Celebrate National Music Week: "Music is...Unstoppable" - May 4-11, 2025
PIANO SOLO--DIFFICULT CLASS 1:
The Hummingbirds: Solo for One Hand (RH or LH)
POPULAR PIANO SOLO -- LEVEL 1
Skipping Rocks (from A Day at the Beach)
POPULAR PIANO SOLO -- LEVEL 2
Tide Pools (from A Day at the Beach)
Riding the Rails (from Childhood Excursions: Are We There Yet?!)
POPULAR PIANO SOLO -- LEVEL 3:
Riding the Waves (from A Day at the Beach)
Night on the Town (from Childhood Excursions: Are We There Yet?!)
All pieces available as hardcopy books or PDF downloads at www.amystephens.com
What is your most meaningful musical experience or memory? --My family attended many live concerts in Michigan when I was young, where I got to see incredible pianists like Andre Watts. When I was 8 years old, I watched a senior in high school performing a concerto with the school orchestra at the lovely Detroit Symphony Hall, and in that moment I felt very inspired and decided I would work hard to be a pianist and perform at DS Hall someday, which I did!
What do you enjoy when you are not composing or at the piano? -- I love being in the water, whether swimming open-water races or enjoying lap swim or a fun water aerobics class!
At what age and how did you start composing? -- I didn't write any music until my last year of undergrad at Indiana University, where I was working on two degrees: classical piano and jazz piano. I had finally begun to understand the art of improvisation in my classes with jazz master teacher/composer David Baker, and improvisation suddenly unlocked my ability to compose--it was quite a surprise!
What advice do you have for our young members interested in composing?--Definitely learn to improvise--any style works. Getting comfortable with improvisation expands our musical horizons and makes us better composers!
*If you are a CFMC member and would like to be featured, please contact Virginia Feitelson