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Janet Reeves, piano

Oct 24 2018

What instruments do you play?
Piano, celeste, synthesizer.

What is your educational background?
Master’s Degree in Piano Performance, Western Washington University; Bachelor of Science Degree in Voice and French, Indiana University

When did you start playing for the PSO? And where else do you perform?
I started in 1992 as a contracted player. I perform in the New York City area.

Where did you grow up?
Illinois

Where do you currently live?
Valley Cottage, New York

Family, Pets, Kids:
Married to jazz trombonist and composer Scott Reeves. One son, Eric, an up and coming jazz drummer living in Brooklyn with his bride to be, Ana Giovinazzo.

Describe a typical day.
I do computer business, make appointments, move on to exercise, (free weights, walking), piano practice, domestic duties, going out to hear music.

What is your favorite PSO memory to date?
My two performances of Bernstein’s “Age of Anxiety”, Symphony No. 2 for solo piano and orchestra in 1995.

How did you get started in music?
I loved it at a very young age. I first started singing in church, then started piano lessons at age 6. I went on to study both piano and voice continuously through high school and my university studies.

What is the most frequently asked question when you tell someone that you play for the PSO?
Do you really commute all the way up to Maine from New York??

If you couldn’t be a musician, what would be your dream job?
Music is my dream job. I have no others.

What is your favorite music? What are you currently listening to?
Classical music and jazz. Currently listening to “The Better Angels of our Nature”, by the Brian McCarthy Nonet, a jazz recording. Brian was a student of mine at Wm. Paterson University in New Jersey.

What are your hobbies?
Cooking and genealogy.

What or who has been your greatest influence in life?
My parents of course, and after that, my teachers. Ford Hill was my mentor and piano instructor in grad school at Western Washington University. A student of the great pianist Georgy Sebok, Ford left a lasting influence on my playing and my life.

What is your favorite thing about Maine?
It is more civil, friendly and calm than my current residence in New York. Of course, the PSO is also a favorite thing about Maine!

What where/are your favorite places to eat in Portland?
Union Restaurant, David’s

Anything you’d like to add?
The PSO is not only a wonderful musical outlet for me, but my colleagues are my long-time friends. I feel a lot of genuine love and admiration for all of them as well as for all of the staff that keeps things running so smoothly. That’s what keeps me commuting those 310 miles up from the New York City area!

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