piano performance

interview with
Canvas Rebel

Ray, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Can you open up about a risk you’ve taken – what it was like taking that risk, why you took the risk and how it turned out?

During the pandemic I began taking online film scoring classes. The first few were one-off master classes and nothing too involved. The pandemic then eased and I began performing live again but now I had the beginnings of some new skill sets and my urge to get into film scoring was calling more and more. During the summer of 2022 I was approached by a professor from Berklee Sound of College of Music and he explained to me that they had a new film scoring masters program and would I be interested in joining in the fall. After some time discussing with my wife we decided to take the risk and I signed up. It was quite a lot of money but something we felt would be worth it in the long run. This course was intense and required me to participate 4-5 hours a day 6 days a week. At the tail end of the program I traveled to Europe to record with a live orchestra performing 2 selected pieces I composed during the semester. After putting up the videos of my adventures, projects started rolling in and the fruits of my labor started paying off and the reward out-weighed the risk; 10 fold.

Of all of the 1000s of times I have performed, my proudest moment was something that was most certainly not planned at all. One morning I got a call from my step-father who is a Methodist minister. He was in need of a pianist for a funeral in 2 hours and asked if I could come play. I agreed, threw a suit on and headed out. I had attended his church several times but I did not know the deceased nor the family. I happily agreed to play the few selected congregational hymns and let the family know I would play quietly before and after the service.  It turns out that the gentleman that passed away was quite the jokester and would always play the same trick on everyone. He had taken the small speaker out of a neck-tie that played 'Jingle Bells’ when you pressed the button. This man kept that button in his pocket every day, would press it at inappropriate times and would endlessly deny he could hear the famous tune playing. As I listened to my step-father tell these stories I begin to formulate a plan. ‘Jingle Bells’ is a very simple piece and I should play it after the service. But when? I had to sit on this idea and wait for the perfect moment. After the service the family walked by the casket and said their goodbyes. It was sweet and touching but I still hadn’t found my moment. It is usually customary for the spouse to say goodbye the last. Ahhh. There’s my moment. I was playing another piece softly and very subtly transitioned to a lovely version of ‘Jingle Bells’. I will never forget what happened next. The sweet old lady, who I had never met before, let out a sound. She laughed. She sobbed. She was overcome with emotion. I had taken all my years of music school, composing, and theatre timing and touched another human in a profound way. I will forever chase that feeling and that moment as I compose for new projects. I am in the business of changing emotions and helping people laugh and heal through music. 

What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?The thing I have always craved is just for an audience. A chance to share my art. It’s really as simple as that. 

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

I believe the most rewarding aspect of a career in music is making connecting with other people. We have all had those moments when you get lost and caught up in thought while listen to music. If I can create a mood or safe space for the mind to wonder, explore and imagine I have done my job.