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Event
WILL ACKERMAN, founder of Windham Hill Records, presents THE GATHERING CONCERT
THE GATHERING CONCERTS bring together musicians produced by WILL ACKERMAN, who are featured on his award-winning compilation CDs, THE GATHERING & THE GATHERING II. In 2012, the first GATHERING CD (released on Ackerman's West River Records label), won the coveted Zone Music Reporter (ZMR) ALBUM OF THE YEAR and the BEST CONTEMPORARY INSTRUMENTAL ALBUM, with the HIGHEST AIRPLAY RATING of ANY RECORDING in the HISTORY OF THOSE CHARTS. The GATHERING II went to #1 on the ZMR radio charts. Having produced 7 of the 10 highest rated albums ever reported by Zone Music Reporter, in 2013, Will was honored with a LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD at the ZMR Music Awards.
Wanting to provide both the musicians and the audience opportunities to have the uncommonly rich experience that only live performances can provide, Ackerman began creating concerts where groups of the musicians he has been producing could gather to perform on stage, solo and in collaboration.
Each GATHERING CONCERT offers a unique evening of some of the best acoustic instrumental music being produced in the world.
http://www.thegatheringconcerts.com
https://www.facebook.com/TheGatheringCD
The GATHERING CONCERT in Atlanta, GA will feature...
WILL ACKERMAN (guitar) - Ackerman's first solo acoustic guitar concert was to a sold out crowd of nearly 3,000 at the Seattle Opera House in the late '70s. He went on to perform at such venues as Carnegie Hall, the Hollywood Bowl, Red Rocks, toured Europe, performed for the Emperor and Empress of Japan, and at the Kremlin. Along the way he released 14 CDs of his own music and has produced over 80 artists (and counting), including George Winston, Michael Hedges and Liz Story, Jeff Oster, and Fiona Joy. After selling Windham Hill Records to SONY/BMG in 1992, while awaiting the 3-year non-compete clause with BMG to expire, Ackerman focused on another passion at which he excels, carpentry. He built Imaginary Road Studios in southern Vermont, (he cut the trees, designed the building, and hammered the nails, creating as beautiful a structure as the music he creates inside it), and turned his attention to spoken word, forming the GANG of SEVEN label, producing such luminaries as Spalding Gray, Tom Bodett, and Barry Marrow. By the time he was producing music again, Ackerman had collected some of the finest microphones and preamps anywhere on earth, purchased a magnificent Steinway, and began doing what some music critiques have described as the best work of his life, which brings us back to The Gathering CDs. (By the way, The GATHERING III CD will be released later this year.)
williamackerman.com
imaginaryroadstudios.com
STANTON LANIER, (piano) has released nine albums, six with Grammy winning producer Will Ackerman. Stanton's album, "December Peace", won the Zone Music Reporter (ZMR) Award for BEST HOLIDAY ALBUM in 2009, winning over Enya and Yo-Yo Ma. In 2013, his album, "Open Spaces", was nominated by the ZMR awards for BEST PIANO ALBUM, and in 2011, ZMR nominated "A Thousand Years" for BEST NEO-CLASSICAL ALBUM. Christianity Today named it to their Notable Sacred Music list. With a listening audience spanning 140 countries, Lanier's mission to offer "peace and rest in a hurried world" is accomplished through instrumental piano and captivating stories from his life and music. Some of Lanier's favorite concert moments are when he interacts with the audience and involves them in the creation of a new melody right before their eyes (and ears). Lanier completed a chemistry degree at Georgia Tech and an MBA at the University of Georgia and then embarked on a fifteen-year business career. While working as a financial planner, Lanier's first three self-produced recordings gave rise to a deeper and more urgent calling to completely let go of his business career. "Walk in the Light", "Still Waters" and "Draw Near" were produced between 2000 and 2004 in a modest basement studio. In 2003 two tracks from "Still Waters" were played on The Weather Channel's "Local on the 8s," leading to CD orders from thirty states and listener testimonies from homes, businesses and hospitals across the U.S. In 2004 Stanton sent an email to the legendary Will Ackerman, asking him if he would produce his 4th album. Will accepted and produced Lanier's record, "The Voice". This special relationship between two great artists has now spanned ten years and six albums. Ackerman says, "Stanton is among the finest pianists and composers on the contemporary scene . . . his original compositions and brilliant arrangements are filled with soaring inspiration and remarkable peace . . . they add beauty and peace to a world deeply in need of it." Lanier's albums, "The Voice" (2005), "Unveiled" (2007), "December Peace" (2009), "A Thousand Years" (2011), "Open Spaces" (2013) and "Treasures of Peace" (2015) have led to an ever expanding reach of his music across radio, television and the internet, including Music Choice's SOUNDSCAPES cable channel, Sirius-XM Radio's SPA channel, Les Mills BODY BALANCE workout DVDs, Lifetime TV's highest rated show ARMY WIVES, iTunes, Pandora, Spotify and Moody Radio. Stanton founded the non-profit Music to Light the World in 2004, with a vision to offer God's "peace and rest in a hurried world," through Scripture inspired pianoTM. So far, 65,000 CDs have been donated to cancer patients and families offering hope and healing. Stanton lives in Atlanta with his wife and two children, and enjoys photography and cooking.
www.stantonlanier.com
VIN DOWNES, (guitar) - Downe's album, "Unlike the Stars" was nominated in 2014 for BEST INSTRUMENTAL ACOUSTIC ALBUM by Zone Music Awards (ZMR), was ranked #7 on the ZMR Top 100 Albums list, ranked #2 on ZMR's Top 100 Radio Airplay for March, and on ZMR's Top 20 Radio Airplay five months in a row. It was also ranked #1 on the UK's ONE WORLD MUSIC Top 50 Albums for July 2014. Downes has recorded and performed with musicians including Will Ackerman, Liz Story and Tony Levin (bassist for John Lennon, Peter Gabriel and Paul Simon). Downes is a recording artist, solo performer, and active freelance guitarist, and is also a public school music teacher in New Jersey, where he currently teaches classical guitar at Bayonne High School. Downes began studying guitar at the age of eleven. His early interests were in electric guitar, but this all changed when he heard the opening notes of David Cullen's "Along the Way" on a Windham Hill Records guitar sampler. He immediately immersed himself in the fingerstyle music of Will Ackerman, Michael Hedges, David Cullen and Leo Kottke. Greatly influenced by the music of artists on Windham Hill Records in the late 1980's, Downes furthered his interest of fingerstyle technique and composition by earning a degree in classical guitar performance and music education from William Paterson University. While at WPU, he studied classical composition and had several of his compositions performed by soloists and ensembles, including the New Jersey Percussion Ensemble, Helix Ensemble and members of the Composer's Guild of New Jersey. Downes has also studied and performed Indian tabla with Ustad Kadar Khan, Celtic Music at the Irish Arts Center of Manhattan, American roots music and has developed a love for jazz and all improvised music.
VinDownes.com
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LocationPeachtree Presbyterian Church, Kellett Chapel (View)
3434 Roswell Road
Atlanta (Buckhead), GA 30305
United States
Categories
| Kid Friendly: Yes! |
| Dog Friendly: No |
| Non-Smoking: Yes! |
| Wheelchair Accessible: Yes! |
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