Neoclassical Suite, CV

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

Brian Streicher

(solo piano, neoclassical)

“Brian’s musical influences range from Chopin to Satie to Winston and can be found throughout the album seeking solitude and the new singles’Respite From The Storm’, ‘Hope’, ‘Beginnings’, ‘Morning Rain’ and ‘After the Frost’. Some of the melodic themes originated back when he was a producer on CNN’s music shows ‘WorldBeat’ & ‘The Music Room’. Working with artists from all genres of music provided an experience that was highly influential in his writing process where each song tells a different story. This unique collection of calm, mindful piano solos was inspired by the pristine quality of solitude that he experienced on long reflective walks in the woods as well as listening to the soft ocean waves at the end of the day. You may just experience this same calm state of mind while listening to these songs. Enjoy and follow on your favorite streaming service for the latest tracks. website: brianstreicher.com.” (Brian Streicher)

Yoshiki Tagashira

(neoclassical, solo piano, cinematic)

“Yoshiki Tagashira was born and raised in Onomichi, a coastal town facing Seto Inland Sea in Hiroshima Japan. In 1994, he moved to Ichihara Chiba Japan, surrounded by rich nature. He loves the surrounding nature where he lives. He listens to various sounds in nature, birdsong, wind whispers, insects’love songs etc. He is conveying various things can be felt in nature as music. His music comes from his love for nature, everything he feels in nature. He keeps walking in nature and makes music what he feels in the nature. He is particularly fascinated by the Kumano Kodo Pilgrimage Route and has walked it many times. In 2020, he released the album “Trail” about his experience walking the Kumano Kodo. He is also working on collaborations between video works such as paintings and photographs and music. He usually grows crops in the fields and lives in the nature around him.” (Yoshiki Tagashira)

Hanna Kekäläinen

(modern classical, solo piano, epic music)

“I grew up basically with my hands on the piano. I started taking lessons when I was 4 years old. Music is my core, part of my soul. With challenging times in life, I have always found myself sitting in my beige piano chair. I studied classical piano, but I fell in love with contemporary piano after seeing Jane Campion’s Piano, which features great music by Michael Nyman. That album revolutionized my relationship with playing. However, I ended up on a rather complex career path that went from playing the piano to writing and eventually to a career of more than a decade in various sales and marketing roles. A few years ago, I decided to jump off the squirrel wheel and create a certain kind of emptiness around me so that all my hidden gifts and passions could make room to emerge. I knew I wanted to live for beauty – to create beauty and experience beauty. I soon realized that I wanted to go back to my roots and after a long break I started teaching piano and thus supporting myself with music.

One day a friend of mine asked if I had ever tried to improvise or compose music myself. I hadn’t even thought about it, but I decided to try what would happen if I just put my hands on the piano keyboards and let go. And wow what happened! That improvisation session changed my life. I composed my first song Dance Of The Two Flames from that session and three other songs soon after. I don’t even remember composing those songs, they just literally came through me in a wonderful creative flow. Luckily, I recorded the sessions so I was able to write down the songs I played. Composing has also deepened my connection to music and all other forms of art and to life as art.” (Hanna Kekäläinen)

Joe Hoster

(neoclassical, solo piano)

(solo piano, neoclassical, minimalist music)

“Patrick Avalon’s minimalist piano music ushers you into a space of meditative contemplation while proudly bringing with it the complexity and technicality of classical music. Patrick’s music is brought to life through a seamless marriage of his mastery in classical piano and in music production. He writes, performs, records, and produces his own music and after a lifetime of working in music at the most elite levels in the industry the obvious outcome we receive from his experiences is high quality sound. Through minimal compositional choices, Patrick manages to evoke raw, powerful emotion and after a few minutes of immersion in his sonic world the cinematic portraits of nature that accompany his tracks make perfect sense. His melodies feel simultaneously intimate and vast as you float along his harmonic landscapes.” (Patrick Avalon)

Sam Miller

(neoclassical, solo piano)

“Sam Miller is a man of unique talents. An American multi-instrumentalist singer/songwriter, composer and producer, he has released two full-length lyrical albums, You Need To Hear It (2014) and In One Place at a Time (2019), along with several instrumental albums including, Bach, Human Arpeggiatior (2020), Phonometrographer (2020), Piano Works (2020), and Lilies (2022).

A rare musical soul who thrives in our modern day of synthesizers and microchips, but who would be equally content playing Bach fugues in a cathedral filled with orangutans. His musical output is driven by curiosity and exploration, noticeably lacking the self-aggrandizing spirit of so much pop music.

From the mysterious deserts of New Mexico, Miller is at once a songwriter, composer, producer, and multi-instrumentalist. He is a master storyteller, who walks a tightrope pitched between the beauty of life’s complexities and the abyss of the subconscious. His lyrics grow more dynamic and intriguing with each listen. An elegant love song is simultaneously a riddle that would tickle the ghost of Lewis Carroll.“ (Sam Miller)

The Music

Christos Doukakis