Biography

If music is the language of the emotions, Rebecca Oswald is at once fluent and articulate, intimate and inspiring. And if beautiful music has the power to heal the world, one heart at a time, Rebecca's songs are indeed a potent elixir for peace. From thoughtful and introspective to shining and exuberant, her music paints enchanting pictures, tells evocative stories, and takes the listener on marvelous inner journeys.

Rebecca Oswald has always been passionate about playing piano. She began classical piano lessons at age six. In her teens she accompanied for church and school choirs. In her early 20s Rebecca began working as a voice lesson accompanist, and soon thereafter as a piano entertainer. About the same time she began writing original music. Over the next fifteen years Rebecca gave countless solo piano performances: steady engagements and special occasion events. In her late 20s Rebecca also apprenticed at a state-of-the-art recording studio where, as synthesist, MIDI programmer, and session keyboardist, she learned arranging, recording, engineering, and production. Throughout the 1980s and early '90s she collaborated with many musician friends, playing on and/or producing numerous recording projects in genres ranging from classical, new age, and easy listening to new wave, heavy metal, and gypsy/klezmer. Still, her greatest joy has been playing her original solo piano works.

In 1995 Rebecca decided to pursue a formal education in music. In 1998 she earned her BMus, summa cum laude, from Westminster Choir College of Rider University, majoring in music theory and composition with piano as her principal instrument, and minoring in voice. In 2001 she completed her MM in music composition from the University of Oregon School of Music, where she was named Outstanding Graduate Student Composer of 2001. From 2002-2004 she was on the adjunct faculty at the University of Oregon School of Music, teaching in the theory and composition departments.

In November 2005 Rebecca released October Wind, a full-length CD of original solo piano music. IndieAcoustic selected track 10, "Periwinkle Blue," as a Song of Note, calling it "one of the best songs of 2005." October Wind CDs are available from CD Baby. Digital downloads are available from CD Baby, Apple iTunes, and other online retailers. October Wind sheet music PDFs can be found on Lulu.com.

Internet station Whisperings: Solo Piano Radio frequently plays songs from October Wind. Rebecca has performed in collaborative solo piano concerts with fellow Whisperings artists David Nevue, David Rhys-Johnson, Matthew Tavis Johnson, Louis Landon, Neil Patton, and David Lanz, with more such concerts coming up.

Today Rebecca is a prolific, self-published composer and pianist living in Eugene, Oregon. In July 2008 her 23-minute orchestral work Man of Oregon was premiered by the Oregon Bach Festival Orchestra. Her concert catalogue includes works for full orchestra, chamber orchestra, string orchestra, a clarinet concerto, a choral/orchestral work, numerous choral and chamber ensembles, and solo instruments. She has written music for CD-ROM games, video documentary scores, and more. On the side she does arranging, orchestration, audio editing, studio production, and singing. Her most recent piano interest is Argentine tango, which she dances as well as plays.