Piano and Keyboard
Resume Artist
Statement
J Fletcher has been composing
music as far back as he can remember. He crawled around under his
mother’s grand piano as a baby
every evening while she played. It was not until after he began piano
lessons in third grade, however,
that his family was aware that he was playing classical music compositions
by ear and composing his own
pieces.
Musical Education:
Jim, to his family, has had ten years of classical piano lessons, four
with concert
pianist, Brenda Waldbauer.
He also had two years instruction on keyboard from the Director of Music
at Indian River Community College,
Ft. Pierce, Fla. He sang bass for four years with Opus, an award
winning high school chorus and
choir in South Florida, under the tutelage of Mr. Ron Corbin. In
his
senior year, he was an accompanist
and soloist on keyboard with the choir. In 1990, concert pianist,
Ann Kelly, Washington, D. C.,
sponsored a concert for Jim in Stuart, Florida.
Jim’s compositions were used
during those years for teaching students at a local dance studio.
Dance pieces were choreographed
for his music and performed at the Martin County Center for the
Arts in Stuart, Florida. He
also formed his own rock band during his high school years, playing gigs
in southeast Florida.
In 1988, the band won the “Battle of the Bands for Young Artists” in South
Florida.
Recordings: His
Mother, Cara, is a painter and Jim began using her paintings as inspiration
for
compositions while in high school.
He continued to compose pieces on the piano and keyboard while at the
Savannah College of Art and
Design where he received his degree in architecture. His album “Aviator”
was
recorded in 1992. "Folded
Wings," an interdisciplinary
event was recorded in 1997 and “Unturned
Stones,”
a collection of pieces which
reflect on ancient cultures, is pending.
Interdisciplinary Events:
Jim has played regularly at art exhibitions at Cara Studios in Barnesville,
Ga. In
1995, they gave their first
interdisciplinary performance, “Present marking the Past.” It was
an exhibition of
paintings, a dramatic reading
of a narrative poem, “A Fantasy on a Mayan Solstice” and featured his
composition, “Summons to a Sun
God.” In 1996, they presented
“Folded
Wings, a journey of the spirit” at
an Olympic Celebration of the
Arts. His composition was featured with an exhibition of paintings.
In the
spring of 1997, the full
version of “Folded Wings” was presented to an enthusiastic audience.
This
interdisciplinary event
featured a five-piece music ensemble, a 14-foot painting, a dramatic reading
of poetry
and artistic light effects.
It was recorded in July of 1997. The "Folded Wings" ensemble is listed
on the
Touring Roster with the Georgia
Council for the Arts.
Jim is dedicated to sharing “Folded
Wings” with the public. He and Cara present their interdisciplinary
events at Cara
Studios and throughout the SE United
States. He enjoys playing informally with Atlanta
and other SE Georgia musicians
as well. He and his wife, Suzanne, and new baby daughter Kristin
reside
in Statesboro, Ga.