Late on the afternoon of Christmas Eve, I was coming home with my family from the mountains near our home outside of Seattle after just having family photos taken when I checked my phone to see what emails I had after being out of cell range most of the day.
My inbox was completely flooded with messages, facebook posts, and more.
“Wow, that’s a lot of Merry Christmas’s”, I thought.
But then I kept seeing “Congratulations!” everywhere, and soon I realized that the 2012 Classical Crossover UK Awards had been announced and I won TWO! ”Top Female Artist of the Year”, and “The Indie Award”. Considering my recent disappointment in not getting the Grammy nomination, to get this news really made my day. My week. My month.
Here are some of the super nice things that the editor, Nicola Jarvis, wrote about me and the list of nominees as well.
BEST FEMALE ARTIST AWARD Jennifer Thomas simply oozes talent, and she puts it to good use. Primarily a pianist, Thomas is also a violinist, producer and composer and has featured in film soundtracks and commercials. Her 2012 release, Illumination is an album that boasts integrity and incredible intricacy in its arrangements and composition, offering a balanced track list of old and new. It’s absolutely ridiculous how musical Thomas is – she may not have major label backing (yet) but that doesn’t stop her from producing world class music. To buy Illumination, click here.
THE INDIE AWARD The internet is enabling independent artists to reach out to audiences in ways that were unfathomable two decades ago. Unfortunately, an indie artist’s pathway is still blocked from major promotional appearances and accolades. It’s too easy to give up and easy to fail, so when an indie artist earns achievement after achievement, it says much for their talent, but also their hard work and dedication. Jennifer Thomas is an inspiring independent artist, constantly aiming higher and earning over 30 nominations or wins from various awarding bodies. Thomas also produces top quality music; Illumination sounds like a soundtrack to a major Hollywood film – something that can only normally be achieved with the financial backing of a major record label. It takes years to build up this kind of reputation and resources to get to where Thomas is today. To buy Illumination, click here.
ALBUM OF THE YEAR Storybook Journey should be a staple in any classical crossover collection. Whilst it’s not as technically brilliant as Jennifer Thomas‘s Illumination and not as lushly orchestrated as Jackie Evancho‘s Songs From the Silver Screen, it still shines brightest among the 2012 album releases. The key lies in its prime idea and concept and the perfectly fitting way it is carried out. It’s a wholesome, circular album, inspired by stories and fairytale and it’s confidently realised. Siobhan Owen’s pure vocals, atmospheric harp playing and emotive delivery ensure its theme rings true. The tracks have been carefully selected both thematically and commercially (a very rare feat) and the overall package of the album just puts the cherry on top. Storybook Journey announces the arrival of Siobhan Owen as a serious artist as well as vocalist. To buy Storybook Journey, click here.
I came to the CCUK site late in the year. It is a website dedicated to helping the world be aware of those of us in the Classical Crossover genre. It’s not a complete roster yet, and there is a long list of artists still waiting to be added to the site, but it is the most comprehensive site dedicated to this cause (and receives an enormous amount of hits). I’m so honored to be among such talent, and am very excited about the awards! Thank you all for your continued support of my music. I’m not sure what 2013 will bring yet, but this was a great way to end 2012 and kick off the new year.
I had a photo shoot, a music video shoot, a cd release concert, a house concert, finished a new song, and hosted company for 10 days during most of that. That doesn’t even include the errands, the meetings, the babysitters (for my kiddos), the late nights, the lack of sleep, the stressing over whether I look good factor, and more.
Oh, and I forgot to mention that the house concert was 3 states away, which was a long roadtrip – but very fun.
I’m back in Seattle now. I do have lots coming up still, but I feel like the super busy part is overwith.
Before I share pictures and details about the lat 6 weeks, I thought I would share some good news first.
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GOOD NEWS
My new album, “Illumination”, has been receiving some pretty cool reviews. Haven’t heard one negative thing yet *wipes sweat off of forehead*.
Piano Heaven in the UK selected my album as an “award winner” for their site. Stephen Cairns wrote a really lovely review of my album – which you can read here. “Every so often, a CD comes along that blows the listener away with its creativity and quality of music. This is one such CD…The CD is brimming with quality from the very first track to the very last – all seventy-three minutes worth. An outstanding album, and one which I have no hesitation giving my highest recommendation.”
Pandora finally accepted my newest album. In case you missed that whole drama, even though my first two albums have been rotation on Pandora for several years, my newest album was rejected. Pandora was flooded with hundreds of emails from my fans requesting that they add Illumination to their collection, but it was still refused. However, thanks to more fan efforts and the persistence of my promotion company, Evolution, Pandora changed their minds. As an independent artist who appreciates stations like Pandora who support my art and actually pay me for it – this was the best news all year!
This December I’ll be performing with the Evergreen Youth Philharmonic – one of the top youth orchestras on Seattle’s eastside. We will be performing some of the work from Illumination. I’m very excited about this opportunity! I’ve performed with symphonies before but only in the genre of Classical music. Never before have I performed my own original work with a live orchestra. Pinch me please.
I’ve also received some fantastic reviews from Kathy Parsons of MailyPiano.com, Michael Debbage of MainlyPiano.com, David B Davis of Music Notes, RJ Lannan of the Zone Reporter 9who gave me 5 stars, and he rarely gives 5 stars!), and also many local Seattle newspapers.
I was also nominated (2nd year in a row) for the 2012 Hollywood Music in Media Awards for “Best Contemporary Orchestral/Instrumental”, and “Best Film Score for Short/Documentary”. The awards will be November 15th in downtown Hollywood. I’m looking forward to walking the red carpet again and seeing many of my fellow composers/performers.
Illumination also debuted #19 on the top 100 albums on The Zone (New Age Music Reporter) for July. I’m curiously waiting to see how it did for August.
And last but not least, Illumination has been receiving airplay on radio stations across the world. My biggest radio achievements thus far is Music Choice/Soundscapes, and Hearts of Space. I’m currently still waiting to hear about XM/Sirius Satellite. Evolution is also trying to get some of my classical pieces on Classical FM San Francisco and Classical FM Seattle. If you happen to live in either of these cities, it would be great if you would contact these stations and request me.
All right! Now onto the re-cap portion of this blog post…
Moonlight Video Shoot
For the past several months, Swedish singer Viktoria Tocca and I have been working together on a collaboration. For those who don’t know who Viktoria Tocca is, she is a very talented songstress who won my category in the HMMA’s last year for her rendition of “Dark Waltz“. She also has a heavy background in musical theater, where she played the part of Christine in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Phantom of the Opera for 2 years straight in Denmark. Viktoria and I met after the HMMA’s and became very good friends, and decided to collaborate together on a few projects.
As we are both classical crossover artists, we knew we wanted to do something of that nature. One night while practicing the piano, Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata in particular, I realized how great this piece would be. I talked to Viktoria about it and she was on board.
So I wrote an arrangement based on themes from the Sonata (though the piano part is quite different). Viktoria’s vocal part actually follows the original melody of the piece. We are both so excited about this piece since this really hadn’t ever been done before (adding vocals to Moonlight Sonata). At least no version we had ever heard. Viktoria wrote the lyrics and recorded her parts in Stockhohm, while I recorded the piano part and some of the violin parts here in Seattle.
While I normally orchestrate most all of my own music, I asked Glen Gabriel (also from Sweden) to orchestrate Moonlight. For those of you who have heard my new album, you’ll recognize Glen from there – as he did a lot of the beats/effects and some of the additional orchestration on the album.
While we have not yet released the song, you can hear it here if you like.
We obviously also decided to film a music video for this while Viktoria would be in the US this summer…
While it is only expected of two blonde female classical crossover musicians to do some sort of flowy-dress fairy-in-the-woods type of video, we decided to do something very juxtaposed to all of that. Director Moses Olson and cinematographer Ali Mohsenian came up with a concept that matched the dark feel of the music. The thing that we both liked about the idea was a) It’s unexpected, and b) while you hear this classical oriented music with Viktoria’s smooth soaring voice – it just glides over the top of the action oriented video.
I have to give them props for coming up with something that would equally feature us both. Being that Viktoria is a singer and I’m a pianist, it is difficult to show the audience that this is not just a “Viktoria Tocca” video, or a “Jennifer Thomas” video – especially with both of us being female leads and having it be an equal collaboration between both of us as artists.
I won’t give the full details of the plot, but it involves a bank heist (Viktoria is the robber), a hideout in a fancy mansion, a good looking man (who played the part of Viktoria’s boyfriend in the video), and me as a cop who ends up on the trail of her. There is also a part of the storyline where you will see that Viktoria and I knew each other before the heist, and that comes into play as well.
We are finishing up the performance shots of me on the piano this Saturday (the 15th), and then we are hoping to have the video edited and ready for release either late October or early November.
The talented Demone Gore and Gretchen Black (seasoned actors) so kind to give me pointers on acting for the city rooftop scene. Gretchen and I were supposed to look like we were discussing the crime, but we were actually discussing what food we were going to eat after the video shoot, and what groceries we needed.
The talented Rick Walters (actor/filmmaker), as our getaway driver….
Demone and I in the bank’s parking garage as we find clues. This was actually a parking garage of an apartment building in downtown Seattle.
One of the getaway scenes with Viktoria and her actor-boyfriend, Chris Hynes – in the boiler room with a bag of $500,000 worth of fake money.
Those shots above are actually stills from the video, but here are some more behind the scenes pics…
Chris Hynes – the actor who played Viktoria’s boyfriend in the video.
Me wearing a faux bullet-proof jacket and trying to figure out how in the world do I wear this thigh holster-thingie??
Our beautiful hair/makeup artist, Noelle Jensen, doing Viktoria’s hair for one of her performance scenes.
Both Viktoria and I in makeup for our first scenes. The other fabulous makeup artist is Jonelle Cornwell.
I also have some behind-the-scenes video footage, but after spending over an hour editing it into a video, my program crashed and sorry, but not starting over now. Maybe later after we film my piano performance shots for the video, I’ll finally put something together.
Photo Shoot with Viktoria Tocca & Jennifer Thomas
Viktoria thought since we were doing some collaborations together, it would be a good idea to get some photographs taken together for promotional purposes. And, well, because let’s face it- it’s just FUN to do photo shoots and why not?
Viktoria is actually working on a new album (to be released 2013), and some of the themes/concepts for the music have to do with water (earth, water, fire, etc I guess? I don’t want to say too much). We thought it would be really cool to do some photos actually IN the water. Also because, originally, our concept for “Moonlight” was going to involve beach scenes (our original music video idea was that we would be sirens and would lure a poor sailor to his death in the video).
So water has always been something fun we wanted to work with. We searched a lot of google images and Pinterest boards looking for inspiration. We eventually came across these photos that were taken from the show America’s Next Top Model…
We actually found the episode where they shot these photo shoots and watched how they did it. It looked very cold, and very complicated to be honest! Ha! And neither Viktoria or I wanted to destroy any of our beautiful dresses by wearing them in the water.
So we came up with an idea to wear white swim suits in the water and then drape flowy material around us to make it appear as though it were dresses flowing out. I’m not sure they ended up looking as flowy as we had originally wanted, but nevertheless, the photos turned out beautiful.
Here is a preview of one of the photos from that shoot…
I won’t say it was easy getting into a bathing suit to be photographed, and given my usual modest attire, it took an act of bravery to do the pool shots. However, I’m just grateful that we had classy bathing suits with material to cover us! I’m not going to share any more of the proofs – as we’ll keep them pretty under-wraps until we need them for promo purposes.
Oh, and our fabulous photographer was Ross James – a fashion photographer from Seattle. He did a fabulous job!
Along with the brave pool shots that we did, we also did some photographs of us in similar black dresses next to some very cool rock structures. Here is a preview of one of those photos…
I personally think the ones of us in our black dresses will be great promo shots for our “Moonlight” song.
Illumination CD Release Concert
As well as the video and photo shoot, I also was busy preparing for my big CD release concert during all of this.
This was no small task.
It took me roughly four years to complete Illumination, and I really felt like celebrating. While my husband would have been more content with me just doing a small piano-store sized concert, I wanted to hold it somewhere where I could use my full orchestral backup tracks and have it sound amazing.
So I ended up having the concert at the Kirkland Performance Center in Kirkland, WA.
The venue had fabulous acoustics, as well as the ability for surround sound.
Prior to the concert, as if I wasn’t already busy enough working with my projects with Viktoria, I also ended up in the ER a few times for stomach pains and eventually having surgery to have my gallbladder taken out.
It was rough after the surgery – and I was feeling very anxious about not being prepared for my big concert. I was THIS close to cancelling the concert. I lost 2 weeks of preparation time due to having to stay in bed and recover. Practicing my piano was hard to do because I just felt weak, and my mind was very fuzzy due to just being tired and also the painkillers.
Eventually though, I started feeling better and was back to practicing. Thankfully as the next couple of weeks went by I felt like I could do the concert – with the help of some sheet music. There was no way I had enough time to memorize all 13 of the songs for my concert. I would say I was close to having them all memorized, but not completely.
Here is me the night of my release concert on the red carpet…(photos by Kathy Boll)
My soloists with me on the red carpet – Kristen Yose, Kelley Marie Johnson, me, Viktoria Tocca, and Stephanie Yose
With my handsome husband, Will.
This is my cute (and shy) 4 year old, Preston, coming up on stage to surprise me with flowers after the concert.
And here is a little video snippet of him with the flowers. SO stinkin’ cute!!
You can also catch some of the footage from my concert on my YouTube Channel here.
Here is “Requiem For a Dream”…
I am still editing video footage from the concert, so I will continue to post more on YouTube in the coming weeks.
I have to say though, that my concert was so much fun! I had some nervousness beforehand like I always do, but everyone there was so incredibly supportive and enthusiastic and it made it a lot easier on me as a performer. I would do it all over again in a heartbeat for certain.
Here are a few more behind the scenes photos from the concert…
Preston in the dressing room with me – he was so excited to come to my concert
My hairdo that I paid to have done – that only lasted a whole 2 hours. I ended up taking it down right before the concert and just throwing it into a side pony.
Why yes that is my name on the marquee!
My hubby and I at the Cheesecake Factory after my concert – with Viktoria, my brother, and a few other friends as well.
The day after my concert, Viktoria left to head back to LA for another few days, while I recovered! ha!
The following weekend, my little family and I headed down to Utah for my house concert at Michele McLaughlin’s Cozy Corner House Concert Series. I was really excited because the show had completely sold out, and she even overbooked it. I was wondering how we were possibly going to fit all those people in her living room!
I apologize – these aren’t the best photos because they were taken from mobile phones, but here you are…
With my dear friend Dixie and her husband – after the concert. Dixie is the one whom I dedicated “After the Storm” to on my album.
With Jared and Tamara…
With Dwight Tanner, my cellist for the concert…
With singer and friend Lori Cunningham
With pianist and friend Michele McLaughlin…
Performing “Secrets” with Dwight…
And now for some goofies…
Out to eat after the concert…
You can watch the concert on YouTube here:
Along with my concert in UT, my husband also ran the Wasatch 100 mile Endurance Race. Yes 100 miles. Here we are at the mile 53 aid station…
So anyway, now I’m back in Seattle and enjoying a nice little break from things. That is, I do have to film my piano performance scenes for the Moonlight video this weekend, and also prepare transcriptions for an entire orchestra for the December symphony concert, and also film a music video for “Illumination”, oh and head to LA in November for the HMMA’s….but other than that….I’m just playing with my kiddos
I am currently looking for a fashion stylist who can help me when I have events and photo/video shoots.
I am looking for someone who has connections in the fashion industry, who knows how to dress a woman who is definitely NOT a size 0 – ahem, moi I also need someone who understands my tastes and style, but can also be resourceful with new ideas and looks.
If you are interested, or know of someone who is, please email me at jennifer@jenniferthomasmusic.com with your credentials, fees, experience, etc.
One thing I’ve learned over the course of my career is to not spill any beans too early. This means new music, new collaborations, new projects and so forth. It’s better to keep mum on most things until you are certain. Oh and yes I have been guilty of spilling beans way too early before, and whoops lesson learned.
However, I do have several things to share with you now. I’ve definitely been working on a few tricks up my sleeve over the past several months and am finally in a position where I think I’m ready to tell you about it all. I’ve got lots of beans to spill!! I’m practically bursting at the seams.
So here’s the spill…All the good stuff happening in 2012 that I feel I can now finally share with you:
MUSIC VIDEOS!
I’m excited to share that I will be filming my first music video in a couple of months. We’re trying to align it with my new CD release which will be late June.
This music video project will not be the sole release either. We have plans to do multiple videos over the next year, featuring many of the songs going on my album, as well as some singles as well.
My collaborator in this project is the very talented filmmaker Ali Mohsenian. Ali is an award winning filmmaker from Seattle and not only does he have quite a little rapport here in the city, but he is also an ex-Sony music video producer/editor. And he told me that as long as at some point he can put explosives in my videos, he will be happy. Ha-ha…we shall see.
The first video will be for the title track “Illumination”. Our budget will be tiny-sized to start with, but hopefully if the video thing works out well maybe someday we can afford to put grand pianos in really cool locations, and of course, use explosives.
COLLABORATIONS!
I’m really excited about some upcoming collaborations that I will be working on. Even though I am a solo artist, I do enjoy a good collab every now and then. This year I will be doing some extensive collaboration (walking on untrodden ground here!) and here is the scoop…
Felicia Farerre
Felicia is one of the most amazing vocalists I have worked with, or heard for that matter. She has the ability to sing any type of music, any genre – and nail it every time. I have had the pleasure of working with Felicia a few times thus far, and she is not only incredibly gifted with her voice, but she is a very sweet and lovely person whom I very much enjoy being around!
We plan to collaborate on a few songs for an upcoming album for her. Right now we are in the planning stages, and figuring out what we want to do with the music. With her being in Oregon, and me in Washington, we will be close enough to meet up several times for recording and more. Felicia and I love working together and are very excited about the future prospects for us as co-collaborators.
Viktoria Tocca
Viktoria and I were both nominees at last year’s Hollywood Music in Media Awards – and she took home the win for the Classical Category (as well as a few others). We recently have gotten to know each other and I have to say – there is SO much in common between us both personally and professionally it’s crazy.
We have both decided to work together this year on at least one or two songs (possibly more), with also the possibility of doing a music video as well. But we shall see on that one. Where can I set up a donation jar for music video production costs, please?
Viktoria is from Sweden, currently lives in Romania. So getting together is going to be a bit more difficult. There is so much that we can do online long distance, but it might be that she ends up making a little trip to Seattle (or perhaps I will go to Europe??!) She has an extensive musical theater background, and is now concentrating on writing and recording. Here is her rendition of “Dark Waltz” (that won the HMMA). So excited for the future and our projects and friendship together!
CONCERTS!
I’ve very much been in the composing & recording phase for the past while – and that excludes any concentration on performing for me. But I do plan to do some performing after the release of my new album.
The only “official” concert I have lined up right now is for Wed, Sept 5th at Cozy Corner Concert Series in Salt Lake City,UT. You can get your tickets online here.
I want to do a CD release concert and am just trying to figure out when and where I will do that. Seattle? SLC? Both? Hmmm.
SUBMISSIONS
Another exciting prospect I am waiting to hear back on is my submission for the Hilary Hahn 27 Encores project. I wrote a little piece for this and am crossing my fingers that she will select mine to perform on her album and concert tour 2012 – 2013. If selected, I will have premieres around the world, as well as a recording spot on the album.
If you’re not familiar with Hilary Hahn, get acquainted straight away right here.
ALBUM RELEASE
Last but not least, I have a new album coming out as you all know. I have been working on this album for the last 4 years and am so excited to soon be able to share it with you. It is looking like a late June release.
I will be accepting Pre-Orders for the album beginning April 15th, and there is a prize drawing (worth $350) for the lucky pre-orderer.
Since I’m not able to share the music with you quite yet, I thought I would give you a sneak peek of the track listing going on the liner notes of the album. Are you excited?
1. Etude For the Dreamer
Original music and orchestration by Jennifer Thomas
Beats and additional orchestration by Glen Gabriel
2. After the Storm Dedicated to Dixie - After all the storms she has had in her life, she still shines so brightly.
Original music and orchestration by Jennifer Thomas
3. Illumination
Original music and orchestration by Jennifer Thomas
Beats and additional orchestration by Glen Gabriel
4. Gymnopedie No. 1
“Gymnopedie No. 1″ by Erik Satie
Arranged and orchestrated by Jennifer Thomas
5. New Life
Original music and orchestration by Jennifer Thomas
6. Beyond the Summit
For my Will - who’s many mountain adventures were on my mind while composing
this piece of music.
Original music and orchestration by Jennifer Thomas
7. Secrets
“Secrets” by Ryan Tedder (OneRepublic)
Theme from “Cello Suite in G Major” by Johann Sebastian Bach
Arranged and orchestrated by Jennifer Thomas
Cello solo by Stephanie Yose
Beats and effects by Glen Gabriel
8. Into the Forest
Original music and orchestration by Jennifer Thomas
Vocals by Felicia Farerre
Beats and effects by Glen Gabriel
9. Toccata and Fugue
“Toccata and Fugue in D Minor, BWV 565″ by Johann Sebastian Bach
Arranged and orchestrated by Jennifer Thomas
Beats and additional orchestration by Glen Gabriel
Additional Beats/Effects by Adam Amos
10. Pachelbel’s Canon (A Duet)
“Canon in D” by Johann Pachelbel
Arranged and orchestrated for 1 piano/4 hands by Jennifer Thomas
11. Firedance
“Asturias” by Isaac Albéniz
“ Malagueña ” by Ernesto Lecuona
Arranged and orchestrated by Jennifer Thomas
12. Sonata Minoré
“Piano Sonata, Op.7, Mov. 2″ by Ludwig Van Beethoven
Arranged and orchestrated by Jennifer Thomas
13. Rainforest
Original music and orchestration by Jennifer Thomas
Vocals by Rachelle Hrncirik
14. Across the Starlit Sky
Original music and orchestration by Jennifer Thomas
15. Requiem For a Dream (Lux Aeterna)
“Requiem For a Dream (Lux Aeterna)” by Clint Mansell
Arranged and orchestrated by Jennifer Thomas
Beats and effects by Glen Gabriel
16. Eventide
Original Music and orchestration by Jennifer Thomas
“Scheherazade” violin theme by Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov
Violin solo performed by Jennifer Thomas
17. New World Symphony
“Symphony No. 9 in E Minor – Largo” (New World Symphony) by Antonin Dvořák
“Piano Concerto No. 3, Mov. 2″ by Sergei Rachmaninoff
Arranged and orchestrated by Jennifer Thomas
Violin solo by Jennifer Thomas
Produced by Jennifer Thomas
All songs composed and/or arranged by Jennifer Thomas
Piano performed by Jennifer Thomas
Violin, and Orchestration – Jennifer Thomas
Cello – Stephanie Yose
Vocals – Rachelle Hrncirik, Felicia Farerre
My husband and I recently purchased our first home. Thank you, thank you very much.
Before you get delusions of grandeur, you must know it’s a total fixer-upper. Thus, my time lately has been spent more at Home Depot than in my music studio. Trying to do both has almost made my brain explode.
Therefore, I am taking a hiatus until our home is finished and we move into it at the end of February. I might even show you progress photos of my new music studio if you’re patient.
This means my album will be behind schedule a bit, but if it means a more happy less-stressed me, than I am okay with that and hope you are too. And when I re-emerge, I promise I will have lots to share, including a brand new website, news about new music videos, new music, and more.
I just found out that I was nominated for an HMMA (Hollywood Music in Media Award) for my song “Toccata and Fugue” for “Best Classical Song”. This is a song that will be going on my upcoming album (it is my rendition of J.S. Bach’s Toccata and Fugue in D Minor).
I will be competing against the other artists nominated within the Classical genre. The HMMA’s are special because they award musicians such as film composers, game composers, songs featured in commercial work, independent artists and more. There aren’t a lot of venues for this sort of award and so I feel very honored to be a part of it.
The awards show is in November at the Kodak Theater Complex in Hollywood. It will be my first experience getting to walk the red carpet, and do the whole media/tv thing and after parties. It is going to be a lot of fun. I’m just sort of freaking out about what I’m going to wear already. Let the shopping begin!
I’m very excited to announce that I won my very first award in a film festival. Minuet, the short film that I scored the music for last fall, has currently been making the festival circuit around the country. It debuted at its first film festival 2 weekends ago, the Park City Film Music Festival. This was a particularly exciting festival for me as the entire event is geared around the composers of the films. They award for the music, but the film itself also wins an award.
I’m very excited to say that my music won a Gold Medal of Excellence in Original Music in a Short Film. Whew – that was a long title! They give out Bronze, Silver, and Gold and so I was quite excited to learn that I actually received a Gold. This is very exciting indeed. I have to say thank you to Ryan McNeal, the director of Minuet, and his crew for making such a beautiful film and for giving me the opportunity to work with them. I also have to thank my family for their patience while I spent many grueling long hours on the music to get it done on time (and before I popped – as I was 9 months pregnant at the time I finished the music!). Thanks all!
By the way, you can listen to the score on a previous blog post here.
I just wanted to announce that Rob Beaton has joined as my new lead audio engineer for my upcoming album.
Rob has an extensive background in creating some of the best sounds for soundtracks, movie trailers, themes and bands. Some of his movie trailer credits include Inception, Batman Begins, The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, Ocean’s Eleven & Twelve, and Black Hawk Down. He has also mixed music for Monday Night Football, The Practice, ER, The Sopranos, Ugly Betty and more. Some of the bands that he has worked with include Buckethead, Adam Cohen, and the Doobie Brothers. And lastly Rob has engineered/mixed the movie scores for The Devil Wears Prada, Wild Things 2, The Whole Ten Yards, and more.
I discovered Mr. Rob Beaton after hearing a recent project he worked on with fellow musician Jo Blankenburg called Vendetta. To say the least, I was blown away. Beaton has a certain artistic quality that I’ve been searching for when it comes to the type of sound I want out of this album. He has a way of making the music sound larger than life with his style of mixing digital technology with old school analog gear, as well as his experience with both large orchestras, soundtracks, and rock bands. When I first heard what he did with one of my songs, my comment was that he “made it sparkle”.
Well, I really have been neglecting my blog, haven’t I? That is actually soooo not like me. I do apologize. I have actually been a really good girl at Facebooking – so if you aren’t already a fan of mine on Facebook, go ahead and “like” my page there to stay up to date more often. http://www.facebook.com/jenniferthomaspiano
With that being said, I can only write so much on Facebook and so if you want to know more of what’s happening in my world, come to my blog. Hopefully I’ll be a better blogger than I have these past few months.
The holidays kept me pretty busy, and then family stuff, and then we moved. Yes we moved! Would you like to see some photos? Here, I’ll show you my two most favorite rooms in the house…
This is the living room (with my two little ones – Preston is now 2 and 1/2 years old, and Taylor is 5 months old)
And then here is my music studio…
With having two little ones now, we sort of outgrew our previous residence and needed something bigger. This is actually the first time I’ve had a room for my studio ALL in itself. I’ve usually had to share with something else. But nope. This time…it’s all mine. I really am so excited.
We’re still working on getting things unpacked and organized. I love decorating though, and so that is one of the first things I did (and throw some paint up on the walls).
Let’s talk about music though.
Portraits
It’s 2011, and I’ve got an album coming out later this year. I’ve actually been working on this album for 2 and 1/2 years now. I know that sounds crazy but it’s true. I started the music when I was actually working on The Lullaby Album in 2008. I feel like my compositions have really grown since Key of Sea, and so I’m really excited to share the music with you.
While I do love doing original compositions (because they are so special to me), I also love arranging music, especially Classical music. Over the last couple of years I’ve realized that I really have a knack for this. It really fulfills me – coming from a Classical background. Which, I would like to insert here for those younger people who are studying music, don’t ever underestimate the possiblities of what you can do with your talent. There is no defined “box” in music, where you have to be molded into something and be steared only one direction. I used to really think that way, as if there were only two roads to be taken with music – either being a teacher or a performer. Not so. There are endless, absolutely ENDLESS possibilities. So keep working at it so you have the best talent to use for whatever creative direction you go.
Anyway, one piece in particular that I’m getting very excited about is that I’m arranging Dvorak’s New World Symphony. In the early 20th century someone put words to it and it became the song “Goin’ Home”. On my album, it will be called “Home”. This beautiful symphonic piece will (obviously) feature the piano this time, and in the middle there is an interlude where I’ve taken the 2nd movement of Rachmaninoff’s 3rd Piano Concerto and woven it through the New World Symphony Theme. Why? I have no clue. These two songs have nothing to do with each other but they compliment each other greatly, in fact.
Another song I’m excited about, which is NOT a Classical piece, is that I’m arranging the song “Secrets” from the band OneRepublic. It’s an amazing song that I love and seriously play it over…and over…and over. I finally said “I have to arrange this song!”. It took me a while to figure out how I wanted to arrange it for piano, but when it came to me – it sounded amazing. I’m going to have a talented young cellist record that catchy cello part as well.
I do have a random question for you readers though. What do you think of the title “Portraits” for this album? Its what I’ve been calling it for such a long time that it’s been ingrained in me. However, if you really want to get technical about it. a “portrait” is typically a photograph or piece of art of someone’s face. I’m talking of portraits of the beautiful outdoors though…does it really make sense though? If there are some other ideas out there for titles, I would love to hear them.
The photography for the album is coming together as well. As you know, this is an art-centered album around the landscape photography of my Dad, Ron Southworth. He’s taken some beautiful trips lately to the North Cascades and snapped some really amazing thos. He also has gotten several shots on the Oregon Coast as well – all of which are great inspirations for the original songs I’m writing for the album.
Other Projects
I’m currently working on a symphonic piece with the amazing Swedish composer Glen Gabriel. He’s asked me to compose and perform the solo violin part for the work. While yes I am a violinist, not it’s not my primary instrument and so composing a stunning solo part for his symphony has been a challenge for me. One that I have whole heartedly embraced though. I’ve always been a “work horse” violinist (a.k.a. a symphony player), so to be the “show horse” (soloist) is a bit of a change for me.
And that’s really it! My album in itself takes up so much of my creative time and energy that I haven’t really sought out other projects as of right now. There is still so much to be done though. I still need to orchestrate all of the music – which is actually time consuming in itself. Writing a piano part is one thing, but then writing the orchestration is like composing the song all over again and taking it to a whole other level. It takes a lot of time, and you want to be sure that the orchestration adds to the piece and isn’t just background repetitive stuff (otherwise why have it?).
Once the music is all recorded and orchestrated, I’ll need to get send it off for mixing and mastering. Such an essential part to making one’s music sound professional and beautiful – I might add. And then the artwork for the album – oh the artwork. This album in particular is going to take a lot of work because the artwork is the theme and concept! Not only has the photography taken a couple of years to take, (and still in the process of being taken) but the actual album artwork itself is extensive. I have an amazing 3D digital artist named Don Webster, who will be creating my cover for the album. It’s hard to explain, but basically he is going to be putting a grand piano in the middle of a forest for me, but its also inside of an ornate picture frame. The end result will be beautiful and as if the piano was actually taken inside the photo. I can’t wait to see the finished product – its going to be amazing!
So as you can see, all of this does take some time to create and finish. The plan is by the end of the year. And also, in conjunction with the CD release I will be doing some concerts as well. Can you believe it’s been a little over 3 years since I last did some concerts?
Anyway, music-wise, that’s it. Thanks for taking the time to read the update, and please don’t hesitate to drop a hello or comment.
Taylor Alexander Thomas arrived via csection on Tuesday, August 17th, 2010 at 9:57 p.m. after Jennifer went through 19 hours of labor trying to get him here the natural way. Taylor weighed 8 lbs, and is 19 and 3/4 inches long. He has dark auburn hair and bright blue eyes. Both mother and baby are doing very well and are getting a lot of rest.
Thanks for all your thoughts and well wishes!
(Above and below: Taylor Alexander Thomas)
(Below: Will (Jennifer’s husband), and son Preston (2 yrs old), with new baby Taylor)
(Below: Jennifer and Taylor taking a nap together at home on the couch)
But then I kept seeing “Congratulations!” everywhere, and soon I realized that the 2012 Classical Crossover UK Awards had been announced and I won TWO! ”Top Female Artist of the Year”, and “The Indie Award”. Considering my recent disappointment in not getting the Grammy nomination, to get this news really made my day. My week. My month.
