i love new orleans

Our event in New Orleans this past weekend was completely magical. I'm not even sure where to begin. The people, the food, the weather, everything was picture perfect. The church, St. Charles Avenue Presbyterian, was acoustically a dream with the soaring ceiling, stone walls & floors and a concert grand Steinway. La Sorelle quartet (Ariana, Hannah, Kate & Lauren) sounded fantastic with elegant arrangements of Amazing Grace for arrivals, Moonlight Sonata & That Next Place for the bride. I also sang "Down to the river to pray" from "Oh Brother, Where Art Thou" for the service which was very fitting for this southern setting.

There were mounted police that escorted the guests to the bride's family home, right down the street for the remainder of the evening which was drop dead drippingly beautiful. Jung had a sleek & sophisticated Steinway grand set up for me to play & sing cocktails with La Sorelle in the front garden. The groom's only request were a few Grateful Dead songs, which we arranged and performed with our own "stamp". "Fire on the Mountain" is now one of my personal favorites as it is deceptively simple & lyrically a profound work. Rather haunting. I now understand the whole Grateful Dead phenomenon, which I must admit, I never "got" before this event. The songs are so well written and just really fun to play. They are a wonderful addition to our repertoire.

At any rate, we were totally charmed by this graceful southern city that has endured so much. New Orleans is an amazingly spirited town and if you haven't visited, you must go.

We heart New Orleans.

i love palestrina

I have a couple of clients that are having ceremonies in beautiful cathedrales but want something a little different than the standard repertoire and we have to keep in mind that the music still needs to meet the guidelines of the church.

I absolutely adore music in latin and it has sent me on a search in quest of angelic holiness.

I've renewed my love for Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina. (1525 - 1594) An Italian Renaissance composer of sacred music. His Sicut Cervus is literally devine.

i love film score music

It's a busy May, we've had some beautiful weather and have a packed calendar this month. We have a wedding in New Orleans next weekend and the bride Florie Claire has chosen some film score music for her procession.

It's "That Next Place" from Meet Joe Black written by Thomas Newman and we've transcribed it and arranged it for string quartet and piano. It's now one of my favorite compositions! I was initially introduced to it by one of our brides in January, Sarah Charlotte.

I can't seem to find any recordings other than the Youtube video which I'm posting. However, we are in the studio this month recording it and if anyone needs the music, please feel free to contact me. Enjoy.

I love case brothers in south carolina

The beautiful weather we have been having is making me reminiscent of this time 2 years ago when my new piano was delivered. My search began 6 months earlier. I'd had a very busy career since moving to NYC as a rock keyboardist & singer and our Baldwin baby grand had sufficed as an acoustic instrument amidst the many & varied keyboards I used for touring and recording. The past few years have found me rediscovering my classical roots and the need to really step it up a notch in regards to a beautiful piano finally caught up with me.

While at the Eastman School of Music during my undergraduate training I yearned for a German piano. A Bosendorfer or German Steinway, but as I had always known, once I started researching, I quickly discovered that the german instruments I loved cost as much as a new house and the ones in my price point (which was not a small amount of money) were non-existent. I couldn't believe it.

I looked at piano's all over the east coast. I wanted an older instrument as I lusted for the real ivory keys (now illegal) and the sparkle & depth that came with a piano at least 7 feet in length. I became a regular at all the piano boutiques in NYC and combed the tri-state area for months. At the beginning of my search, however, my first phone call was to Keith Plumley at Case Brothers Piano & Organs in Spartanburg SC, where I bought my very first piano as a child. (and also the largest Steinway dealer in the Southeast) When I was growing up, they had a special room that I could view only from behind a velvet rope. In in it there were beautiful & formidable European instruments. I wondered if they still had them.

When I spoke with Keith he cheerily informed me they had indeed 3 German pianos, 2 of which I actually knew the previous owners. I was so excited. A Bosendorfer, a Feurich and a Grotrian. All creme of the crop. All with wonderful stories. I knew it would take me a couple of months to get there with my schedule, so I was 2 months into my search when I finally made it down to see the instruments.

To make a very long story short, after 2 trips to SC, 6 months & hundreds of piano's later I bought my dream instrument at Case Brothers, the very place my dream began to become a pianist. It was delivered by the owner himself, Tom Case, his wife Ginger and his gracious southern team of Reggie & Levar. They were enhanced with 3 bruisers from New Jersey who carried the 750 lb. piano up a flight of stairs to my studio. (Another story unto itself) A gorgeous 1981, 7 1/2 foot Grotrian. Because the piano was a trade in and because we had history together, they dramatically manipulated the numbers so that I could realize my dream of owning a beautiful German piano.

They are a family owned business of 3 generations, highly skilled with mountains of integrity in a world where there is no honor among thieves and absolutely hands down, the best in the business. If you are searching for a piano, search no further. http://www.casebrothers.com/

I love Case Brothers.