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Born and raised in Pittsburgh, PA to homemaker/lawyer parents, Margie Balter was bitten by the showbiz bug at a very young age. Margie’s early influences included her grandmother who was an accomplished singer and her two cousins, Aline MacMahon who was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress in 1944 and S. Sylvan Simon, who also earned an Academy Award nomination for producing Best Picture “Born Yesterday,” in 1950.
Balter says she came out of the womb “crazy about theater, music and dance” and could not get enough of these pursuits. She began ballet and tap dancing at age 3 and piano by the time she was 4. The flute and violin, as well as acting and singing, all followed in quick succession and are still part of her life to this day.
Margie first found passion as a piano teacher when she was a teenager because of her experiences with her own first instructor. “He was the father of a world-renowned conductor and wanted me to study classical music in a very strict fashion. He was completely uninterested in my original songs, lyrical experimentation and rewriting of previously existing works. So I became the piano teacher that I always wanted to have.”
Margie’s studies continued while working with acclaimed pianist Frank Cunimondo, world-renowned saxophonist Dr. Nathan Davis and Bill Evans’ bassist, Gary Peacock, while also studying theater at Northwestern University and ultimately earning her Bachelor’s Degree with Cum Laude honors at the University of Washington in Seattle in the study of ethnomusicology (world music). This opened up unforeseeable creative channels for Balter and broadened her perspective for teaching, as she was influenced by her experiences with musical virtuosos from Zimbabwe, Ghana, Turkey, China, Laos and Bali. She also performed in many ensembles ranging from jazz, funk and reggae to salsa and African music and for five years was a member of the Seattle African music band “Dumi and the Minanzi Marimba Ensemble,” where she played the marimba, rattle and drums and was a featured dancer. The group’s widespread popularity found them on the stage almost every night with performances at The Kennedy Center and opening for artists such as “Taj Mahal,” “Grover Washington,” “The Neville Brothers,” “John McLaughlin” and “Burning Spear.” Balter has also served as music director of the New York production of Slain In The Spirit with music by Taj Mahal, developed an autobiographical sitcom entitled “Baby Grand” and is nearing completion on her original solo piano book.
Following her move to Los Angeles, Margie's career in show business took a dramatic leap, earning her the title of Hollywood's "Piano Teacher to the Stars” for coaching a host of film stars for Oscar Caliber performances. Her first film coaching job was to teach Scott Paulin to play Chopin for the film “Captain America,” but her theatrical coaching career was catapulted when she signed on to coach Holly Hunter for the film “The Piano.” Hunter played the role of a woman who was unable to talk and could only speak through the piano. With the help of Margie’s skillful direction and assistance, Hunter immersed herself in piano study for the film and went on to earn the Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance. Following the success of “The Piano,” Balter went on to coach Tom Cruise for “Interview With A Vampire,” Scarlett Johansson for “The Man Who Wasn’t There,” Sandra Bullock for “The Net,” Jack Black for "The Holiday," Susan Sarandon for “Twilight,” Stephen Lang and Chris Demetral for “Journey Of The Heart,” Wade Allain-Marcus for “Berkeley,” Barbara Hershey for “Portrait Of A Lady,” Sanaa Lathan for HBO’s “Disappearing Acts” and Kevin Spacey for “Beyond The Sea.”
Balter’s work is also recognizable in the MGM film “Beauty Shop,” released in March 2005. Margie not only coached Paige Hurd (“Vanessa”) and Djimon Honsou (“Joe”), but also composed the piece “Finding My Wings,” which is featured prominently in Hurd’s piano recital scene. She also played and arranged solo piano segments for the film.
While serving as “Piano Teacher to the Stars,” Margie has also enjoyed success with her own compositions having contributed to numerous films and composing Dan Jansen’s theme for the 1988 US Olympic Committee film “City Of Gold” and composing the entire score for the Sci-Fi Thriller “Lightspeed,” starring David Carradine and Karen Black.
Her acclaimed debut CD “Music From My Heart: Solo Piano Pieces by Margie Balter” was released in Fall 2007. The CD is available at major record retailers across the country and online.
'Music From My Heart' will receive the award for "Piano Album of the Year" at the upcoming 2008 Los Angeles Music Awards.
Margie Balter with Al Bowman at the 2008 Los Angeles Music Awards.
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