Neoclassical Suite, XLIV

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

The Players

Counting Waves

(neoclassical)

David Serra is a classical trained pianist and orchestrator living in Oshawa, Canada. His project Counting Waves has a focus on Melody. David blends recordings of solo piano and also piano with orchestral soundscapes.

Vishal Naidu

(acoustic, folk, neoclassical)

Vishal Naidu is foremost a music enthusiast, who enjoys and appreciates a wide plethora of music from classical Indian tunes to the most technical of death metal. An engineer by profession, his love for the technical underpinnings of music has resulted in him exploring the creation, recording and mastering aspects of music. His wide musical tastes has reflected in his compositions, which draws inspiration from nature and many walks of life.

Alex Marchisone

(neoclassical, cinematic, orchestral)

Alex Marchisone is an Italian born, London based producer, composer, songwriter and drummer.

In recent years, he has predominantly been an accomplished drummer on London’s West End and for Daphne Guinness, Romances, and Mistral Pusher. Other collaborations include: Grammy Awards winning producer Tony Visconti, Rumer, Kristeen Young, Producer Jim Lowe, Go-Kart Mozart and many more.

Alex is fascinated by every aspect of musical expression, and his creative process begins as an empty canvas with no restrictions. He adopts organic orchestral and electronic elements, traditional writing and sound design, vocals sounds, letting the melodies do the talking. Amongst his inspirations are Thomas Newman, Ennio Morricone, Pink Floyd, Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross.

His debut release Token is an orchestral and piano piece with cinematic influences, soundscapes and vocals provided by artist Holly Henderson.

Thomas Farnon

(neoclassical, epic music)

Thomas is a composer born in Guernsey. Thomas’s music is known primarily for being emotional, melodic and vivid. His musical style being showcased in his releases “A”, “Reverie” and “Solace” on the Chromium Music Group label. His latest single “Impromptu No.1″ has gone onto be streamed over 1.5 million times since its release.

Recent projects have included the score to Yemi Bamiro’s “One Man and His Shoes” premiering at the BFI London Film festival in October 2020, Shaan Shahid’s “Zarrar” and Dael Poulter’s upcoming documentary about David Haye, “Portrait of a Fighter”.

From 2010- 2016 Thomas worked frequently with Lorne Balfe, Rupert Gregson-Williams and Hans Zimmer whilst contributing additional music for films such as: ‘The Legend of Tarzan’, ‘Hacksaw Ridge’, ‘The Ridiculous 6’, ‘Wonder Woman’, ‘Churchill’, ‘Dough’, ‘American Hero’ and ‘Open Season: Scared Silly’ and producing the score for “The Lego Batman Movie”.

In 2017, Thomas was one of the founders of Chromium Music Group, a modern-classical publisher and record label and has since released three albums for Chromium. Thomas is currently working on his next orchestral album, with recordings having started in August 2020.

Upcoming projects include Uzo Oleh’s film “Edicius”, and a video game with Logic Artists.

Thomas works from his studio in London.

Jonny Mendez

(neoclassical, soundtrack)

Jonny Mendez is a music composer and song writer from Chicago.

Thomas Hewitt Jones

(neoclassical)

Thomas Hewitt Jones is an award-winning composer of contemporary classical and commercial music. Winner of the 2003 BBC Young Composer Competition, his music has been published by Boosey & Hawkes, Oxford University Press, Banks Music, the RSCM, Encore Publications, Universal Music, and is frequently heard on radio, TV and the cinema in the UK and abroad.

Thomas has written three ballets which toured the UK in 2008–2011 with Ballet Cymru, most notably a dance setting of Dylan Thomas’ masterpiece Under Milk Wood. His choral and instrumental music is frequently performed worldwide. He has also written numerous Christmas carols, including What Child is This? (OUP, 2012). Recent large-scale works include Wildflower Meadows, a song cycle commemorating the First World War, and the Christmas cantata Incarnation, released on Regent Records, both with words by regular collaborator Paul Williamson.

Commercial commissions have included work in America and scores for films in the UK, as well as music for the London 2012 Olympics Mascots animated films, with stories by Michael Morpurgo and narration by Stephen Fry. Thomas has also composed the music for a new musical version of Rumpelstiltskin which premiered at The Egg, Bath in December 2014. Recent performances include the premiere of a new set of songs charting the history of Bath with words by Paul Williamson (Bath Abbey, 2015), and the UK premiere of choral and orchestral work Panathenaia at the British Museum, commissioned by Hugo Ticciati.

Tom Ashbrook

(neoclassical, cinematic, drone)

Tom Ashbrook is a British composer, producer and artist. Classically trained on piano from the age of 5, Tom has spent most of his adulthood gigging and touring around the world as a musician. An early interest in film soundtracks and composing to visuals has meant Tom has always had a gift in drawing out emotions through melodies. After developing a love for synthesisers and experimentations with recording, he has shaped his own signature sound.