www.thefoothillsfocus.com/093015-MIM.aspRenowned Teen Composer Emily Bear To Perform At MIM
9/30/2015
Elizabeth Medora Staff
PHOENIX – Like many teenagers, Emily Bear loves adventure, traveling, and working with animals – that is, when she’s not performing, composing, touring, or recording a new CD.
At 14, Emily is already internationally famous. She has performed at the White House, on The Ellen Show, and at concert venues all over the world. Producer Quincy Jones described Emily as “the complete 360-degree package” with “no limits to the musical heights she can reach.”
Emily’s piano playing is mesmerizing. Her improvisations provide a fresh perspective to classic music. Her music is not only flawless but fluid, drawing her listeners into the music. Now she’s bringing her amazing talents to the Musical Instrument Museum in Phoenix with a concert on Saturday, Oct. 3; see information on this at
mimmusictheater.themim.org/emily-bear.
“Emily first began playing the piano before she was two years old,” said Andrea Bear, Emily’s mother. Emily composed her first pieces at just three years old and was a published composer by four years old.
“She began piano lessons a couple of months before turning five and made her professional debut performing a solo concert at Ravinia Music Festival 10 months later while still five years old,” Andrea said. “When Emily was six, she was on The Ellen Show for the first of six times and performed a solo concert at the White House. She hasn’t stopped composing or performing since!”
Andrea noted that when Emily was five years old, she was booked for her first concert after performing for a gala at her music school in Chicago. From there, her musical career blossomed.
“She has performed in the U.S., Canada, China, Japan, Korea, Switzerland, Vienna, Germany, Spain,” Andrea said. Emily’s concert venues have included Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Hollywood Bowl, and Montreux Jazz Festival. Her wide breadth of work has taken her from palaces and castles in Vienna and Spain to jazz clubs all over the world.
Emily doesn’t limit herself to just one style of music; she loves jazz, pop, classical, and film music. She composes in all of those styles.
“I love all types of music – hard to say which is my favorite,” Emily said.
Andrea noted that Emily loves to give back and frequently holds fundraiser concerts. A portion of the proceeds from Emily’s CDs and songbooks goes to charities, including children’s hospitals of LA and Chicago, UNICEF, Susan G. Komen for the Cure, Ronald McDonald House, and others.
“She is a big animal lover and a big proponent of keeping music in our schools and has donated to many youth music organizations and donated money to buy music instruments for their music programs,” Andrea shared.
Emily’s music keeps her busy, but she finds time for plenty of fun, too. She loves traveling, meeting new people, trying new foods, and adventures of all kinds.
“A self-described ‘adrenaline junkie’, Emily is an avid athlete and adventurer who loves wake boarding, jet skiing, any sport to do with water, and can be found hiking glaciers in Alaska, curling in Canada, or mountain biking,” Andrea said.
Emily’s future plans include further study of all aspects of music and continuing with her varied compositions, which include everything from pop music to orchestral pieces.
“Emily loves composing and film scoring, as well as writing and orchestrating music for symphonies,” Andrea said. “She is finishing a new orchestral piece that was commissioned and will be premiered by an 80-piece orchestra in October at an event honoring War Veterans with General Colin Powell. She has just recorded new music with her jazz trio in NYC and is working on finishing a new CD.”
“My favorite moment is when I hear an orchestra play a new piece I composed for the first time – and all the instrument parts come together,” Emily described. “It is such a cool feeling!”
Emily’s music has inspired people around the world. For her, music is an integral part of her life that she couldn’t do without.
“I can't remember a time when I wasn't making music – it seems it has always been a part of me as long as I can remember,” Emily said.
See more about Emily and listen to her music at
www.EmilyBear.com. See her live in concert at the Musical Instrument Museum on Saturday, Oct. 3, 7:30 p.m. Get tickets at
mimmusictheater.themim.org/emily-bear.