Award-winning pianist and composer Peter Manning Robinson thrilled an eclectic group of creative music aficionados at his debut concert at on Thursday April 28, 2016 at Santa Monica’s Bergamot Station. The live performance set against stunning visual projections by designer Hana Kim took the audience on a magical, mystical journey, immersing them in an extraordinary, aural and visual art experience.
Performing with his invention, The Refractor Piano, Robinson has pioneered a new music form he calls “refracted music”. Without using prerecorded tracks, triggered samples, external sounds, or MIDI instruments, the Emmy and multiple BMI award-winning composer creates a vast spectrum of new sounds with just a refracted, acoustic piano. In a sense, Robinson plays inside the refractions generated by his newly created instrument. His innovative compositions, rooted in classical and jazz traditions combined with improvisation and acoustic refraction, produce a truly original and transcendent live music experience.
In Robinson’s hands, The Refractor Piano™, an adapted Steinway piano, is capable of generating a remarkable array of never heard before sounds. While the music is composed and the performance process is well-planned, “refracting” the raw acoustic sound makes each performance unique and never an exact reproduction. As Robinson performs, he rides the refractions as he bends and morphs the raw sound. The new textures he creates – acoustic refractions – are used to generate the distinct instruments and voices of each composition. Using the keyboard, fingers, mallets, and other implements, Robinson uses the entire piano to conjure up his new music.
Composer, pianist, and vegan chef, Peter Manning Robinson has won an Emmy and multiple BMI awards. He was born in Chicago and grew up in Vancouver, Canada as well as on the streets of San Francisco. Then, at age 16, he ventured to Los Angeles. Robinson started touring and playing in clubs at a young age and received formal music training from USC and Berklee College of Music in Boston. He has performed and recorded with such jazz greats as Ernie Watts, Phil Woods, and Freddie Hubbard. Robinson has also composed for film and television.
If you get a chance to see one of Robinson’s performances, don’t miss it! The musical virtuoso, and producer/creative collaborator, Klaus Hoch have created an unforgettable multi-sensory adventure into a futuristic land of Oz,
Peter Manning Robinson Official Site – http://www.petermanningrobinson.com
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