Music
Press
Thursday, January 28, 2010
A wrist injury turned a performance career on it's head for former IU Concerto Competition winner Elizabeth Eckert. Her path as a pianist began at age 2 and led all the way to Carnegie Hall. After extensive surgery, whe started pouring out words and songs as an emotional outlet. Now after much hard work and recovery, she's emerging as a recording artist. Eckert sings "Bloomington (I Got Educated)," on her new classical / pop EP from Slugfest Records Nashville. - Bloomington Herald-Times
Headline and 2 page article....
Elizabeth Eckert had her fingers glued to the keys of a piano from age two. On track to become a classical pianist, she was on her way to realizing her dream until her junior year of college, when the keys were ripped from beneath her hands.
To read the entire piece go to:
http://www.idsnews.com/news/story.aspx?id=73202&search=elizabeth%20eckert§ion=search - Indiana Daily Student News
"Lovely Lady [Elizabeth] Eckert brings her sometimes soul-infused pop to the table... this singer/songwriter obviously has had no trouble establishing her indie cred, it won't be long before the majors come calling (if they haven't already)" TIN PAN SOUTH SONGWRITERS FESTIVAL - Music Row
Classical Virtuoso Returns to DC Singing a Different Tune
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - June 30 (Slugfest Records) - Just 10 years ago, Alexandria native Elizabeth Eckert was a serious student at DC's Levine School of Music. "My first love was classical music" said Eckert, who spent hours upon end in the practice room. "I never wanted to do anything else."
In fact, her talent and discipline garnered Eckert much success in the classical community. Once she became a scholarship student at the prestigious Indiana University School of Music, Eckert's performances came to include The Kennedy Center, The Smithsonian, and New York City's Carnegie Hall.
But a tragic wrist injury altered Eckert's course. "Toward the end of my time at IU, I started having a lot of wrist pain" she recalled. "It turned out that a minor fracture at age 13 had grown back incorrectly. I had to have serious surgery on my left arm, and my hopes of a classical piano career were gone."
However, Eckert's musical nature could not be contained. "I started writing songs as a way to ease the pain... it was kind of like therapy for me" she remembered. Within a few months of graduating, Eckert moved to Nashville to become a songwriter. "I felt like I had a chance to start over."
And start over she did. Within a few years, Eckert received serious attention in the Nashville scene and signed a record deal with Slugfest Records Nashville. She will record this fall and be released to the pop market soon thereafter. She is currently performing on the Second Hand Summer Tour with fellow Nashville artist Chris Keegan.
The tour stops in DC on Sunday, July 12 when the two will perform at Busboys and Poets @ 5th and K (8pm $10). Eckert's sound is a mix of virtuosity and pop - for fans of Norah Jones, Sara Bareilles. Keegan will perform songs from his Nashville debut Pinehurst - an ambitious collection of unique and personal songs that are undeniably catchy. His sound reminds us of Death Cab, Coldplay, Matt Pond PA.
In addition to solo sets, DC audiences will have a rare chance to hear the artists perform live as a duo - a treat not to be missed.
- Washington DC City Pages
Discography
Eckerts debut EP "Bloomington" for Slugfest Records Nashville. Release date: March 24, 2010 Available at CD Baby, itunes & at www.elizabetheckert.tv
Photos
Bio
Playful Child~
Ten years ago, Alexandria native Elizabeth Eckert was an honor student at The Levine School of Music in Washington, D.C. "My first love was classical music," says Eckert, "I never wanted to do anything else."Her parents, both professional musicians bought a grand piano the year she was born. They couldn't keep her off the bench, so at age two and a half they enrolled her in the Suzuki piano program. With her mother's guidance, she began practicing daily; by elementary school, she was composing piano pieces and placed at the state level in the "reflections" arts competition. By her teenage years, with the "tough love" of her teacher, Anna Balakerskaia, formerly a professor at the Moscow and Leningrad Conservatories, Elizabeth won virtually every competition at the Levine School. "More importantly" she adds, "These two women made me fall in love with piano and music even more."
Serious Student~
As a scholarship student at the prestigious Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, Eckert was on the fast track to a classical career. She won many honors including the IU Concerto Competition and most impressively, The ALEX award for the Performing Arts from the National Alliance for Excellence. Her performances came to include The Kennedy Center, The Smithsonian and the famed Carnegie Hall.
Elizabeth was practicing piano up to 7 hours a day as well as taking jazz improvisation courses with the legendary David Baker. "I listened to Kind of Blue for hours on end,"says Elizabeth "in addition to Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, and Nina Simone." She also took voice lessons, singing in both the classical choirs and the African American Choral Ensemble. It was all coming together for the gifted musician.
A Tragic Twist~
Then a wrist injury altered Eckert's course. She had to have extensive surgery on her left arm, and her hopes of a classical piano career were gone. "When I first hurt my wrist and couldn't play, I was devastated and depressed.", she remembers. "Having no emotional outlet as Iâd been accustomed to, I began writing in a journal and before I knew it, the words were rhyming.... lyrics were coming out." She sat down at the piano and plunked out some chords with her right hand alone - just enough to write melodies to go with the lyrics sheâd written. "Once I started writing songs I couldn't stop." After graduating cum laude she moved to Nashville to pursue songwriting.
The Artist Emerges~
She began playing writers nights and was soon booking co-writing sessions with prestigious songwriters like Marcus Hummon and Don Rollins (both Grammy Award Winners). After writing for the Nashville market for a few years Elizabeth began getting higher profile gigs including The Bluebird Cafe and the Tin Pan South Festival. "People were telling me that they loved my voice and style and that I should sing my own songs!" She did and it soon paid off.
In 2009 Elizabeth signed with SlugFest Records Nashville (ADA/Warner Music Group) then hit the road from Austin to New York City on her '2nd Hand Summer Tour'. The last few months she's been busy writing and recording her upcoming EP. The first single "Bloomington (I Got Educated)" will be released early spring 2010. Producer Greg Bieck describes Eckert's sound as a captivating blend of virtuosity and pop.
Words And Music~
"I'm a romantic and a sucker for songs about love - happy and sad. Anything emotional gets me going. Some of my favorite artist / writers over the years have been Patty Griffin, Stevie Wonder, Sarah McLachlan, Ray LaMontagne, Amos Lee, Regina Spektor, Norah Jones, Alicia Keys, Ben Folds, Coldplay, Damien Rice and Death Cab for Cutie."
As a piano instructor at Vanderbilt Universityâs Blair School of Music, Elizabeth passes on the lessons she was taught- that music is a part of life, that music makes the world a better place. "I have always believed that the love of music makes people better people."
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