 |
Stephanie Bennett | |
|---|---|
| Born | Stephanie Bennett |
| Other names | Stephanie Pelz |
| Occupations |
|
Stephanie Bennett is a harpist, composer, arranger and vocalist who lives in Los Angeles. She plays popular music, jazz, and other contemporary music genres.
|
Stephanie Bennett | |
|---|---|
| Born | Stephanie Bennett |
| Other names | Stephanie Pelz |
| Occupations |
|
Stephanie Bennett is a harpist, composer, arranger and vocalist who lives in Los Angeles. She plays popular music, jazz, and other contemporary music genres.
Bennett began studying the harp as a junior high school student in Ann Arbor, Michigan, after having studied some guitar and piano as a child. She continued her studies of classical harp performance with Ruth Dean Clark at the University of Michigan, where she also studied composition with Pulitzer Prize winning composer Leslie Bassett and Ross Lee Finney. While in college, she also began exploring creating her own arrangements of popular music. She continued her music studies at the Dick Grove School of Music and at UCLA Extension, with courses in Advanced Modern Harmony (including jazz and pop music harmony), Arranging, Twentieth Century Harmony, Film Scoring, etc.
Bennett has performed in the United States, Japan, Australia, Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Ecuador, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Uruguay, Panama, France and Switzerland, including solo harp performances of her own compositions at the Montreux Jazz Festival (Switzerland), as a guest artist at the International Music Seminars in Montpelier, France, and at the International Conference on Women in Music. She has performed for President Obama, the President of Israel, and the President of Ireland.
For the winter 1984 concert season, Bennett joined the American folk-music group The New Christy Minstrels, playing harp in a U.S. tour booked by Community Concerts, a division of Columbia Artists Management Inc. [1] Later in 1984, she toured as part of the band of R&B artist Bobby Womack, along with frequent guest artist Sly Stone. [2] [3]
In 1989, she gave a solo harp performance at the Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland. [1]
In 1999, she was invited by the Los Angeles World Affairs Council to perform Irish music for the President of Ireland upon the president's visit to Los Angeles. [4]
Bennett lives in the Los Angeles area, where she composes, records and produces her own CDs, composes and produces music that has been heard on television shows such as Bones, Murphy Brown, Party of Five and The Single Guy, and on the feature film A Time For Dancing. She writes musical arrangements for other artists (including arrangements for rocker Ozzy Osbourne, Native American flute player Golana, Celtic fiddler Mary Barton, and New Age ensemble Midnight Skye). She composes chamber music which has been performed by ensembles such as "Entr'amis" (classical harp, flute and viola trio), and "Campanile", (renowned contemporary handbell ensemble).
Bennett plays harp on soundtracks for movies and television, and plays harp on recordings by many other artists (including the Dixie Chicks, Sir Paul McCartney, LeAnn Rimes, Lamb, Linda Ronstadt, Everlast, Good Charlotte, Miyuki Nakajima, and Ray Conniff),teaches harp students, and writes lyrics which have been recorded by other vocalists, as well as writing music for other vocalists. She has toured with groups as diverse as R&B legend Bobby Womack, big band Ray Conniff Singers & Orchestra, Persian singing star Dariush, Mexican superstars Vicente & Alejandro Fernandez, and Canadian band Cowboy Celtic.
Bennett has also appeared onscreen in television, movies and music videos, including American Idol, The Sweetest Thing with Cameron Diaz, Celine Dion's 1998 Christmas special, 1999 hit movie The Other Sister (with Diane Keaton, Juliette Lewis and Giovanni Ribisi); Love Affair with Warren Beatty, Gypsy with Bette Midler, Cobb with Tommy Lee Jones, the Frank Sinatra mini-series, A Romantic Christmas by John Tesh, music videos including Trisha Yearwood and Aerosmith, and television shows including Bones, Murphy Brown, Falcon Crest, Sisters, and Picket Fences.
Bennett was part of American balladeer group the Bards of FoDLA and produced their album Sacred Oaks (2012) through Harpworld Music Co.
In 1979, Stephanie Bennett won first prize in the Second Salvi International Competition of Jazz and Pop Harp. [5] The Hollywood Reporter has called her "one of our country's top harpists". [6]
 |
Recordings featuring Stephanie Bennett include: |
|---|
| Harpworld Music Co., Voyage of the Dreamer (produced & recorded by SB) |
| At Peace Music, Lumiere: Baroque Music for Relaxation (produced & recorded by SB) |
| Harpworld Music Co., Bardina's Forest (produced & recorded by SB) |
| At Peace Music, Avalon: Celtic Music for Relaxation (produced & recorded by SB) |
| Harpworld Music Co., Imaginocean (produced by SB) |
| Northsound Music, The Wedding Album |
| Harpworld Music Co., Stories Seldom Told (produced by SB ) |
| Harpworld Music Co., Sapphire (cassette only) (produced by SB ) |
| Wrightwood Records: Unicorn's Journey (Harp and Grand Piano for relaxation and meditation) |
| Toshiba-EMI (recorded & released in Japan) 'Finger Magic' (under former name, 'Stephanie Pelz') |
Music arranged by Stephanie Bennett includes |
|---|
| All selections on CD "Celtic Cello" by Marston Smith, 2000 |
| Selection on CD "La Belle Dame" by Susan Craig Winsberg, 1999 |
| Selection on CD "Walk Between Worlds" by Golana, Oginali 1999 |
| Selection on CD "Moon of First Snow" by Golana, Oginali 2002 |
| Several selections on CD "Changing Seasons" by Mary Barton, Mt. Tabor Music, 1999 |
| Selection on CD "A Child Is Born", by Midnight Skye, Hyalos 1998. |
Other recordings on which Stephanie Bennett played harp include |
|---|
| The Dixie Chicks, "Taking the Long Way" |
| Paul McCartney "Chaos and Creation in the Backyard" |
| Linda Ronstadt, "A Merry Little Christmas" |
| LeAnn Rimes, "Twisted Angel" |
| SpongeBob SquarePants, "The Best Day Ever" |
| David Arkenstone: "World of Warcraft Taverns of Azeroth" |
| David Arkenstone: "Celtic Romance" |
| Windham Hill: Rubaja & Hernandez, "High Plateaux"... |
| Narada Records: Bernardo Rubaja, "New Land"... |
| Narada Records: "Christmas Collection Volume 2"... |
| Everlast, "Eat at Whitey's" |
| Lamb, "Between Darkness and Wonder" |
| James Durst, "Like the Wind" |
| Susan Craig Winsberg, "La Belle Dame" |
| Susan Craig Winsberg, "Celtic Love Songs" |
| Midnight Skye, "A Child is Born" |
| Frank Gambale, "A Present for the Future"... |
| Good Charlotte, Chronicles of Life & Death" |
| SST Records: Pat Smear, "So You Fell In Love With A Musician"... |
| Lifescapes: "Celtic Music for Stress Relief" |
| Ray Conniff "My Way" |
| Ray Conniff "S'Always Conniff" |
| Ray Conniff "40th Anniversary" |
| Ray Conniff "I Love Movies" |
| Ray Conniff "Live in Rio" |
| Ray Conniff "S'Country" |
| Ray Conniff "S'Christmas" |
| Michael Benghiat "Harmony" (formerly titled "Music from Big Sur" |
| BMG Latin: "Juan Gabriel" |
| Miyuki Nakajima,"Fairy Ring" |
| Golana, "Walk Between Worlds" |
| Golana, "Moon of First Snow" |
| Del-fi Records, "Shots in the Dark" |
| James Durst, "Songs of a Wondering Minstrel" |
| Prince Diabate, "New Life" |
| Lifescapes, "Celtic Music for Stress Relief" ) |
Other recordings containing Stephanie Bennett compositions include: |
|---|
| Campanile, "Nocturnal Journeys" (CD and live DVD) |
| Campanile, "White Chocolate" |
| Centurion Productions: "America Speaks From the Heart" |
Film & TV containing Stephanie Bennett compositions include: |
|---|
| Murphy Brown (source music on 2 episodes) |
| The Single Guy (source music) |
| Feature film "A Time for Dreaming" (source music) |
Other recordings on which Stephanie Bennett wrote lyrics include: |
|---|
| Stephanie Bennett "Bardina's Forest" |
| Frank Gambale, "Noteworker" |
| Frank Gambale, "Thunder from Down Under" |
Sylvester Stewart, better known by his stage name Sly Stone, is an American musician, songwriter, and record producer who is most famous for his role as frontman for Sly and the Family Stone, playing a critical role in the development of funk with his pioneering fusion of soul, rock, psychedelia and gospel in the 1960s and 1970s. AllMusic stated that "James Brown may have invented funk, but Sly Stone perfected it," and credited him with "creating a series of euphoric yet politically charged records that proved a massive influence on artists of all musical and cultural backgrounds." Crawdaddy! has credited him as the founder of the "progressive soul" movement.
Robert Dwayne Womack was an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. Starting in the early 1950s as the lead singer of his family musical group the Valentinos and as Sam Cooke's backing guitarist, Womack's career spanned more than 60 years and multiple styles, including R&B, blues, doo-wop, gospel, funk, and soul.
Andreas Vollenweider is a Swiss harpist. He is generally categorised as a new-age musician and uses a modified electroacoustic harp of his own design. He has worked with Bobby McFerrin, Carly Simon, Luciano Pavarotti and in 1987 received a Grammy Award for the album Down to the Moon. Vollenweider's style has been described by The New York Times as "swirling atmospheric music, which evokes nature, magic and fairy tales".
Dorothy Jeanne Thompson, better known as Dorothy Ashby, was an American jazz harpist, singer and composer. Hailed as one of the most "unjustly under loved jazz greats of the 1950s" and the "most accomplished modern jazz harpist," Ashby established the harp as an improvising jazz instrument, beyond earlier use as a novelty or background orchestral instrument, proving the harp could play bebop as adeptly as the instruments commonly associated with jazz, such as the saxophone or piano.
Robert Maxwell was an American harpist, songwriter, and teacher who wrote the music for two well-known songs: "Ebb Tide" and "Shangri-La". He also wrote "Solfeggio", used in a repeated skit by entertainment television innovator Ernie Kovacs.
Catrin Ana Finch is a Welsh harpist, arranger and composer. She was the Official Harpist to the Prince of Wales from 2000 to 2004 and is visiting professor at the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama and the Royal Academy of Music in London. Finch has given recitals at venues throughout the world.
Anita Jean Kerr was an American singer, arranger, composer, conductor, pianist, and music producer. She recorded and performed with her vocal harmony groups in Nashville, Los Angeles, and Europe.
Corky Hale is an American jazz harpist, pianist, flutist, and vocalist. She has been a theater producer, political activist, restaurateur, and the owner of the Corky Hale women's clothing store in Los Angeles, California.
Steve Sample Sr. was a bandleader, arranger, composer and jazz educator. For more than 30 years, Sample was a professor in the Music Department of the University of Alabama, where he directed the Jazz Ensembles and taught music theory, arranging and jazz related courses. Sample trained many notable jazz musicians during his long tenure at Alabama, including Gary Wheat, Birch Johnson, Kelley O'Neal, Chris Gordon, Mervyn Warren, Cedric Dent, Beth Gottlieb, Mart Avant, Dick Aven and Ray Reach. He was respected by his peers as one of the finest jazz educators in the United States. On September 26, 2008, Sample was inducted into the Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame for his contributions to jazz education.
Everette Harp is an American jazz saxophonist who has recorded for Blue Note, Capitol and Shanachie Records. His album Jazz Funk Soul, a collaboration with Chuck Loeb and Jeff Lorber, received his first nomination for a Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Instrumental Album at 57th Annual Grammy Awards.
The Herbie Hancock Institute of Jazz is a non-profit music education organization founded in 1986. Before 2019, it was known as the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz, but was then renamed after its longtime board chairman, Herbie Hancock.
Marilyn Scott is an American jazz vocalist.
Aleksandra Milošević Hagadone, better known as Slađana Milošević, was a Serbian and Yugoslav singer, songwriter, record producer, and author.
Celso Duarte is a virtuoso of Paraguayan harp and Mexican jarocho harp, arranger, singer, and multi-talented instrumentalist. Duarte has performed and recorded with Lila Downs since 1998 and has also accompanied and collaborated with other artists, including Susana Baca, Celso Piña, Plácido Domingo, Mariza, Ramón Vargas, Julieta Venegas, Wynton Marsalis, The Chieftains and Ry Cooder. As a solo artist, he has performed with his band at Carnegie Hall, Kennedy Center, Joe's Pub and other historic venues. His first solo album, "De Sur a Sur ", was released in 2006.
Brandee Younger is an American harpist. Younger infuses classical, jazz, soul, and funk influences to the harp tradition pioneered by her predecessors and idols Dorothy Ashby and Alice Coltrane. Younger leads her own ensemble, performs as a soloist and has worked as a sideman for such musicians as Pharoah Sanders, Jack DeJohnette, Charlie Haden, Bill Lee and Reggie Workman, and other popular artists including Lauryn Hill, John Legend, Common, Ryan Leslie, Drake, Maxwell, The Roots, Moses Sumney and Salaam Remi. Younger is noted for her work with saxophonist Ravi Coltrane, who was featured on her 2019 release, Soul Awakening. She recorded and toured with drummer and producer Makaya McCraven following the release of his 2018 album Universal Beings.
Windham Hill Records was an independent record label that specialized in instrumental acoustic music. It was founded by guitarist William Ackerman and Anne Robinson in 1976 and was popular in the 1980s and 1990s.
Radha Renee Reyes-Botofasina is an Afro-Cuban American harpist, pianist and vocalist from Brooklyn, N.Y.
Susan Allen was an American harpist and music educator. She was particularly known for her world premieres of music for both the classical and electric harp by contemporary composers. She performed in a variety genres—classical, experimental music, jazz, and world music. For many years Allen was also Associate Dean of the Herb Alpert School of Music at California Institute of the Arts.
Mildred Dilling was an American harpist. She studied under Henriette Renié in Paris. She first started performing in 1911, and traveled over 30,000 miles (48,000 km) per year at her busiest. She performed with many notable vocalists, had her own weekly NBC radio show, and appeared on the Bing Crosby radio show. She toured Europe and Asia multiple times, and often performed internationally. She enthusiastically championed the harp and gave many celebrities their first harp lesson, including Harpo Marx. In 1962 she helped found the American Harp Society. She devised a lever system for a non-pedal harp that made it more portable than a pedal harp but which allowed flexibility in harp tuning. Her extensive harp collection is held partially by Indiana University, and harp students still use two of her harp music compilations.
Stephanie Haynes was an American jazz singer, renowned for her beautiful voice and her extensive jazz, pop and American songbook repertoire of over 400 tunes. She has been called one of the world's most underrated jazz singers.
| Authority control databases: Artists |
|---|
