Dana Reason Trio

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Primary Instrument: Piano

Born in Canada, Reason began lessons on the piano at the age of 3 . Reason continued to compose throughout her primary school years, earning by age 15 an Associate Degree in Performance from the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto.[1]

Reason started her secondary studies at Barrie Central Collegiate Institute where she played the trombone. But, after hearing her play the piano, she was encouraged by a substitute band teacher to apply at the Interlochen Arts Academy in Michigan. Reason auditioned and was awarded a scholarship that allowed her to finish secondary school at the academy. It was during this time that she became interested in contemporary music composition, jazz and free jazz.[2]

After graduating from Interlochen at the age of 17, Reason met with pianist Boaz Sharon from the University of Florida. Sharon flew out to Toronto to audition her, and awarded Reason a scholarship to study classical piano at the university.[3] During her time at the university, Reason sent an audition tape to the Juilliard School, and she was invited to start lessons that summer.[4] Reason had wanted to attend Juilliard, but instead obtained a Bachelor of Music at McGill.[5] [edit] Mills College

After earning her degree at McGill, Reason attended Mills College in Oakland, CA to study composition. Her main teachers were Pauline Oliveros and Alvin Curran.[6] Studying piano with Julie Steinberg,[7] she also had classes with Christian Wolff, Cecil Taylor, Frederic Rzewski, and Glenn Spearman before completing her Master of Arts in Composition.[8] [edit] University of California, San Diego

Reason met George E. Lewis in the early 1990s at a festival in Tallahassee that featured his music. Lewis encouraged her to apply to the University of California, San Diego for a Ph.D. In the spring of 1999 Reason organized a two-day symposium on improvisation to complement this research, entitled “Improvising Across Borders.” This event included more than a hundred participants, with 24 papers presented in concurrent sessions.[9] [edit] Collaborations

Reason both performed with other musicians and composers during her time at UCSD, including Lisle Ellis, and Philip Gelb[10]. From 1998 until 2003 Reason toured extensively as part of “The Space Between Trio” featuring Pauline Oliveros on the accordion and Philip Gelb on the shakuhachi.[11]

After giving several solo performances, Reason met bassist Dominic Duval and drummer John Heward at Montreal’s Suoni Per Il Popolo Festival in 2004, where they performed as a trio for the first time. Soon after, the trio recorded their first CD, “Revealed (Circumvention)”, as the Dana Reason Trio, but the CD was not released at that time.[12] In addition to her performances, she was commissioned by Rova Saxophone Quartet to write a composition entitled Transition in 2003, and to both improvise and interpret a 16-instrument score written by composer Sean Griffin for his project entitled “Snake River”, which was presented in the Disney Concert Hall Complex in Los Angeles in the fall of 2006.[13]

Reason was hired by Oregon State University’s Department of Music to teach and assist with several classes. Reason released her “Revealed” CD in the fall of 2009 and signed with Wild Rose Artists to record her new music.

Last Updated: January 16, 2010
Work of Art San Francisco Guardian ”Dana Reason plays the piano the way a gem-cutter ... ”Dana Reason plays the piano the way a gem-cutter approaches a precious stone. With breathless precision and a sure, meticulous touch, she taps away at raw material in which someone else might not see a work of art waiting to be born.” -Derk Richardson, San Francisco Guardian

Reason's trio unveils new possibilities East Bay Express ”Reason's trio unveils new possibilities of rhythm... ”Reason's trio unveils new possibilities of rhythm and tonality, burrowing deep into the process of music-making itself. She revels in the beauty of looking at music from skewed angles.” -Mark Athitakis, East Bay Express

* Revealed with Dominic Duval and John Heward, 2009 * The Space Between with Jöelle Léandre, 2003 * The Space Between with Matthew Sperry, 2003 * The Space Between with Barre Phillips, 2001 * Red Sauce Baby (as guest pianist), 2000 * The Space Between with Jon Raskin, 1999 * Musicworks 74 (The Space Between Trio), 1999 * Border Crossings, 1997 * Children in Peril (as guest pianist), 1997 * Primal Identity, 1996 * Purple Wind (as guest pianist), 1996 * Da-Ro Re-Mix-Desire, 1994 * Hard into the Night- Remix, 1994 * Ya-Ya Re-Mix Mitsou, 1994 * Deep Into Your Soul. Remix of Fan.cie, 1994

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Featured recording “Revealed”
Revealed
Circumvention Music (2009)

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