!









Our Spring Concert was terrific!

 








the Haunted House

A Scherzo for Orchestra
by Paul Hansen



The penultimate piece
in the
seven movement suite from Paul Hansen,

Nights of Scheherazade





Here is another brief piece from Paul Hansen,
the fifth installment of a seven movement suite

Pirates Overture






Paul Hansen offers a little bagatelle dedicated to those who like to celebrate Halloween early … very early … .

Vampires — A Symphonic Interlude



(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3gTwUSl5YW)




From Mary Fineman: "Psalm19:15"



Paul Hansen: “I think the Queen of Hearts was feeling a little
lonely so I wrote a companion anthem to keep her company ...

Cheers, PaulCowboy Anthem










Our own Doug McKetchnie was a pioneer in synthesizer performance,
especially on the Moog; his co tributions are historic. Read and enjoy:
How Doug McKechnie Became An Unwitting Pioneer of Electronic Music



 
The Queen of Hearts from the Wax Museum
A Symphonic Suite by Paul Hansen

https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSoZxvk8NLcMyAwTkd47oh2uw0vwAgzFd58nBpIGcrPdg&usqp=CAU&ec=48665699
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LajDWs6NVBg




Autumn Celebration of the Arts



(Click on image to download)

PROGRAM (PDF)    BIOS

Music, Dance, Art, Poetry — Multi-Arts Extravaganza
Featuring … Ten Piano Players, Three Singers, Two Dancers,
 Three Poets, Three Artists, and One Flautist

Friday, October 6th - 6 to 9 pm
Rossmoor Diablo Room at the Hillside Clubhouse
3400 Golden Rain Road, Walnut Creek

For non-Rossmoor residents to RSVP is essential.

Suggested Donation $20  All are welcome  Refreshments served

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DWIGHT STONE!
FAREWELL JENNIE LANDFIELD ON YOUR WORLD TRAVELS!




The Stone Student Scholarship Concert
YouTube Recording






Happy Valentine’s Day! from Paul Hansen
Piano Concerto No. 2

Since this piece contains some Valentine's images
and some music (hopefully) in the spirit of the holiday,
I thought I would send it out as a Valentine's Day.
If you would like to listen to it and fast forward to the
Valentine atmosphere it is at 18:00 and 21:44 in the clip.


Second Movement from Piano Concerto No. 1:

Venetian Interlude (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pe72YsdgcyA)

by Paul Hansen




Dick Bertrand offers this tasty
holiday treat:
[CLICK ON]: What Child Is This



Habanera Variation
from Theme 15 Variations for Orchestra
by Paul Hansen






[CLICK ON]: Reverie

Christopher Johnson

Piano Composers Holiday Concert, December 3, 2022
 



Saturday, December 3, 7:30 pm, we had our

Piano Composers Holiday Concert
at St. Paul's Episcopal Church



FLIER

 


Mary Fineman offers us
Suite from the Faraway Pavilion


“Suite From the Faraway Pavilion” is based on a song written about the metaphysical landscape where the Muse resides, where "A Nymph named Chaos claims you, intoxicates you with her way, She knows your heart's desire, and now you'll never be the same." The Suite is performed by a Pierrot Ensemble. Names and program notes may be found on YouTube.




"Subway Variation"

Paul Hansen







“Hitchcock/Halloween Variation”
from Theme and 15 Variations for Orchestra

by Paul Hansen




https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qO2bany_HlY

Happy Halloween!

(If you'd like to listen to the full original Gunod tune,
here is a wonderfully scratchy 78 recording, played by
Columbia Symphony Orchestra:
Funeral March Of A Marionette

Hi! For those of you who missed what was undoubtedly a fabulous concert of the CCPAS Piano Composers last night (September 30@ Grace Pres.), here are a couple of pieces by David Erskine: Nocturne for Judy, and September Improvisation.


You may enjoy our last concert at any time on our YouTube channel.
Simply click on this link: Piano Composers Concert



Enjoy the concert!





Our CCPAS Piano Composers Concert with
David Thomas Roberts and Paul Hansen went terrifically!

And now we have a new piece by Paul, a videographically illustrated
Piano Concerto in three movements. You may listen to/view it HERE.








CCPAS
presented Piano Composers Group Holiday Concert

Saturday, December 11. 2021 at 7:00 pm
 
St. P
aul’s Episcopal Church, 1924 Trinity Ave, Walnut Creek

Please note the current COVID guidelines of St. Paul’s: proof of vaccination or a negative COVID test
is required to enter the venue. Pews will be marked and designated for seating and also for creating space
between people for safer distancing. All performers and audience members must wear a face mask








Our Group:



Composer group performers (left to right) Ted Holmes, David Erskine, Dwight Stone,
David Thomas Robert, Paul Hansen, Annie Nalezny, Mary Ellen Callahan,
Bruce Nalezny and Christopher Johnson (Photos by Sheryl Lawry)


We held another ‘flash mob,’ Broadway Plaza in the Creek,
Thursday, September 9th, 2021, an hour-&-a-half of music and dancing!
Photos by Christopher Johnson (click on photocollage to view full-size).







PAINTED PIANOS ARE BACK!

WE WENT LIVE! AND IT WAS TERRIFIC!!



[Click on photocollage to view full size.]
The Painted Pianos were back in Walnut Creek! In the Downtown area were several grand and vertical pianos
with fanciful and creative paint jobs that have been placed on sidewalks and in plazas for the public to enjoy. In September and October of 2019, the Jazz Piano Artists and Piano Composers mixed it up with
two Flash Mob performance events in Broadway Plaza. It was a lot of fun, lots of folks paused and listened,
and I have been looking forward to doing this again. Today we had our Flash Mob.

Mary Fineman was there, as was Dwight Stone, and Jennie Landfield, with Ira Feldman and Hank Holmes
from CCPAS Jazz. Our own Christopher Johnson, of course, made it all happen. We enjoyed originals, covers
and, naturally, some free improvisation (and I remember when you had to pay for it!).


Report:



CLICK HERE




 Walnut Creek Downtown Association is keen on this idea and inviting us to perform at
two other piano venues soon. Join us next time!







You may watch our wonderful concert all over again, or if you missed its broadcast.
You may invite your friends, as well:


Concert: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ulRAdUv3o4c&feature=youtu.be




PDF Program to download

*

Flier Download



 CCPAS is excited to announce that we have our own channel on YouTube!
By subscribing to our channel at this link, you can view any concerts we have on our channel,
and will also be notified of any new content and upcoming events.






Our February 7 concert was a great success! (L-R): Mei Sun Li, Tanya Heeb, David Thomas Roberts,
Christopher Johnson, Lauren de Boer, Ted Holmes, Mary Fineman, Jennie Landfield,
Paul Hansen, Dick Bertrand, Dwight Stone and Marcello Severo


 
Great concert last night!

[You may download a PDF flier by clicking on the jpeg image below:]


















“3 Miniatures for Megan Ashley Brown”
by Daniel Zwickel ben Avrám


We had a terrific concert last night. For a finale, Jennie Langfield and Ted Holmes on piano and Dwight Stone on Organ did a fabulous impromptu improv. (Photo by Mei Sun Li)

[Click on the flier below and you may download a PDF]




Bravo/brava! to our wonderful composers for a beautiful concert
(photo by Marilyn Matson).



Dick, Dwight, Nika, Ted, Mary, Dave E., David T.R., Christopher & Mei Sun

The following changes were made to the program below: Dwight will follow “Fantasia on Emmanuel” with “Gesu Bambino,” then close with “Virtual Tinsel” and “Infant Holy.“ You may download the program PDF by clicking on the image.












Justin Levitt, founder of CCPAS Piano Composers, Manager of Steinway Piano Gallery, Walnut Creek arranged with the City of Walnut Creek to place 8-10 grand and vertical pianos in strategic public pedestrian thoroughfares September 9--October 18. They have been festively painted. This is similar to the events in Golden Gate Park, and now in Danville.

Information: Beyond the Creek; PDF map.






   Christopher at the Grand; An unknown console.



   Justin Levitt and David Glass, with audience; A cold refreshing Wit beer goes down easy after
   an hour plus of sunny side of the street playing!
.



   Phoenix playing, corner of N. Main & Civic, with Mei Sun attending; Mei Sun, Mary and Larry
   enjoy a lunch.


   A Yamaha near Justin's Steinway Store; This was the only grand Christopher saw that day, a
   Brambach. He did emergency repair on the A6 before playing for his hour
clunky pedal and
   delayed damping. The full sun may do a number on the tuning, but it’s a blast and a half,
   pedestrians and motorists waiting at the light enjoy the serenade! Thanks Justin!!

xx





Christopher “Clockwork Orange” Johnson

Event:  Composers ‘flash mob’.
Where:  Broadway Plaza shopping mall, Walnut Creek (large plaza next to Macy’s.
When: 10/4/19 Friday from 5:30-6:30 pm.
Who:  CCPAS Piano Composers, Arrangers, Improvisers.
How:  Each performer plays one piece then lets the next performer play,
and so on until the hour is up. What to bring: Chic, funny, classy outfit or 🎩 hat + folding chair(s) as seating
in the Plaza is limited and we want passers-by to sit and listen by creating a circle around us.


With apologies, captioning is, as yet, incomplete.


     1238                                                                            Doug McKechnie

     Hank Homes

   1249                                                                              Christopher

 1234                                                                                1243

   3348                                                                          Christopher          




                                    
Dick Bertrand






P.S. You get extra points if you can figure this one out:



Bonus Track:

I am a Jew and, as mentioned, was a Cantor in a Catholic church for sixteen years.
So as I was arranging a setting for the traditional “Hail Mary,” I just couldn’t resist
inserting another traditional Hebrew prayer, the Shehecheyanu. Here it is: