Album Notes

Performed on a Steinway concert grand and tested on hundreds of ballet classes in SF, this is a great class CD to own this fall. Note: Exercises are printed on the back of the case and on its one-page CD insert.

About Narushchen After Hours

When he's not meeting the demands of The San Francisco Ballet during the day, Jamie Narushchen is often found freely improvising music for drop-in adult ballet classes at popular studios in the evening.

After years of being asked to make a ballet class CD of his own music, Jamie Narushchen finally delivered Narushchen After Hours in August 2008 to dancers and instructors in the Bay Area and beyond. Whether it's Gershwin-inspired degages, impressionistic bourrees, or expansive adagios that nod to Prokofiev, Narushchen After Hours is an exceptional collection of original music that will keep your students inspired and moving.

You'll hear subtle, recurring motifs and progressions that make this CD thoughtfully cohesive, but Mr. Narushchen was also careful about maintaining a high degree of individuality in every piece to keep the collection diverse, emotive, and fun.

Ballet Class Format (on the back of the CD and on the insert):

1. Warm-up slow 3/4 intro+64+8
2. Plie slow 3/4 intro+ 64+4
3. Slow Tendu even 2/4 intro+32+32 faster+16 stretch+4
4. Tendu ragtime 2/4 intro+64
5. Tendu w/Temps lie lyrical 3/4 intro+48
6. Quick Tendu lively 2/4 intro+64+32 faster
7. Degage lively 2/4 intro +64
8. Rond de jambe a terre med 3/4 intro+64+2
9. Fondu tango 2/4 intro + 64
10. Frappe syncopated 2/4 intro+64+16
11. Rond de jambe en l'air in 3/4 playful 3/4 intro+64
12. Rond de jambe en l'air in 4/4 steady 4/4 intro+32
13. Petite Battement fast 2/4 intro+32+16 stretch
14. Developpe in 4/4 slow 4/4 intro+32+2
15. Developpe in 3/4 slow 3/4 intro+48
16. Grand Battement cheerful march 2/4 intro+64
17. Port de bras lyrical 3/4 intro+64
18. Battement en cloche lively 3/4 intro+32
19. Stretch med 3/4 intro+80+4

Center
20. Center Tendu med 2/4 intro+32
21. Adagio in 3/4 slow 3/4 intro+64
22. Adagio in 4/4 very slow 4/4 intro+16+1
23. Balance + Pirouette ragtime waltz intro+128
24. Grand Battement + Pirouette med 2/4 intro+48
25. First Jump bouncy 2/4 intro+32
26. Quick Jump light 2/4 intro+32
27. Quick Jump II lively 2/4 intro+32
28. Sissonne lively 6/8 intro+32
29. Pique Turns fast 6/8 intro+32
30. Coda fast 2/4 intro+96
31. Grand Allegro med 3/4 intro+96
32. Bourree/Reverence flowing 3/4 intro+48

About The Musician:

Jamie Narushchen was born and raised in Minneapolis and began studying piano with his grandmother at age six. He studied piano performance at Johns Hopkins' Peabody Conservatory, and he joined The San Francisco Ballet as an accompanist shortly after moving out west. His strong interest in improvisation led him to take additional coursework in composition at The San Francisco Conservatory of Music.

Throughout his twenty-four years at SF Ballet, he has regularly provided accompaniment for the West Coast auditions held by The American Ballet Theatre, The Julliard School, The Boston Ballet and others. He also enjoys the opportunity to play for Mark Morris's and Suzanne Farrell's classes when they visit the Bay Area. When he's not playing the piano, he's usually at home playing with his kids.