Paul Creech was born and grew up on a farm in Missouri. Introduced to the piano at the age of nine, he discovered he could play in any key. He studied related theory and composition at Kansas State University and performed his own concertos with conductor W. Eric Stein and the Salina Symphony.
Early in his career, Paul became a sought after technician and tuner for various colleges and universities throughout Texas, Kansas, Missouri and Washington. As he continued to perform for live audiences, Paul began offering music classes to private students and opened a successful piano tuning business, allowing him the rare opportunity to become acquainted with virtuosos Van Cliburn, Victor Borge and Stecher & Horowitz. As his musical career progressed, composing and arranging became a passion.
“For me, composing is a natural extension of my training and devotion to music. Any person who has the ability to write music and perform is truly fortunate. I take great pleasure in teaching others the process of musical arrangement – blending the melody with the harmony and perfecting the art of transposing for a variety of instruments. Indeed writing for artists who appreciate original music is most satisfying and, of course, the audience response is thrilling. Writing music for solo and two pianos, or for full orchestras is a genuine treat because the music seems to flow effortlessly, inspiring the performers as well as the audience.” – Paul Creech
Paul’s intention for this concert is to fuse original orchestral arrangements with a diversity of musical styles. Many of the pieces you will hear were composed rapidly, from the soul. Much time was invested in actually writing down the music for each instrument, followed by hours of rehearsals with Maestro Dewey Ehling and a dedicated orchestra of talented musicians.
“We really focused on enjoying our practices as much as possible. I believe this is reflected in our performance. Each time I work with great artists, I feel as if I’ve hit my Zenith… this has been the case time after time during the course of my life and there seems to be no place to stop that I’m aware of. On behalf of the musicians, the conductor, and the composer, many thanks for your support and encouragement. Savor this one-time performance… it was written especially for you.” – Paul Creech
(February 2015)