Neoclassical Suite, CII

Neoclassical Suite is a column that will present 7 recent, distinctive tracks of the neoclassical-modern classical-contemporary -and beyond!- music field. 

Note: All Bio/about sections provided/written by the artists.

The Players

Arnaud Verdier

(neoclassical, solo piano)

“Arnaud Verdier is a 21-year-old piano composer who calls Montreal, Canada home. He began creating his own music at the age of 16, and after much soul-searching, he’s finally ready to share his work with the world.Drawing inspiration from his idols Yann Tiersen, Ludovico Einaudi, and Joep Beiving, Arnaud is dedicated to discover with you his own unpainted canvas.” (Arnaud Verdier)

Sacha Hoedemaker

(neoclassical, solo piano)

“My name is Sacha Hoedemaker, and I am a Dutch composer. I have played the piano since I was eight years old; honing my craft bit by bit. I got picked up quite early in my career by successful directors and producers. They offered me to work behind the scenes, which was a tremendous opportunity for me to work on my songwriting-skills.

I started working on numerous projects; I wrote compositions for commercials, shows, and indie-movies. It dawned on me that my work mainly helped other people excel in their career — which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. But whenever I wrote a great composition, the producer got the credits. Over time, my job left me unfulfilled; it felt like I was not living up to my true potential — in other words, things had to change.

And luckily for me, change came earlier than I expected. I always say, “You never know how things will turn out. Whatever happens, happens. The important thing is that you followed your gut.” And I did. It still feels a bit unreal to me, but I am so proud to announce my music to you.” (Sacha Hoedemaker)

Eydís Evensen

(neoclassical, solo piano, cinematic)

“Icelandic pianist and composer, Eydís Evensen will release her much anticipated second album ‘The Light’ on 26th May via XXIM Records. Following on from her successful 2021 debut ‘Bylur’, which put her firmly on the map as one of neo-classical’s leading artists and which has amassed over 40 million audio streams to date and her subsequent 2022 EP ‘Frost’, ‘The Light’ further expands on this young artist’s scope for talent and expression, presenting her not only as a pianist, arranger and lyricist but also for the first time as a vocalist.” (Eydís Evensen)

TKZ

(modern classical, solo piano)

(neoclassical, solo piano)

“As someone once said, “There are eighty-eight keys on a piano and within that, an entire universe.” 
I’m happy to be but a small part of that universe, and very thankful to be able to share that part with you.” (Hope Denison)

Paul Cardall

(crossover classical, cinematic)

“Steinway & Sons endorsed him as one of the world’s finest pianists. Dove Award-winning musician, composer, and producer, His music is frequently categorized as Classical, Christian and New Age. With 11 No. 1 Billboard albums, 30 million monthly listeners and 3 million subscribed fans on social media. Paul s music has been streamed on platforms worldwide 3 billion times, which makes him one of the most listened to artists of our time.

Paul was born with essentially half a heart and before his first day was finished, surgeons had cut into his infant body to save his life. He would spend virtually all of his life in and out of hospitals and recovering from surgeries. He received a heart transplant in 2009. Living with congenital heart disease has helped Paul understand the trauma imposed, particularly on a young person and their families. Paul has made it his life’s mission to create and share piano music that is healing both physically and emotionally.

Two of the many projects Paul’s involved with include partnering with the The Ryan Seacrest Foundation to donate keyboards to children’s hospitals nationwide. Paul and his wife, Kristina, who is from Cleveland, Ohio and a former Wall-street Analyst, established scholarships for students affected by medical bills associated with congenital heart disease because he believes in getting an education regardless of terminal diagnosis. Paul served as an executive board member of the Saving tiny Hearts Society, which seeds grass roots money for federal grant research in the field of congenital heart disease. In 2011, Utah State Board of Regents awarded Paul Cardall with an honorary doctorate.

Paul has collaborated with Grammy winning artists CeCe Winans and Rachel Yamagata. He released a soundtrack album with a handful of artists for the The Broken Miracle, the No. 1 best-selling Amazon novel by J.D. Netto inspired by Paul’s life living with only half a heart. Collaborations include songs and performances with David Archuleta, Tyler Glenn (Neon Trees), Ty Herndon, Thompson Square, Matt Hammitt and many others.

In 1999, Paul founded Stone Angel Music, a record label, whose catalogue consists of Billboard charting albums by cellist Steven Sharp Nelson, guitarist Ryan Tilby, pianist Jason Lyle Black and David Tolk, Ryan Stewart, and various artist projects with a handful of former American Idol contests like Ashley Hess, Jordon Moyes, and Kenzie Hall. In 2018, Anthem Entertainment Group, one of today’s most powerful publishers, acquired Paul’s catalogue along with the albums he produced for Stone Angel Music, in one of the biggest instrumental acquisitions of the music industry’s history. Anthem also owns music made popular by Tim McGraw, Justin Timberlake, Beyonce, Keith Urban, Jason Aldean, the Canadian trio Rush, and countless others.

American Songwriter Magazine invited Cardall is also the host of a successful podcast, All Heart with Paul Cardall, and a YouTube series All Heart Adventures, featuring Cardall in various “bucket list” scenarios–living his life to the fullest, with gratitude and appreciation. “ (Paul Cardall)

The Music

Christos Doukakis