Dan Chadburn

“While my love for classical music has influenced my own writing, I’ve always been one to improvise. Reflecting back to my early piano studies, I once performed a recital in which I had to play J.S. Bach’s English Suite in G Minor. Ill prepared in memorization, I forgot most of the entire final gigue movement. Rather than take an early exit, I improvised the passage in a “Bach a la Chadburn” style. I hold that recital experience as a defining moment, in that it helped to unlock my own creative voice.” Dan Chadburn

Sweeping melodies, resonating chords and rich textures … these are the trademarks of Dan Chadburn, a composer/pianist who invests the New Age / adult contemporary genre with a uniquely passionate sound. Deeply versed in both classical and modern traditions, Dan is a master of improvisation -- the art of creating, in the moment in response to the stimulus of one's immediate environment and inner feelings.

Dan has released several solo albums, including solo piano and Reflections. He has been featured (alongside other pianists such as Suzanne Ciani, Spencer Brewer and Robin Spielberg) on several compilation recordings produced for charitable causes, including The Heart Aid Project, produced in the wake of the 9/11 tragedy, with all receipts from its sale benefiting victims of 9/11 and their families.

Dan’s most recent recording, Nocturnes, was released in August, 2012. A group of Dan’s close friends had asked him to create an album of music to “inspire, soothe, and heal.” Having recorded several new solo piano improvisations in January, 2012, Dan composed and recorded melodic themes to these improvs (featuring Carole Libelo on english horn, Marty Hackleman on french horn, and Helen Hausmann on violin and viola) to create the twelve pieces that appear on the album.

One of the tracks on Nocturnes (“Peter’s Theme”) is dedicated to the memory of Peter Fox, an extremely talented musician friend of many, who passed on January 2, 2012. All proceeds from the sale of “Peter’s Theme” will be donated to The Peter Fox Project, which in turn benefits the Sitar Arts Center in Washington, DC, an organization which “brings its diverse community together to give underserved children and youth the opportunity to explore and study the visual and performing arts in an afterschool safe haven.”

All proceeds from the sale of a second track on the album (“Anne’s Lullaby”) will be donated to The National Family Resiliency Center, an organization which “is committed to helping children and adults preserve a sense of family, foster healthy relationships, and constructively adjust to change, especially during times of individual and family transitions.”

Dan’s performance venues have included Carnegie Hall in New York, Symphony Hall in Boston and The Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. Additionally, his choral compositions have been recorded and performed in the Concert Hall of The Kennedy Center.

A native of Oregon, Dan began studying classical piano at the age of nine. He earned a Bachelor of Music in Piano Performance from Pacific Lutheran University. After three national tours as a pianist and singer/songwriter, Dan settled in Los Angeles, where he scored music for television and worked as a pianist/studio musician in the Los Angeles area. In 1993, he moved to London, where he earned a Masters of Music in ElectroAcoustic Composition. Since returning to the U.S. in 1995, Dan has continued to perform and compose and together with his partner, Tom Nichols, is thrilled for the opportunity to help produce other local artists in the Washington, DC area.