse grew
into a
lifelong love
affair with
the
instrument.
Lauren is an
essayist,
poet, and
composer with
a special
interest in
nature, place,
and the human
imagination.
He has two
recordings of
solo piano
improvisation
and
compositions,
Forest Walk
and
Illuminations
and a book of
24 piano
solos. For
many years he
served as the
Executive
Editor of EarthLight,
a national
magazine
exploring the
integration of
ecology,
cosmology, and
spirituality.
His essays and
poetry have
appeared in
many
publications
and
anthologies
and he has
published a
book of 95
poems, Where
It Comes From.
A sampling of
his
compositions
and writing
can be found
at his website
at TerraVitaBooks.net.
Mary
Fineman,
originally
from
Baltimore, is
a composer,
performer, and
teacher. Mary
studied in
Montreal,
Quebec with
Philip Cohen
and Lauretta
Altman and
taught piano
and analytical
hearing at
Concordia
University.
Without
warning, the
muse entered
her life in
2003, and she
has been
performing her
works ever
since. With a
commission
from the James
Irvine
foundation in
2014, Mary
orchestrated
her song cycle
“It’s About
Love,”
performed by
the Oakland
Symphony under
Michael
Morgan. Visit
Mary’s Artist
Statement on
her website www.maryfineman.com
to learn more,
find lyrics,
signup for
email
announcements,
or purchase
her CDs
Everyday
Secrets, You
and Me, and
Mary Fineman
Solo Piano.
Mei
Sun Li has
been creating
original music
only in recent
years, having
been inspired
by her music
teacher
following a
personal
tragedy.
She is most
grateful for
the technology
that today
transforms
music writing
from pen and
quill to copy
and
paste.
In her youth,
the family's
Tokyo
household rang
with the gongs
and strings of
Chinese opera
and the
country
western music
(Ernest Tubb,
Red Foley, et
al.) played on
the Armed
Forces Radio
network during
the Allied
Occupation of
Japan. With
some
exception, her
music does not
reflect this
musical
upbringing.
Michael
Smolens
has been
composing,
arranging, and
playing in
bands since he
was in little
league and
teaching
students and
fellow
teachers since
1974.
Most of what
he writes is
geared for
different
ensembles that
cover jazz,
gospel,
classical,
choral, and
international
styles, which
he then adapts
for solo piano
situations.
Michael has
recorded or
performed with
jazz icons
Stefon Harris
(vibes), Paul
McCandless
(reeds), David
Balakrishnan
(jazz violin),
Paul Hanson
(jazz
bassoon),
Claudia
Schmidt
(voice), and
members of
Bobby
McFerrin's Gimme
Five.
Tuning Glass is
an improvised
pattern piece
in the style
of Steve
Reich, and
tonight's
excerpt is
based on a
left hand
ostinato in
13/8 with
various phrase
superimposed
in 12/8, 14/8,
16/8, and
20/8; eight
freely
resonating
strings
support the
sound courtesy
of the middle
pedal.
Paul
Hansen
received a
Master's of
Music degree
in composition
from the
Mannes College
of Music in
New York City.
He has
written for a
variety of
ensembles
including for
orchestra and
chamber
groups, and
has received
several Meet
the Composer
grants for
music he
composed for
off-Broadway
productions.
He recently
completed a
tone poem
about his
native state
entitled "Hawaii Overture - A Musical Collage of the 50th State"
(the preceding
title contains
a YouTube
link).
An orchestra
reading of his
piece "Western Visions - A Symphonic Essay of the American West"
is also posted
on YouTube.
Tanya
Heeb is a
member of the
Music Teachers
Association of
California,
serving
currently as
president of
the Contra
Costa Branch.
She started
piano study at
the age of 5
and received
her teaching
credentials in
Russia. She
teaches piano
and theory in
her private
studio in
Walnut Creek
and works as a
church pianist
at Grace
United
Methodist
Church of San
Ramon. She
started
composing as a
hobby, but
eventually it
has become a
consuming
passion. In
2008 she won
first and
second place
in MTAC’s
Composers
competition,
then third
place in 2009
and second in
2010 for her
piano
compositions.
Lately she has
been
interested in
vocal
compositions,
working with
singers Marina
Tolstova, Bob
Park, and Alla
Markovich.
They have
performed
these
compositions
at the Piano
Composers
Concerts, the
St. Paul’s
Concert
Series, and
Grace United
Methodist
Church. An
abundance of
her music can
be found on YouTube.
Ted
Holmes, a
founding
member of the
Piano
Composers,
began his
piano studies
in first grade
with notable
teacher Isabel
Magana. He
studied with
her for eight
years. Since
then he has
been playing
by ear. A
shoot-from-the-hip
improviser,
Ted enjoys a
wide variety
of musical
influences,
especially
Impressionism
and jazz.
The CCPAS Piano Composers Group, 3 takes
Assembled
at our
September,
Friday the 13th,
Full Harvest
Moon Concert:
David
Erskine, Ted
Holmes, Lauren
de Boer,
Jennie
Langfield,
Christopher
Johnson,
Marilyn Madsen
(dancer),
Dwight Stone,
Moi (Daniel
B.), Doug McKechnie,
Mary Fineman,
Mei Sun Li
and Tanya
Heeb. (Some
unidentified
person is
lurking behind
the pianos.)
Photo
by Martin
Pendergrast
using an iPad
Pro
Above,
Left to right:
Lauren, Mary,
David Erskine,
Tanya, Mei
Sun, Bob Park,
Doug,
Christopher,
Ted &
Daniel
Below:
Daniel,
Tanya, Dwight,
Dick,
Christopher
& Mei Sun
(seated),
David T-R,
Mary & Ted