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A child prodigy, a homeless teenager, a severe tendon injury, and a radical reinvention — Peter Manning Robinson transformed every impossible turn into a new musical language. If you care about fearless creativity, improvisation, or what it takes to rebuild your art from the ground up, this conversation will hit hard. Peter Manning Robinson is an LA-based Emmy and multi-BMI award-winning composer, inventor of the Refractor Piano, and creator of the new album Excursions.

When people say music has the power to heal, that is for real. Current scientific research shows music has the capacity to impact health significantly on a variety of meaningful levels. Mindy Peterson, host and creator of the brilliant Enhance Life with Music podcast, joins us for an inspiring conversation of how her passion to share the power of music led her to create such an extraordinary podcast.

People sometimes quit piano lessons without understanding why. They assume it’s their own lack of interest, but it may not be. Join us for a practical, honest discussion designed for piano students of all ages who feel stuck, bored, or burned out—and who want to reconnect with the joy of playing. Guest Karen Pieper is a professional pianist, performer, decades-long educator and psychotherapist who brings a wealth of wisdom, experience and keen insight to the conversation.

Cory Henry is Gospel music's equivalent to Mozart. He began playing at age 2, performing in church at age 4, being mentored by some of the great gospel organists of all-time, going on to earn worldwide acclaim for his artistic contributions to Snarky Puppy, breaking all genre boundaries playing organ, synth and piano, collaborating with an amazingly diverse array of iconic musicians, and coming full circle to produce his own projects, including a return to his Gospel roots with his Grammy-winning album, Church. Cory candidly shared his journey through joy, pain, and victory.

This is an action-packed episode! In chatting with pianist, producer, composer and engineer, Vince Evans, we discussed his personal experiences with some of the most innovative jazz, pop, funk and gospel musicians of all-time. You'll learn the origin of slap bass playing, you'll learn about the "missing note" in the major scale, and Vince provided a never-before-heard live recording of himself accompanying brilliant vocalist, Lalah Hathaway on her father Donny Hathaway's song, "A Song for You."

Sometimes Divine Intervention disguises itself as a choice. When Newsboys' keyboardist, Jeff Frankenstein, agreed to drive around an undiscovered band in his Chevy Astro minivan during the early 1990's, he had no idea that he soon would be asked to join what would become one of the most influential, legendary Christian rock bands of all time. From his earliest days with Newsboys to their latest album, Worldwide Revival (Part 1), Jeff shares his story, his wisdom and his excitement for the future.

Countless artists would have sounded different without him. Multi-Platinum, Grammy Award-winning producer, pianist, and songwriter, Matt Rollings, has played on thousands of albums, produced monumental recordings, has been awarded ACM Best Pianist/Keyboardist ten times, and has influenced a plethora of pianists with his matchless artistry and inimitable approach to the piano. If that weren’t enough, he’s also a fabulous story-teller, as you’ll hear in this episode! For show notes and hashtags, please visit: www.pianowhisperer.org.

As a teenager in a land far away from home, in a remote village in Spain, she heard the sound of piano playing emanating from a spare room in the local library. Though she didn't play herself, she was drawn to this old upright, and she found herself visiting it frequently to explore all it had to offer. This led miraculously to finding a teacher in this tiny village, who introduced her to Chopin. That's all it took for her to make a life decision to become a concert pianist, at 15! Several scholarships and degrees later, concert pianist Haley Myles has become a laureate of seven international competitions, produced three albums, written two editions of a book and has developed a prolific and captivating online presence. If you need some inspiration and motivation, this episode is for you! For show notes and hashtags, please visit: www.pianowhisperer.org.

Tony DeSare did not follow the typical road to success. But he knew who he was, and he knew what he loved. He played and sang his way to Carnegie Hall, headlined with major symphony orchestras and has amassed four top ten Billboard jazz albums. He has been featured on major TV and Radio programs, has become an award-winning composer and film scorer and now has a huge online following. His authenticity shines through in this episode, as he shares candidly about his journey from the early years through Covid times and into the future. This episode flies by! For show notes and hashtags, please visit: www.pianowhisperer.org

How does a lifelong performer and prolific recording artist keep his fans engaged during a time when live events aren't happening? Acclaimed concert pianist, Frederic Chiu, has reinvented the concert pianist life with his Friends Club, his Classical Smackdown program and by not limiting his performances to the pianos he's playing! How does that happen? Check out this episode! For show notes and hashtags, please visit: www.pianowhisperer.org.

Internationally-acclaimed recording artist and performer, Ariel Pocock, began playing piano at a very early age. In fact, she doesn’t remember a time when she didn’t play. Her recording success and constant performance schedule came to a halt when Covid hit. Now she reflects on who she really is as an artist. For show notes and hashtags, please visit: www.pianowhisperer.org.

The people who succeed in the music business use what they’ve been given. They usually don’t make themselves into someone they're not. Journeyman musician and engineer, Alex Lowe, has been true to his own path and has found his musical niche. Hundreds of recordings, movies and TV shows later, he talks about his journey and how each step led to the next in his career in the music business. For show notes and hashtags, please visit: www.pianowhisperer.org.

Do you believe in fate? Sometimes there seem to be forces at work in our lives, forces that have us on a particular track, which seems inescapable. Katya Grineva's life is full of meant-to-be scenarios. We discussed growing up in Russia, her miraculous attendance of Horowitz's Return-to-Moscow concert, her studies with Pavel Messner, her ability to overcome out-of-tune pianos, and how the music unfolds during her performances. She has performed more times than any other solo female pianist in the history of Carnegie Hall, and now, during Covid, she continues to play amazingly intimate concerts on Zoom. For show notes and hashtags, please visit: www.pianowhisperer.org.

If you get to know anyone well enough, you’ll discover a rich life story you couldn’t have imagined. But, the life of a concert pianist usually involves some unique twists and turns: crazy performance situations, international travel, life-changing mentors and personal relationships with pianos! In this episode, talented concert pianist, Shuann Chai, candidly shares her story of becoming who she is, the ups and downs of being a performer, her new recording “Kuhl, nicht Lau,” and her relationship with Mike, an 1820 Rosenberger piano. For show notes and hashtags, please visit: www.pianowhisperer.org.

As Oscar Wilde famously said, "Be yourself; everyone else is already taken." Talented, dynamic and award-winning conductor, Lina Gonzalez-Granados, has made her mark in the music world by doing just that. Her resume is impressive, for sure, but her understanding of life and how to walk your own path in a competitive world is inspiring. Our conversation spanned everything from growing up during the Colombian Armed Conflict to becoming one of the leading proponents of Latin American composers to founding her own chamber orchestra, Unitas Ensemble. For show notes and hashtags, please visit: www.pianowhisperer.org.