Growing up on a farm in the Flint Hills of Kansas gave Elizabeth a deep love of nature and an opportunity for her intuitional and observational gifts to flower. Surrounded by a family of musicians and by the sound of music, she began a serious study of piano at a young age. She studied clarinet, playing first chair in band and orchestra throughout high school, and sang with
a clear and lilting soprano voice in choral groups and as a soloist. She majored in voice at the School of Fine Arts, University of Kansas, in Lawrence, KS, and then studied piano with Nigel Coxe, receiving a music degree from the University of Massachusetts in Amherst, MA.
Rather than embarking on a career as a classical performing artist, Elizabeth chose working to restore treaties to the American Indians, in Boston, MA, and Woodstock, NY. She was a co-founder of the Eightfold Council, based on the spiritual and governmental principles of the Iroquois Confederacy (Six Nations). She was impassioned by this work and its association with Oren Lyons, chief of the Onondaga, the Firekeepers of the Six Nations, wise elders among the original American people and world leaders, educators, historians and scientists who participated at Eightfold Council meetings. It was said that we would have an entirely different technology today
if our government leaders considered the well-being of all living beings now and for generations to come, one of the principles of the Six Nations.
Elizabeth began writing songs about animals - whales, dolphins, eagles, buffalo, wolves and more - and the natural world. As “Octavia Neptune,” she sang these songs, accompanying herself with autoharp and backing tapes as opening act on Daevid Allen’s U.S. tour in 1980. These songs have been recently remastered at Tantrum Studios.
For two decades, while these life experiences were germinating and laying groundwork for her current sensitivities as a composer, Elizabeth was occupied with raising her baby daughter, teaching piano with a full schedule of students, accompanying choral groups and solo artists, and working as music director in churches and in children’s theater. She also studied vibrational or energetic healing, became a Reiki Master, and earned a doctorate degree from the American Institute of Holistic Theology. Her main interest in healing is healing the earth.
In 2003, she released her first CD of acoustic piano music, PIANORAMA, and in 2006, her second CD, PIANORAMA II: Ode to the Satellite, recorded in Albuquerque, NM, by Philip Vaandrager.
Elizabeth lives in Santa Barbara, CA, where she resided nearly a year during her travels in the early 1980s. In 2006, she met Sjoerd Koppert, owner of Tantrum Records and Studios, who began recording her music for acoustic grand piano at Tantrum Studios in Montecito, CA. Tantrum Records is announcing its first release of Elizabeth’s acoustic piano music, Tracks on the Moon.
Elizabeth writes music with a motive to raise awareness of the beauty of the earth and to compel compassion for its exploitation. One of the astronauts in Ron Howard’s documentary film, In the Shadow of the Moon, stated that we must take care of our fragile planet, so vulnerable and exquisite as seen from outer space. The music for Tracks on the Moon commemorates an epic achievement and a time of great hope for humanity, as it was perceived by millions of people around the world.
Sounds Like
Acoustic piano music, classically structured, impressionistic and filled with imagery.
People are saying:
“Elizabeth is . . . a true classical composer with the ability to channel Chi through her music. Her music and healing go together hand in hand like two very good friends” - Anna Wolfe, singer/songwriter, Nashville, TN, http://www.annawolfe.com /
". . . truly American - in the best sense" - Nigel Coxe, professor emeritus, Department of Music, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA
/
"very mathematical . . . in a similar way to some of Scott Joplin's more complex
works but much more diverse . . ." - Greg Barrette, Senior Minister, Renaissance Unity Church, Warren, MI
________________________________________________________
I edited my profile with Thomas Myspace Editor V4.4 (www.strikefile.com/myspace)
PIANORAMA is a series of CD recordings of acoustic grand piano music, composed and performed by Elizabeth Anne Middleton. Listeners describe the music, whether relaxed or upbeat in tempo, as healing, emotionally moving, and entirely unique. Its hallmark is a classic and fluid elegance that derives from the grounded background of a musician who has studied and performed the music of the masters.
Musikzirkus-Magazin – the Internetmagazine about Prog-, Art-, Psychedelic-, Melodic-, Krautrock and Electronic with a lot of Concert-, CD-, DVD-Reviews, Interviews and many Infos. So have a look.
I'm listening to Christmas Lights... beautiful playing! you have a great feel! It's nice to meet you!
... and thanks for requesting me! BTW, did you have a chance to check out the music on my profile? You can also know more about the band and listen to the whole album, "Sweet Blue Thornless Rose" @ http://www.the-fly-kingdom.com/
Online Now!
