Emily Bear
Five Years Wise
This is the first release from pianist and composer Emily Bear. Recorded when she was just 5 years old and released in July 2007, this beautiful album of piano solos features 15 songs from her repertoire including five of her own original compositions.
Emily Bear is 8 years old and began her piano studies at age 5 with Emilio del Rosario at The Music Institute of Chicago. She currently studies classical piano with Jim Giles of Northwestern University Music Department and jazz improvisaion with Alan Swain. Additional mentors include Yoheved Kaplinsky, head of the Juilliard piano department, and Mary Sauer of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.. Emily is equally comfortable playing jazz, classical, or her own compositions.
Emily made her professional debut performing a solo concert at the Ravinia Music Festival in July, 2007, when she was 5 years old. She played a solo 40 minute program mixing classical, jazz and her own compositions. She is the youngest performer in Ravinia’s more than 100 - year history. She was asked back to perform there a second time on September 7, 2008, and has been invited to perform at Ravinia for the third year in a row during summer of 2009.
On March 24th, 2008, Emily was invited to perform at The White House for The Easter Egg Roll breakfast for President and Mrs. Bush and 400 guests. She performed a 30 minute solo concert mixing jazz and original compositions.
Emily was a recipient of a 2008 ASCAP Morton Gould Young Composer Competitionaward for her original song, “Northern Lights”. She was one of 9 winners in the 18 year old and younger category out of a field of almost 600 applicants. She was asked to be one of two pianists to perform at the awards ceremony in New York City and was invited to perform her winning song again for a performance at Lincoln Center.
Emily received national attention when she was a featured guest on The Ellen Degeneres Show. She appeared on 3 episodes in three and a half months. She composed an original song for each appearance: “Ellen’s Song”, “Thanks...”, and “The Love In Us”. She appeared on the show for a 4th time, debuting another original song, “Once Upon a Wish”. In April, 2009, she appeared for the 5th time on the show, debuting her original song, “Tomorrow’s Wishes”.
Emily was asked by Steinway and Sons to perform a solo concert at the Chicago film premier of the new documentary film "Note by Note: the Making of Steinway L1037". She performed the concert on the actual piano built in the movie.
In November, 2008, Emily was personally invited by Lang Lang to perform for him at a Master Class hosted by The Chicago Symphony Orchestra.
Emily opened for Ramsey Lewis and his Trio at age 6, playing a 30 minute solo piano concert. Emily also appeared at The Raue Center for the Arts in a featured solo concert. She opened The 2007 McDonald’s Chicago Thanksgiving Day Parade (which was televised nationally on WGN) performing her original song “Waterlights” . The following year, two more of Emily’s original songs were featured in the2008 Chicago Thanksgiving Parade: “Giving” and “Christmas Bells”.
Emily made her orchestral debut in front of a capacity audience of 2500 people performing her original song, “The Love in Us” with The Orlando Symphony Orchestra at a private corporate event. She also performed at Noche de Ninos, a gala for Los Angeles Children’s Hospital, hosted by Jennifer Lopez ,Warren Beatty, Annette Benning, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jewel, honoring Jamie Lee Curtis.
Emily was invited to become a video disc artist for the Piano Disc System and just taped an episode for a new children’s television show for PBS titled, “All You Need Is Music”. Emily was featured on the WFMT Radio Show, Introductions, performing a solo 45 minute live concert. Emily performed at the Music in the Loft Concert Series.
Emily made her classical orchestral debut at age 7, performing Mozart’s Piano Concerto, no.23, k488 with the Rockford Symphony Orchestra and with the Champagne-Urbana Symphony. She also performed in a concert honoring Chicago Tonight’s 25th Season for WTTW Television at The Harris Theater in Millennium Park.
Upcoming concerts include: The Noble Awards at The Beverly Hilton in Los Angeles, a new awards show honoring 15 charities, and the Young Steinway Artists concert of Chicago. She will also appear at a benefit for The Children's Hospital of Chicago and an encore performance at a screening of Steinway's film, Note by Note.
Emily has been featured in stories on: ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox News, WTTW- Chicago Tonight, and WGN and was recently feature in a story for Sunday Night, Channel 7 - Australia, titled, "Beautiful Minds".
Emily recorded her first CD, Five Years Wise, in July of 2007. The CD is a mixture of jazz standards and original songs. A second CD, The Love In Us, featuring 10 original songs, was released in April, 2008. Emily's 3rd CD, Once Upon a Wish, was released in December of 2008 and her most recent CD collection of original songs, Always True, will be released in October, 2009. She is a member of ASCAP, SAG and AFTRA.
Jazz: Jazz-Pop