Jeremy Siskind
Jeremy Siskind (born October 14, 1986) is an American pianist, composer, and educator known for his innovative blending of jazz and classical music. Early life. Siskind was raised in Irvine, California and began playing piano at age four. His brother, who publishes under the name "Scott Alexander", is the author of the blog "Slate Star Codex". Jeremy was trained in the Yamaha Music Education System, and quickly distinguished himself in their Junior Original Concert program, where he was twice selected to be the United States representative to Japan. Siskind studied jazz piano with Linda Martinez and Tamir Hendelman . Siskind earned degrees in Jazz Performance and Music Theory at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York, where he studied with Tony Caramia, Bill Dobbins, and Harold Danko. In 2006, Siskind was noticed by jazz legend Marian McPartland, who invited him to record an episode of "Piano Jazz" on NPR. Siskind began participating in piano competitions while at Eastman, and was a three-time finalist for the Kathleen T. and Philip B. Phillips, M.D. Jazz Piano Competition. He was also a finalist for the American Pianists Association’s Cole Porter Fellowship in Jazz in 2007 and 2011, but  ultimately lost to Dan Tepfer and Aaron Diehl, respectively. Siskind won second prize at the Montreux Solo Jazz Piano Competition in Switzerland in 2011, and won first prize in the Nottingham International Solo Piano Competition in 2013. Upon graduating Eastman in 2008, Siskind moved to New York City to pursue a degree in English and Comparative Literature at Columbia University. While at Columbia, Siskind began studies with Fred Hersch and Sophia Rosoff. While in New York, Siskind recorded his debut record, "Simple Songs (for When the World Seems Strange)", featuring bassist Chris Lightcap, drummer , and vocalist Jo Lawry. Career and  style. A hallmark of Siskind's career is the combination of classical and jazz. In his debut recital at Carnegie Hall’s Weill Hall in 2012, he performed Debussy’s Etudes in the first half of the program and jazz compositions in the second half. His project with Andrew Rathbun, released as "Impressions of Debussy" in 2020, features the jazz duo improvising on Debussy's piano preludes. Siskind's "Perpetual Motion Etudes" was also released in 2020, as both a self-published book and CD from the Outside In Music label, combining through-composed material with jazz improvisation." Siskind's  scheduled premieres of these works, featuring two-piano duos with Grammy-winning pianist Angelin Chang, were cancelled as a repercussion of the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, he instead took to Instagram Live, performing ballads from his home. Siskind also combines classical and jazz influences with the Housewarming Project, his chamber jazz group featuring vocalist Nancy Harms and playing saxophone, clarinet, and bass clarinet. The Housewarming Project recorded two albums and performed well over 100 house concerts in over 25 states. Their repertoire features Siskind's lyric writing, which draws information from poetry and prose he read while studying at  Columbia. Siskind was named a Yamaha Artist in 2014. Collaborative work. Siskind has been a frequent collaborator with soprano Julia Bullock, writing multiple sets of arrangements, including a cycle of the music of Josephine Baker. He has also served as music director for comedians Lea DeLaria and Sandra Bernhard. Teaching. Siskind is a well-regarded pedagogue and active educator. As a collegiate professor, he has taught at Eastman (while still a student in 2006), Western Michigan University (2012-2017), and Fullerton College in California (2017–present day). Siskind served as the founding Artistic Director of the American Jazz Pianist Competition  from 2014 to 2016. As an author and composer, Siskind has published extensively with Hal Leonard, including instructional books "Jazz Band Pianist" and "First Lessons in Piano Improv". He is also a frequent presenter at piano conferences such as the Music Teachers National Association and the National Conference for Keyboard Pedagogy, where he serves as the Chair of the Creative Track. Siskind actively teaches creativity, improvisation, and jazz with Yamaha Music Education and Jazz Education Abroad, who organizes masterclasses in places like China, Thailand, Cyprus, and Lebanon. Siskind is the teacher of prodigy Justin-Lee Schultz since 2016. The two  began lessons when they were both living in Kalamazoo, Michigan.