JACE VEK: Jace Vek Live with the Royal Sylvan Philharmonic

Jace Vek

Jace Vek Live with the Royal Sylvan Philharmonic

© 2005 Jace Vek (837101026277)

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Tour de force piano performance, lush symphonic power, and unforgettable melody...

notes

On a winter evening some years ago, a four - year - old child's parents were awoken in the middle of the night by the sound of a piano coming from the garage.   As they opened the door they found Jace kneeling on the piano bench.  But this was not the ordinary  sound of a child at the piano.  As his mother watched him he slowly began to pick out the melody from his favorite children's television program.  He sat playing it over and over.  It was quickly decided that the old heirloom piano would be moved inside the house and Jace's exploration would be encouraged to continue. As his musical ear grew and became stronger, so did his technical playing ability.  Reading music was not considered a priority, because Jace could play anything he heard.  This also allowed Jace's ability to improvise and compose develop freely.  By the time he was seven, He could improvise piano music and play his own compositions completely  from memory. 

As the years progressed so did Jace's taste in music....Bach, Beethoven, Chopin, and Rachmaninov became his composition teachers.  Patiently and with sheer determination, Jace studied their scores and manuscripts.  He poured over the orchestration and instrumentation. These influences combined with what is now called the "New Age Movement" to inspire Jace's composing style. 

It was in his teens that the young impresario's abilities captured the interest of a famous local Pennsylvania resort.   Over the years Jace drew thousands of people to revel in his live performances.  Inspired by his success, he was given a symphony orchestra with which to perform his original compositions.      

Even though his achievements were successful by any standard, the desire to reach out to larger audiences forced him to move onward.  Searching for direction Jace's music found itself in the hands of the eminent American composer Marvin Hamlisch, who invited Jace to perform with him in concert.   Maestro Hamlisch gave Jace a great deal of encouragement to keep striving forward.  Reaching out to the world through music. 

 

Today at 32 years of age, the dream continues...

reviews

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  • WOW
    author: Angie Morris

    Your gift is a blessing generously bestowed to all lovers of music. Thank you for sharing the music in your head, thank you for sharing a part of you. Shine on...

  • Jace Rocks...
    author: Kori Carothers

    Jace is a truly talented musician. I would suggest you buy this album.. as there are no bad songs here. What a rare treat to listen and be connected to ALL of the songs. He truly puts you in his world, his music. KLC

  • ENEARTHLY!
    author: Jennifer Wallace

    This is without a doubt the most beautiful and enthralling work of musical art I have heard this year. I have listened to it a hundred times and it only gets better each and every time...

  • Absolutely wonderful!!!!
    author: Laura Henry

    The music on this CD is beautiful! Incredible! You can just hear the emotion in the pieces. The Last Sunrise is my favorite. I know I am going to wear this CD out!

  • Today he amazes audiences with his fusion of flowing New Age music combined with
    author: RJ Lannan

    Who is the Sylvan Royal Philharmonic really? Composer and pianist Jace Vek has cornered the market on his own sub-genre of music. I call it symphonic contemporary instrumental. The live music, with a strong piano score and full orchestral backing, has depth, drama and power. Most of that power comes from Vek’s inner passion, brilliant composition, but there is quite a bit from his fingertips. In the luminous opening track, The Last Sunrise, there is the sound of change. Strong, sumptuous piano score and lush orchestra produce, like the butterfly affect, movement of planets around a star. As the light of day recurs, shadows silently fail and once again the land is treated to the illumination of the sun. Warmth spreads upon the land making the changes we take for granted. Water condensates, clouds are formed and cover the earth. As more energy is musically created, winds blow and life-giving rains fall. But that is only the beginning of change as water wears away stone, winds sweep clear the plains and all man can do is step back and watch. But will it end? Brooke’s Lullaby is a beautifully sad and tender work with doleful woodwinds fairly weeping and the piano whispering not just goodnight, but also hello. There is music that touches the heart and affects it deeper than any knife can possibly go. This tune has that emotional melodramatic Phantom of the Opera kind of sound or perhaps a film score feel. Marvin would be proud. The sarabande was a processional dance made famous in the Spanish courts around the 17th century. Vek modernizes the form in a truly inspirational piece called Sarabande Rhapsody which is over ten minutes long. You can almost visualize powdered wigs, satin brocade on every hem, and formal dances at a masque. Very lively at times and yet, sadly soothing, the power of the incensed music is like opening a page in a dusty European history book. It is by far the best track on the album. Lastly, Thadet Variations, another one of Vek’s longer pieces, is ambitious as well as serious and another very notable track on the CD. Somewhere up in the “Night Sky” twinkling among the galaxy of visible stars are ancient heroes, rare animals and beneficent gods. Hercules battling Hydra for his penance, Pegasus, magic steed of Bellerophon and Orion, hunter of the gods and many other mythological beings clamor for our dream struck attention in the velvet blackness. These star trails are not necessarily the ones you see with a telescope, but maybe the kind you feel with the heart. The nocturnal symphony pulls us aloft and carries us higher than our expectations and deeper in space than our dreams. Jace Vek, at age four, like Rued Immanuel Langgaard, heard the music of the spheres and was able to transform the sounds into music. At seven he excelled at improvisation and learned much by memory. His heroes had classical names like Beethoven, Mozart, and Chopin. His talent knew no bounds and he finally ended up under the auspices of Academy Award winning film score composer Marvin Hamlisch. Today he amazes audiences with his fusion of flowing New Age music combined with dramaturgic classical elements. And so now there is this remarkable album; Jace Vek Live With the Royal Sylvan Philharmonic.

  • Stunning!
    author: Kathy Parsons

    Jace Vek’s second release is a stunning collection of fully orchestrated original compositions with Vek at the piano in concert with the Royal Sylvan Philharmonic Orchestra. Several of the nine tracks are orchestrated versions of piano solos from Vek’s debut release, “Vision,” which was one of my “Top 10” favorites for 2001. As good as “Vision” was and is, “Live” shows a remarkable amount of artistic growth and maturity. The orchestrations are full and passionate, and bring out Vek’s virtuosity on the piano rather than drowning him out. This is one of the rare CDs that I can listen to over and over and still think, “Wow!” At 32, I’m sure Jace Vek is on his way to a bright and illustrious career! The CD opens with “The Last Sunrise,” a lovely, almost ambient composition with shifting time signatures and a piano line that seems to float above the fluid strings. The piece builds in grandeur as more of the orchestra comes in, bringing it to a climax, and then it drifts off as gently as it began. “Sarabande Rhapsody” is pure joy. Based on Handel’s “Sarabande,” one of my favorite classical teaching pieces, these variations are true to the original work, but update it. I’m sure Handel is smiling from his heaven! A very “big” arrangement, it is obvious that the orchestra members are having a lot of fun with the give and take between themselves and Vek at the piano. Bravo! “Circa 1990” begins with a swirling piano solo that repeats itself a few times within the piece while the orchestra (mostly oboe and strings) weaves a beautiful counterpoint. “Gate C-61 and Romance” are two separate tracks that melt into each other. Powerful and yet soothing, the richness of these pieces is a thrill. “Lorilei” is a gorgeous composition with cinematic qualities. The passion and interplay between the piano and orchestra clearly show why synthesizer will never replace “real” instruments or the musicians behind them. “Brooke’s Lullaby” is a very sweet piece that sparkles in its simple, heartfelt love. “Jennifer’s Largo” is lighter and dreamier, with a wistful sort of melancholy. “Thadet Variations” is perhaps Vek’s most ambitious work to date. It also appeared on “Vision” as three separate tracks. Inspired by lying in the grass one evening and looking up at the sky, “thadet” is a Finnish word meaning “sky full of stars.” Coming from a profound musical moment in Vek’s life, the piece is about being immersed in and open to the vastness of the celestial universe. A musical marvel, the piece clearly demonstrates Vek’s range as a pianist and composer, going from a light and tinkling sparkle in the upper registers of the piano to thunderous octave runs, from a soft gentleness to full-on bravado and everything in between. Jace Vek has outdone himself with this new release! It is contemporary piano with full symphonic treatment at its best. Very highly recommended!

  • author: Tamara Turner, CD Baby

    Backed by the 80-piece Royal Sylvan Philharmonic, these new age works for piano and orchestra evolve slowly and steadily, gently unfolding and blooming while the repetition and simplicity makes each piece accessible, meditative and lulling for perfect background music. In a time where new age albums abound but more often than not, rely on synthesizers and electronics, it is a relief to feature an album with the unmatchable high quality of live musicians. Any new age fan will find solace, warmth and comfort in this album.

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