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 Pianist
and composer Clara Ponty's diverse musical background is the source of inspiration
for the development of her unique musical body of work. The daughter of worldrenowned
jazz violinist and composer Jean-Luc Ponty, Clara was exposed to a wide range
of music even as a child. Born in Paris but raised in Los Angeles, Clara was continuously
immersed in the exciting world of the international music community. "Thanks
to my father, I grew up listening to a lot of genres: classical, jazz, East Indian,
South American and African music... all these different influences broadened my
outlook at a young age", she says.
Clara began studying violin and piano when she was only five, and by the
time she was eight, she had written her first piece. She participated in local competitions
in Los Angeles and won her first award at age eleven. In her early teens, she was
accepted into the prestigious music program at the Interlochen Arts Academy in Michigan,
where she was the youngest performer ever chosen to join the academy's coveted "Tour
of Stars." She went on to attend the Maryland Conservatory and the University of
Southern California (USC). Her piano teachers were masters such as Nelita True,
John Perry, Hans Kemmerling and Helena Varvarova. She graduated
from USC after performing a remarkable 2-hour recital featuring the music of Bach,
Beethoven, Schumann, Chopin and Debussy.
 Although
she had proved herself a brilliant performer, Clara chose to not to purse a career
as a classical pianist, but to follow what she knew to be her true calling, to be
a composer. She recorded a demos of her first eleven compositions, which quickly
attracted attention from major record labels. By that time, she had moved to Manhattan,
where her debut recording for Philips Music Group / Universal Records, simply titled
"Clara Ponty" and featuring Clara performing
original works for solo piano, was recorded and released in
1997. It was followed in
1999 by "The Embrace,"
on which Clara revealed her depth as a composer, pianist and vocalist with ten new
original works. Both recordings have met with critical acclaim and were featured
prominently in mainstream media such as "People" and Forbes magazines, proof that
Clara's appeal transcends genres. "The Embrace" reached the number 1 position
on New Age Voice's "Airwaves Top 100", a play list reported by radio programmers
across America. In support of both releases, Clara performed throughout the US,
Canada, and Europe.
Drawn to the culture of India, one of Clara's dreams materialized In December
2002 when she performed in Bombay and New Delhi
for the first time. Her two solo piano concerts got rave reviews in the press and
she was profiled on Star News, a television program that is widely viewed in India
and throughout Asia. Her concerts were so well received that she has been invited
to go back to India in 2004.Clara's ongoing
passion for composing resulted in the twelve new songs that are included on her
newest release, "Mirror of Truth" (on JLP Productions
distributed by Navarre.) She coproduced this third album with her father, who also
contributed violin solos on a couple of tracks and also provided strings arrangements.Speaking
about her life as an artist she says, "music for me has always been a much more
exact means of communication than mere words, because it allows me to explore a
dimension of the soul that I cannot express in ordinary language". Today,
Clara Ponty is that rare artist whose virtuoso level playing fuses her classical
heritage with world rhythms into a seamless stream of captivating sounds.
Contacts and Information:
Hans J. Batschauer
Hasenbergsteige 20 | D-70178 Stuttgart
Phone: +49-711-6 15 90 68
email: hb@cu-events.com
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Last Modified Date: 18/03/2007
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