Michael Kaeshammer
Brief Bio:
After studying classical piano for seven years in his German homeland, 13-year-old Kaeshammer (pronounced "case-hammer") discovered boogie-woogie and stride piano as played by Fats Waller and others. In three years, he was playing boogie-woogie piano in clubs, concerts, and festivals all over Germany. He attracted attention almost immediately after the family moved to the west coast of Canada, performing at blues and jazz festivals across the country during the summer of 1996. Besides playing the piano he also sings blues and jazz. "Lovelight" is a hit from 2009. Kaeshammer is best known in Canada, but has performed and toured extensively in the United States and Europe. He has lived in Offenburg; Vancouver Island, Toronto, and New York City. (from Wikipedia)
Piece: Lovelight Live
Valentina Lisitsa is a Ukrainian-born classical pianist. Lisitsa resides in North Carolina in the USA. She is among the most frequently viewed pianists on YouTube. Lisitsa has followed a truly unique path to success, launching her career via social media, without initially signing to a tour promoter or record company. Lisitsa was born in Kiev, Ukraine, in 1973. She started playing the piano at the age of three, performing her first solo recital at the age of four.
Despite her early disposition to music, her dream at that point was to become a professional chess player. Lisitsa attended the Lysenko music school for Gifted Children and, later, Kiev Conservatory, where she and her future husband, Alexei Kuznetsoff, studied. It was when Lisitsa met Kuznetsoff that she began to take music more seriously. In 1991, they won the first prize in The Murray Dranoff Two Piano Competition. In the same year, they moved to the United States to further their careers as concert pianists. Their New York debut was at the Mostly Mozart Festival at Lincoln Center in 1995. For more details of her journey as an artist click here.
The 5 Browns
The Browns are siblings Desirae (born 1979), Deondra (born 1980), Gregory (born 1982), Melody (born 1984), and Ryan (born 1986). All five siblings, the children of Keith and Lisa Brown, were born in Houston, Texas, where each began piano study at age 3. In 1991, the family moved to Utah, and the children were homeschooled and continued private study there. They were the first group of five siblings to attend the musical conservatory Juilliard. The 5 Browns are Steinway Artists.. In 2009, the group published an autobiography, Life Between the Keys: The (Mis)adventures of the 5 Browns. (from Wikipedia)
Piece: Flight of the Bumble Bee
Piece: Simple Gifts
Piece: Fire Bird
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