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Plays: 10205
Views: 2246 |
Formed: 2007
Official Site: myspace.com/iveyproductions
iSound Site: www.isound.com/adam_ivey
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| Adam Ivey was born on August 9, 1980. He was born deaf and remained so until he underwent a surgery that enabled him to hear for the first time at the age of three. By the time Adam was seven years old, he had acquired an ear for music, having taken piano lessons on a new up |
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Adam Ivey was born on August 9, 1980. He was born deaf and remained so until he underwent a surgery that enabled him to hear for the first time at the age of three. By the time Adam was seven years old, he had acquired an ear for music, having taken piano lessons on a new upright piano purchased by his grandmother. His first melody, “something about Stars,” Adam recalls, drew him in to the world of music and there he has remained ever since.
Adam began playing as a prelude player at church at the young age of 7. As Adam got older, his love for music grew and he began to study the sophisticated styles of world famous Classical music composers such as Bach, Beethoven and Chopin. Having mastered the unique patterns of these men, Adam was able to transform their compositions into his own modern versions. At age 12, Adam enrolled in the Young Musicians Program at UC Berkeley where he learned to play the jazz piano from instructor William Bell. With the help of Mr. William Bell, Adam learned to reinvent and combine songs into new ones. Soon, Adam had begun to combine Classical music and Jazz tunes to form upbeat urban mixes.
When Adam turned 14, he decided to use his exceptional musical abilities to write a love ballad, which earned him the heart of his high school girlfriend. However, the love balled turned into a song of heartbreak when he and his girlfriend broke up. Adam then gave up on the whole love scene and decided to focus solely on Classical and Gospel music. To him, these genres were more about humanism, soul, sense of endurance, and most importantly, survival. So, at age 15, Adam began playing the piano for The Church By The Side of The Road, in Berkeley. However, he returned to love ballads when he collaborated with his older brother, Brandon, and submitted a trio and orchestra piece to the Young Musician Program at UC Berkeley; for which he receive a scholarship for a year of private composition lessons. The rigors of transposing, notating, and providing chord voicing prepared Adam for his current position of directing the youth and men’s choirs at The Church By The Side of The Road.
Few musicians have Adam Ivey’s appreciation for the protean quality of genre. He grew up with the sounds of Classical music and Gospel spirituals and he could always hear live Jazz and R&B when he would sneak into his uncle’s night club. Adam has collaborated with a variety of Gospel, Jazz, and R&B musicians, such as Robin Duhe, the bassist for Frankie Beverly. When asked to characterize his style now, at the age of 26. Adam responded by saying that he poaches various influences and refines them, and that the result can sometimes be as loose, free, and clamorous as an Oscar Peterson solo, or precise, beautiful and clean like a Bach invention. “My style takes a lot of the traditional chord changes and makes them new by incorporating all the arpeggios from Classical music, the harmony from a lot of church stuff, and the rhythms of R&B. And it’s got a lot of groove to it”, says Adam. “It really comes from experience”, he adds. “It really comes to me whenever I sit down.”
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LIST OF ACCOMPLISHMENTS:
Currently, Adam owns and operates his own business, IVEY’S PRODUCTION, and is the Director of the Men’s Choir at the Church By the Side of the Road.
Adam composed a 16-part piece for a chamber orchestra and had it performed at UC Berkeley (1998).
He composed a piece for a trio and had it performed at UC Berkeley (1997)
He was presented in concert in December 1997 and in February 2001, at The Church by the Side of the Road, in which he performed various pieces from his repertoire spanning from the baroque period to contemporary music.
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LIST OF PREVIOUS STUDIES AND SCHOLARSHIPS:
He started playing the piano and studying the C.R. Reid System of Piano Study at age seven with Ms. Shirley Carlson, Director of North Berkeley Piano Studio.
He was awarded a scholarship for two consecutive years (1991-1992) from the Alameda Teachers Association. This enabled him to continue his studies in piano performance under the direction of Ms. Louise Milota. She is an examiner of students for the Royal Conservatory of Toronto and an Evaluator for the Music Certificate of Merit Program of California.
He is a graduate of the Young Musicians Program (YMP) at UC Berkeley where he completed five years of study (1993-1998). This includes: the study of all the periods in classical music, theory, jazz performance, participation in various ensembles, vocal lessons and composition.
For two years (1996-1998) He received a vocal scholarship for the study of classical singing (YMP).
He received a composition scholarship in addition to his piano scholarship for the 1997-98 academic school year.
He was the accompanist and was mentored at CBSOR for 2 years under the direction of Mr. Johari Jobar.
He has sung in the Church By the Side of The Road choirs under Ms. Janice Maxie-Ried, Mr. Terrance Kelly, and Mr.Johari Jobar.
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LIST OF COMPETITIONS AND RECOGNITIONS:
Selected and performed, as a nominee in the categories of: BEST JAZZ INSTRUMENTALIST AND NEXT BIG STAR AWARD by the BLACK MUSIC ASSOCIATION ACADEMY OF AMERICA (2007)
Participated in Golden Gate Branch of The National Association of Negro Musicians, Inc. (NANM) Spring Concerts (1992, 1993, 1997, 1998) and fall Youth Command Performances – Won awards in each one.
Selected by NANM to attend the 76th anniversary convention in Dallas Texas to participate in the Youth Division (1994)
Competed and won an award in Links Alameda-Contra Costa Chapter “Superexcellent Youth Talent Competition” won second place (1993)
Performed with Hilltop Youth Pops Orchestra, and received a school scholarship. San Pablo, CA (1997).
Commended for playing for senior citizens in community nursing homes (1991 –1993)
Presented by Realmindras Civic Club of California as Pianist “1994” Mr. Who’s Who.
Chosen by Vallejo Alumnae Chapter Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. to perform in the Jabbdrock Talent Showcase – Won an award (1993)
Certificate of recognition from the Church by the Side of the Road for participating in Talent Showcase (October 1991
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