Bio

ALLISON LOVEJOY is a classical pianist, keyboardist, composer, cabaret singer, accordionist, educator and producer of musical events.

*************************************************************************************************************

CLASSICAL:    “Lovejoy’s presentation was absolutely stunning” -Pacifica Review

Allison Lovejoy is an extraordinarily exciting and versatile pianist. Specializing in early 20th century repertoire, she also plays the music of the masters with insight and passion. She began studying piano at age 5, and has been in demand as soloist and collaborator throughout her conservatory and professional careers.

Allison Lovejoy has performed internationally as a soloist, chamber musician, and accompanist. Her insightful and passionate performances have received wide acclaim, and her varied repertoire highlights virtuoso works of the late 19th and early 20th century. She has performed the Beethoven “Emperor” Concerto with the Orchestra of the International Festival of Music in Nicaragua under the baton of Maestro Urs Leonhart Steiner, and has also appeared as soloist in Rachmaninov’s “Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini”, Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue” and the Prokofiev Concerto No. 3. She was a prizewinner in the San Jose Young Artist and the San Francisco Concerto Orchestra Competitions, as well as a recipient of a Shenson Concert Series Grant. A guest speaker and performer at the 1998 San Francisco Symphony all-Gershwin concert at Stern Grove, she regularly presents concert-talks throughout California.

Miss Lovejoy received her M.M. from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, her B.M. from the University of the Pacific and the Royal Academy of Music in London. Her teachers include Robert Helps, Daniell Revenaugh, Mack McCray, Nathan Schwartz and Gyorgy Sandor. She was also a participant in the Holland International Music Sessions for young artists, where she participated in master classes with John O’Conor and Marie-Francois Bucquet.

She has recorded a CD of solo works by Rachmaninov, Ravel, Debusssy and Bartok on Metro Records, and her album “Nocturnes for Piano” includes rare and popular gems by Chopin, Faure, Satie,  Poulenc, Barber and others.

New works  by composers Dino Saluzzi, Veronika Krausas, Kirke Mechem, George Rubissow, Marcus Shelby, Rob Reich and Chus Alonso have been commissioned or selected by Miss Lovejoy for “New Nocturnes for Piano“, which was released in 2014.

She also has recently released a recording of 8 Nocturnes by Ukraine composer George Rubissow.

          “Allison Lovejoy gives a passionate performance of Rubissow’s wistful, melancholic and  harmonically surprising Nocturnes. Listening to this exquisite set is like finding a hidden treasure!”

Her recordings are available here:      Allison Lovejoy on ITunes

As a chamber musician, Allison presents concerts in collaboration with notable cellist Emil Miland, violinist Karsten Windt, trumpeter Dave Scott and vocalists Indre Viskontas and Zoltan DiBartolo.

***************************************************************************************************************

COMPOSER and CABARET ARTIST:

“Smart, mischievous fun”

CABARET NOUVEAU:

Stories about characters, both real and fictional, have always had great appeal to me.

After reading a magazine article about a murderess in my neighborhood, I was inspired to set her story to music. “Foxglove” was the title and the name of the poison. Since then, over 30 additional songs have been added to the roster.

My cabaret takes its influence from theater, classical music, vaudeville, rock, jazz, blues and tango.

“Cabaret Nouveau” blends dark cabaret, sassy lyrics, hot piano stylings, great grooves and crafty songwriting.  Echoes of Nina Simone, George Gershwin, Kurt Weill, and Elton John are heard in the music and lyrics, as well as a connection to members of the “Dark Cabaret” movement such as The Dresden Dolls, Jill Tracy,  Antony and the Johnsons and The Tiger Lilies.

She was winner of the “Best Modern Cabaret Artist” Competition in 2010. Here is a video of the finals performance at Cafe Du Nord in San Francisco:

“Sugar” by Allison Lovejoy

Lovejoy has been performed both solo and with her band at venues such as Cafe duNord, the Great American Music Hall, the Regency Ballroom, Amnesia, as well as clubs and concert halls in France and Switzerland.

She has been a feature artist at the Edwardian Ball, Cabaret Verdalet, Little Minsky’s Burlesque and the San Francisco International Art Festival.

MUSICAL THEATER:

“The Seven Deadly Pleasures”, a cabaret-rock musical, is a collaboration between Allison Lovejoy, Geoff Ball and unseen forces. It focuses on the universal conflict between good and evil and the “new sins” of modern times. It was presented to sold-out audiences in 2014 at the A.C.T. Costume Shop in residency with Goat Hall Productions, and was featured on the opening weekend of the SF International Arts Festival in 2015 at Fort Mason.

Coming soon!!!  A recording of feature songs from this show on the cast album from the 2015 production!!

“Trouble in Trollville”, premiered in 2009, is a Cabaret Musical for children which was composed for members of Young Performers’ Theater in San Francisco.

As musical director, producer and composer, I wanted to created a show that was meaningful and fun for children that includes varied and appealing musical styles.

Miss Lovejoy is also collaborating on a musical about wild women in San Francisco history entitled  “The Best Bad Things” with Candace Forest and members of the Wild Women Creative Coalition!  Soon to be finished, songs from this show have been performed throughout San Francisco with enthusiastic reviews!!

COLLABORATIONS:

Allison played accordion on recent recordings by bassist Stu Hamm and the Lee Vilensky Trio.

As keyboardist for the Graves Brothers Deluxe, she has toured in Japan, USA and Europe.

She has worked as composer, arranger, keyboardist, and vocalist on a variety of projects, including opera, musical theater, jazz, blues, hip-hop, and rock. As a member of the Trans-Siberian Orchestra in 2003, she played at venues such as the Beacon Theatre in New York and the Flint Center in Boston, also appearing on US and Canadian television.

FILM MUSIC:

Both original music and classical recordings by Lovejoy have been featured in these:

Dogmatique  2011   Distiller Films

It’ll be better tomorrow 2006 Dean/Schifrin

The Waves 2004 Braha (featured at Cannes Film Festival)

No Regrets 2003 Triplefinger Productions

************************************************************************************************************

EDUCATOR:

“Music produces a kind of pleasure which human nature cannot do without”

-Confucius

Miss Lovejoy has taught piano privately and at music schools for twenty years, guiding both seven and seventy-year-olds to finding a voice through music.

She has also been a vocal coach, privately, and at City College of San Francisco and  the College of Notre Dame.

As a lecturer, she has taught Music Theory, Music Appreciation, History of Opera,

Music and the Visual Arts, Film Music History and Piano Class.

Miss Lovejoy is a faculty member at the Academy of Art University and the Community Music Center, and has held positions at the College of Notre Dame and Foothill College. She has led master classes in the United States, Europe, and Nicaragua, and is dedicated to making music education and live performance available to everyone.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

MORE!

In addition to performing and composing, Lovejoy has been a cultural liason in SF Bay Area between artists and the community.

Her interview series, ‘LovejoyLowdown”, Allison Lovejoy’s Highbrow Underground, has featured interviews with up and coming performers, composers and producers.

lovejoylowdown.com

She is also a member of the Classical Revolution, a network of musicians that come together to play music for the community in San Francisco and cities in the US and Europe.

classicalrevolution.org

Allison has performed with the San Francisco Sinfionetta as soloist, accompanist, and cabaret artist. The San Francisco Sinfonietta uses classical music to build community and to inspire a deeper appreciation of music through providing access to performance and music education for students and the general public.

www.sfsinfonietta.org

As artistic advisor of the Songbird Festival, Allison has supported director Therese Davis in her great success as producer of hundreds of shows in San Francisco’s hot music scene. Together they curated a Nina Simone tribute, and Allison has also performed in the festival at Amnesia, Yoshi’s and the Make-out Room.

www.songbirdfestival.org

Allison also believes in playing music to those who have no access to concerts, and has played both classical and cabaret concerts as a member of Bread and Roses.

Hundreds of musicians have contributed their time and talent to those in hospitals and institutions through the auspices of this wonderful organization.

www.breadandroses.org

Salon concerts in private homes have been favored by Chopin and Schubert, and Lovejoy has continued this tradition in private and historical homes in California.

Programs feature chamber music and soloists performing music interspersed with fascinating information on the composers and pieces. Followed by wine and light fare, these special concerts allow the audience to get to the know the artists and one another. Lovejoy curated the SF Architectural Heritage Society Concert Series in 2010-11 at the beautiful Haas-Lilienthal House, built in 1886.