[086] Music City Piano Workshop and Concert Set For Sept. 25 In Franklin

MUSIC CITY PIANO WORKSHOP AND CONCERT SET FOR SEPT. 25 IN FRANKLIN
Public, Professionals Invited to Free Discussions with ‘Whisperings’ Radio Performers

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Sept. 16, 2009
EDITORIAL CONTACT: Gina E. Fann, 615-898-5385

(MURFREESBORO)— Musicians from across the Midstate will be clamoring for a seat at the first Music City Piano Workshop and Concert, scheduled for Friday, Sept. 25, at the Sound Kitchen in Franklin and made possible by a public-service grant from MTSU.

Students, teachers and aspiring professionals can learn about music production, music business, performance and more during a day of three free workshops with industry professionals at the Southeast’s largest recording and production studio, located at 112 Seaboard Lane in Franklin, Tenn.

After the workshops, a Whisperings Solo Piano Concert, featuring the renowned David Lanz and guests, is planned for 8 p.m. at the same location. The intimate concert will include other artists featured on Whisperings: Solo Piano Radio, the No. 1 broadcast on Live365.com for almost four years running. The program can be heard on iTunes, the Windows Media Tuner and TiVo and streams to nearly a million piano-music fans all over the world every month.

Pianist/composer Dr. Joseph Akins and audio engineer/music editor Michael Fleming, who are assistant recording industry professors in MTSU’s College of Mass Communication, will kick off the daylong event with the first MCPWC workshop, “Recording the Piano.” The interactive workshop, set from 10 a.m. to noon, will teach participants about the musical and technical steps that are essential for capturing a great-sounding piano recording in a studio, church, home or recital hall. Their discussion will cover the process of preproduction, microphone selection and recording technique and will include a session in the Sound Kitchen’s “Big Boy” studio.

From 1 to 3 p.m., Whisperings founder and pianist/composer David Nevue will show participants how anyone can use the World Wide Web to market and sell recordings in the day’s second MCPWC workshop, “How to Promote Your Music Successfully on the Internet.” Nevue has gone from recording one album while working a “day job” with a computer company to selling and promoting albums of piano music for a living. He’s the author of “How to Promote Your Music Successfully on the Internet” and the founder of The Music Biz Academy (www.musicbizacademy.com), an educational Web site for musicians. He launched Whisperings: Solo Piano Radio in August 2003.

In the day’s final MCPWC workshop, set from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m., Grammy nominee Lanz will perform and talk with participants, encouraging their questions and discussing his creative process with topics such as composing, improvisation, inspiration and dealing with performance anxiety. Lanz’s “Heartsounds” album helped launch the famed Narada record label in the early 1980s, and his composition “Cristofori’s Dream” was No. 1 on Billboard’s first adult alternative/new age chart for 27 weeks and eventually sold platinum.

The Whisperings Solo Piano Concert, which will feature performances by Lanz and guests Nevue, Akins and composer Philip Wesley, will cap the daylong music event at 8 p.m. The musicians will perform and tell the stories behind their compositions during the two-hour concert. Tickets are $25 for adults and $15 for students and may be purchased at www.solopiano.com in advance or at the door.

Seats for the free workshops are limited and should be reserved in advance at www.musiccitypiano.com.

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IN BRIEF: Musicians from across the Midstate will be clamoring for a seat at the first Music City Piano Workshop and Concert, scheduled for Friday, Sept. 25, at the Sound Kitchen in Franklin and made possible by a public-service grant from Middle Tennessee State University. Students, teachers and aspiring professionals can learn more about music production, music business, performance and more, from a day of three free workshops with industry professionals at the Southeast’s largest recording and production studio, located at 112 Seaboard Lane in Franklin, Tenn. After the workshops, a Whisperings Solo Piano Concert, featuring the renowned David Lanz and guests, is planned for 8 p.m. at the same location. The intimate concert will include other artists featured on Whisperings: Solo Piano Radio, the No. 1 broadcast on Live365.com for almost four years running. The program can be heard on iTunes, the Windows Media Tuner and TiVo and streams to nearly a million piano music fans all over the world every month. The workshops are free; concert tickets are $25 for adults and $15 for students and may be purchased in advance at www.solopiano.com or at the door. For more information about the Music City Piano Workshop and Concert, visit its Web site at www.musiccitypiano.com.

For MTSU news and information, visit www.mtsunews.com.

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ATTENTION, MEDIA: For color JPEGs of the workshop leaders, the Music City Piano Workshop logo/banner or a 6”x6” event poster, or for an interview with Dr. Akins, please contact Gina E. Fann in the Office of News and Public Affairs via e-mail at gfann@mtsu.edu or by calling 615-898-5385.

Thanks!