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Chris Opperman, Phillip Schroeder - Being in Wonder

from Still Waters by Chris Opperman

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Phillip Schroeder (1956 - )

About his music, Schroeder says, “All of my music is created for the sole purpose of affecting a listener in spirit, intellect, and emotion. I find that there is no other aspect of composing more fulfilling than the crafting of music for specific performers - their strengths, aesthetic preferences, personalities- ultimately resulting in a community effort of kindred spirits. The performers are among the very best of audiences; if the performer loves the music then the audience will be convinced and affected.”

Phillip Schroeder was born on Mather Air Force Base outside of Sacramento, CA on September 8, 1956. The next 15 years brought 12 moves between states and within cities. Music and baseball were the activities most often used to counterbalance a challenging family life. The mobile existence continued with attendance to four colleges as a student and six teaching positions over 35 years.

Schroeder’s music often reflects an aesthetic that invites the listener into its sound world, emphasizing the gentle, spacious, and lyric. All of his work addresses mystical and deeply vulnerable experiences. His music has been described as “...full of elegant nuance” (Ron Schepper, Textura) and “...luminous, meditative, and deeply spiritual...” (Richard Moule, Signal to Noise).

Schroeder has performed throughout the US and in Europe, and has presented his own works on more than 250 solo concert programs.
Recordings of his music are available on the Innova, Cold Blue Music, Ravelo/Capstone, Boston, Albany, and Vienna Modern Masters labels.

Schroeder taught at Henderson State University, Sam Houston State University, the University of Iowa, Hamilton College, Butler University, and Grinnell College. He received music degrees from the University of Redlands, Butler University, and Kent State University.

Program Note for “Being in Wonder” by Phillip Schroeder
“Several years ago Chris Opperman approached me about recording one of my pieces for his solo piano CD project. I was deeply touched by his enthusiasm for the music and aesthetic and decided that Chris would be a good person to offer up a new piece written specifically for the project.
‘Being in Wonder’ uses one of my favorite structural and generative principles: the Fibonacci series (e.g., 1, 2, 3, 5, 8), an elegant relationship among gestures of expansion and contraction. Here, expansion is exploited through an increasingly developed set of variations.

The music spins out long, lyric lines, emphasizing accented dissonances: appoggiaturas, suspensions, retardations, and passing tones. Melodic and harmonic motifs and figures use the same intervals. The lyric melodies are spun out with lush rolled arpeggios as accompaniment.”

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from Still Waters, released November 3, 2023
Chris Opperman: Piano

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Chris Opperman Clifton, New Jersey

Chris wields a special array of expertise. He's a composer of wildly original music, a top orchestrator/arranger, a visionary educator, and a trusted music industry advisor.

With Arnie & Eric Roth of AWR Music, Chris has worked on several international tours including Distant Worlds: music from FINAL FANTASY.

His arrangements have been performed at premiere venues including Carnegie Hall. ... more

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