Liberte-Anne Lymberiou

Liberté-Anne Lymberiou is a composer, arranger, pianist, and vocalist from Montréal, Canada. She began her formal musical education there, studying classical piano and voice, as well as popular genres. She attended the three year program of Professional Song and Music Techniques at Vanier College, with a concentration in composition and arranging. In 2012, she moved to New York City and in 2015 obtained a Bachelor’s of Fine Arts in Vocal Jazz Performance from the City College of New York. However, she never limited herself to just one path. While at school, she pursued the study of classical voice with well established singer Janet Steele. Ms. Lymberiou studied with several jazz singers of varying styles (Sheila Jordan, Jay Clayton, Marianne Solivan, among others). She also studied composition and piano playing outside of school, seeking guidance from Arturo O’Farrill through private instruction and by auditing ensemble classes at the Brooklyn College. She also delved into playing latin percussion and continues to study classical technique with Alison Deane.

In 2013, she assembled a band of 17 musicians from throughout the city to play her music. This was the birth of The Liberté Big Band. At 24 years of age, she composes the bulk of the music and conducts the band from the piano. Some of the most up-and-coming young jazz musicians have played and continue to play in the band: Zack O’Farrill (drums), Adam O'Farrill, Josh Evans (trumpet), Livio Almeida (tenor saxophone), Corey Wallace, Nick Grinder (trombone). The band also includes well-established players on the jazz scene such as saxophonist Steve Carrington, percussionist Neil Clarke, and trombonist Ron Wilkins.

With the Liberté Big Band, Ms. Lymberiou has performed at important venues in NYC, such as the Iridium Jazz Club, the Zinc Bar, Williamsburg Music Center, and the Shrine World Music. In May 2016, he big band was featured on the Summer on the Hudson - Make Some Noise! Festival. Ms. Lymberiou has also performed in smaller group contexts, both as bandleader and accompanist (Noël Simoné Wippler, Kelly Fairoaks, etc.). Her compositions have been featured by other ensembles and performed in venues across the US, most recently in San Francisco by the Electric Squeezebox Orchestra. She has also been hired to arrange music for other bands and musicians (Eco-Music Big Band, Dave Chamberlain’s Band of Bones, Livio Almeida Dectet, Steve Carrington).

Coming from the traditions of Charles Mingus, Duke Ellington and Carla Bley, her compositions draw on free-improvisation, early 20th-century harmony and African percussion ensemble rhythms.

Groove and high energy are of the essence.

Awards

November 2015: 1st prize for her piece “Fists Up, Fight Back!” in the 9th edition of the Komeda Composer’s Competition (Poland). August 2015: honourable mention for her piece “Candy Coated” in the first edition of the Emerging Composers’ Competition - Jazz in the Neighborhood (San Francisco/Bay Area)