The bulk of my training as a musician/composer has been classical and jazz, but I am open to all genres and enjoy collaborating.

Bio

Glenn Naftchi is an award-winning pianist and composer who has studied both Classical and Jazz piano.

Glenn began his training at the age of seven studying Classical Piano privately, and continued his studies at New York University, working on his Masters of Music degree.

While living in New York, Glenn performed at numerous jazz clubs, such as the Village Gate, and Visiones.

After a period of gigging in New York, Glenn began to turn his attention to composing. He moved to Austin, Texas and finished recording his first solo piano CD, Journey, of which the composition, Texas, won the Austin Songwriter's Competition in 2000 for best Jazz Composition.

While in Austin, Glenn's career began to flourish, as he continued creating music for his next CDs and was having an active performing life. He was asked to play at the Bartok Convention at the University of Texas, and also played at the Elephant Room and Cedar Street jazz clubs. He was also the keyboardist for the Brothers Grimaldi Rhythm and Blues band.

Glenn expanded his composing skills on his next CD's. They are more diverse in both musical language as well as instrumentation. His CD, Song for Mom (2002) has guitar, voice, violin, as well as a string quartet and oboe. There are definite jazz elements with improvisation, as well as classical themes.



The music critic Chris Matthews wrote,

"Glenn Naftchi is a very creative musician and ...(this CD) is a thoroughly satisfying experience."



In 2004, Glenn released Explorations. The CD contains his most accomplished piano playing to date and the pieces are entirely free improvised by Glenn and the violinist Heather Crawford.

Martin Chalifour, Principal Concertmaster of the Los Angeles Philharmonic wrote,

"Glenn Naftchi's music is the perfect introduction to modern tonalities and rhythm."

After recording Explorations, Glenn moved to Los Angeles, where he produced his CD Sovereign Vibrations (2005). The title song, Sovereign Vibrations, received Honorable Mention in the Jon Lennon Songwriter's Competition for the World Music Category, and later that summer, some of his music made it into the independent film, The Quest for The Meaning of Life.

For the last six years, Glenn has been focused on modern classical composition and teaching.