Stanton Lanier

Genre: Acoustic
Marietta, Georgia USA Contact

Stanton Lanier brings "peace and rest in a hurried world" through recordings and a unique concert experience featuring signature piano, captivating visuals, inspiring stories and audience interaction. Windham Hill Records Founder Will Ackerman has produced four of his seven award winning albums.

Artist Information

Biography

From his 2011 Best Neo-Classical Album nomination (ZMR Music Awards) and 2011 Notable Sacred Music selection (Christianity Today) for "A Thousand Years," to his 2009 Best Holiday Album "December Peace" (ZMR Music Awards, winning over Enya and Yo-Yo Ma), the words "calming, soothing, and uplifting" have become a universal description by a global listening audience. His mission to offer "peace and rest in a hurried world" is accomplished through instrumental piano, exquisite visuals and captivating stories from his life and music. Some of Stanton's favorite concert moments are when he interacts with the audience, demonstrating how he composes, and involving them in the creation of a new melody right before their eyes (and ears).

Stanton's unlikely beginnings as a chemist and then a financial planner beg for a fuller understanding of how he came to create seven albums, with four produced by Windham Hill Records Founder William Ackerman. He began piano lessons at age six growing up in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. He wanted to quit piano in middle school because of basketball, but his parents didn't let him. Stanton wrote his first song at age fourteen in Milton, Florida and continued to play and write songs while completing a chemistry degree at Georgia Tech and an MBA at the University of Georgia. Five years into seemingly successful consulting and sales jobs, "career surrender" is the self-described state that found the thirty-year old artist in 1994 struggling to find his purpose.

While still working as a financial planner, Stanton's first three self-produced recordings gave rise to a deeper and more urgent calling to completely let go of the practical direction his career was taking. "Walk in the Light," "Still Waters" and "Draw Near" were produced between 2000 and 2004 using his keyboard and computer. In 2003 two tracks from Still Waters were played on The Weather Channel's Local on the 8s, leading to CD orders from thirty states and listener testimonies from homes, businesses and hospitals across the U.S.

In 2004 Stanton sent an email to the legendary Will Ackerman, Grammy® Award winning guitarist and Founder of Windham Hill Records, asking him if he would produce his 4th album. Will accepted and brought Stanton to the George Lucas Skywalker Sound Studio in California to record The Voice. This special friendship and professional relationship between two great artists has spanned seven years and four albums. Ackerman says, "Stanton is among the finest pianists and composers on the contemporary scene . . . his original compositions and brilliant arrangements are filled with soaring inspiration and remarkable peace . . . they add beauty and peace to a world deeply in need of it."

Unveiled was released in 2008, and the music reach expanded across radio, television and the internet, including Music Choice's "Soundscapes" cable channel, Sirius-XM Radio's "Spa" channel, Les Mills BodyBalance workout DVDs, Lifetime TV's highest rated show Army Wives, NPR, Delilah and Solo Piano Radio. December Peace (2009), a signature collection of traditional and original melodies, is described by leading instrumental reviewer Bill Binkelman as "easily considered the long-hoped for sequel to George Winston’s now undeniable classic December."

Will Ackerman's words are the perfect description for A Thousand Years (2011). "In his newest recording, Stanton has gracefully and brilliantly combined his composition with references to J.S. Bach, Chopin, Mozart and Pachelbel and a host of well known hymns including Amazing Grace, Holy, Holy, Holy and the Doxolgy among others. Somehow these different worlds and different times meld beautifully in Stanton's heart and hands to create something which is at once new and yet filled with a sense of tradition and ageless import. It is Stanton's most ambitious recording to date and he has achieved all he set out to do. He has now generated a catalogue of heartfelt music which offers peace to a world deeply in need of help."

Stanton founded Music to Light the World 501(c)(3) in 2004, with a vision to offer peace, rest, hope and healing. Get Music Give Hope? is a program where for every album purchased, one album is donated to a cancer center or hospital (over 20,000 CDs have been donated since November 2009). Stanton lives in Atlanta with his wife and two children, and enjoys sports and cooking. One of his favorite quotes is "Don’t ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive, and go do that, because what the world needs is people who have come alive" (Wild at Heart by John Eldredge).

Instrumentation

Stanton Lanier - grand piano

Discography

A Thousand Years (2011) - CD and Piano Book
December Peace (2009) - CD and Piano Book
Unveiled (2008) - CD, Live Concert DVD and Piano Book
The Voice (2005) - CD and Piano Book
Draw Near (2004) - CD and Piano Book
Still Waters (2002) - CD and Piano Book
Walk in the Light (2001) - CD and Piano Book

Music airplay on XM Radio "Spa," Music Choice "Soundscapes," Pandora, Lifetime TV's "Army Wives," The Weather Channel, Delilah, Solo Piano Radio, and many other sources.

Official Website

http://www.stantonlanier.com

Links

Audio

Video

Stanton Lanier Promo Video (3 min)

Photo Gallery

Press

  • Soaring Inspiration, Remarkable Peace [+ Show ]

    "Stanton's music is filled with both soaring inspiration and a sense of remarkable peace. His four r...

  • Transported Our Audience [+ Show ]

    "Stanton Lanier's music, visuals and narrative transported our audience to a world where peace preva...

  • Perfect Start to the Holiday Season [+ Show ]

    “Stanton Lanier’s December Peace concert was the perfect start to the holiday season. The audience w...

  • Flawless (A Thousand Years - 2011 Top Ten Albums) [+ Show ]

    "It appears that pianist Stanton Lanier has done it again. I was quite taken with his previous album...

  • Class Act (December Peace - 2009 Best Holiday Album) [+ Show ]

    "The class act of this year’s crop of holiday music recordings is certainly December Peace. From its...

  • A Winning Combination [+ Show ]

    "Listening to a Stanton Lanier performance, you will be powerfully moved by the way in which his pia...

  • 2011 Notable Sacred Music Selection [+ Show ]

    "The Atlanta-based pianist and composer Stanton Lanier learned the power of music after leaving the ...

Setlist

Stanton typically performs listener favorites from his seven albums (8-9 selections for a 1 hour concert, 12-15 selections for a 2 hour concert with intermission). His unique concerts blend signature melodies, captivating visuals, inspiring stories and audience interaction to entertain all ages.

In 2012-2013 he is offering his "A Thousand Years Tour" titled after his 2011 Best Neo-Classical Album Nominee. He features his "December Peace" concert during November and December with music from this 2009 Best Holiday Album Winner.

Basic Requirements

PDF Rider

Stanton Lanier Tech Rider

Calendar

DateTimeVenueCity
Jun 13, 2013 Thursday 7:00 PM 315 Project Special Event - ROAM at Perimeter Dunwoody, GA, US
Jun 18, 2013 Tuesday 7:00 PM Private House Concert - RSVP Required Marietta, GA, US
Jul 22, 2013 Monday TBA Recording Guest Artists for New 2013 Album VT, US
Jul 23, 2013 Tuesday TBA Recording Guest Artists for New 2013 Album VT, US
Jul 24, 2013 Wednesday 12:00 PM Live Conference Call from the Studio VT, US
Jul 25, 2013 Thursday TBA Recording Guest Artists for New 2013 Album VT, US
Jul 26, 2013 Friday TBA Mixing New 2013 Album VT, US
Aug 16, 2013 Friday 7:00 PM Community Bible Church Concert San Antonio, TX, US
Aug 17, 2013 Saturday 3:00 PM Whisperings Solo Piano Concert Event Austin, TX, US
Aug 18, 2013 Sunday TBA Texas Church Morning Worship and Evening Concert - Details Soon TX, US
Sep 8, 2013 Sunday 4:00 PM Murray Performing Arts Center - "Open Spaces" CD Release Concert Atlanta, GA, US
Sep 11, 2013 Wednesday TBA AACC Conference - Private Event Nashville, TN, US
Sep 12, 2013 Thursday TBA AACC Conference - Private Event Nashville, TN, US
Sep 13, 2013 Friday TBA AACC Conference - Private Event Nashville, TN, US
Sep 14, 2013 Saturday TBA AACC Conference - Private Event Nashville, TN, US
Sep 23, 2013 Monday TBA PAE Conference - Private Event Nashville, TN, US
Sep 24, 2013 Tuesday TBA PAE Conference - Private Event Nashville, TN, US
Sep 25, 2013 Wednesday TBA PAE Conference - Private Event Nashville, TN, US
Sep 26, 2013 Thursday TBA PAE Conference - Private Event Nashville, TN, US
Oct 21, 2013 Monday TBA OAPN Conference - Private Event Newark, OH, US
Oct 22, 2013 Tuesday TBA OAPN Conference - Private Event Newark, OH, US
Oct 23, 2013 Wednesday TBA OAPN Conference - Private Event Newark, OH, US
Nov 1, 2013 Friday TBA November-December "December Peace" Concert Season Now Booking To Be Announced, US