Jace Vek

Jace Vek Composer, Virtuoso Pianist, Recording Artist There must be some divine intervention, some ethereal inspiration that opens a pathway for some to a special universe, a spiritual place where what they experience can not be described in words as we know them, but through the language of emotion and sensuality. How else could a man gaze into a night sky and express the immenseness and grandeur of what he sees and feels, not in words but in the language of his special universe. And for one brief moment, his listener is projected to this universe, this place where you can not think, you can not speak, you can not describe with words, but you where there, you felt the night sky, and you understood it. This is the language of Jace Vek and the language is his music. The son of a coal mining father and a loving homemaker mother from the coalfields of southwestern Pennsylvania. Jace discovered the piano at the age of four when his parents acquired an old upright by a church that moved away. This soon became the instrument of his inspiration. His talent provided the drive. In the beginning, Jace listened to the sounds of the keys for hours at a time experimenting and absorbing. Soon his parents secured him a piano teacher, and Jace was taught how to listen to music and proper piano technique. Most importantly his teacher quickly recognized the staggering potential of his musical ear, and she helped Jace unlock his natural ability. Soon he could play piano pieces with no written music in front of him, even after hearing the piece but once. At 21, Jace could play Beethoven, Mozart, and Chopin with the immense power of his musical ear alone. He was already an accomplished musician having played professionally since the age of 17. Though Jace was already composing music for piano, he wanted to compose for piano and orchestra, and to do that he had have complete grasp of music theory and orchestration. So he approached the head of the music department at West Virginia University School of Creative Arts to gain acceptance. Jace astonished the admission committee with his crisp technique and beautiful touch, and was instantly offered a full scholarship. Said the composition professor, "You work all of your life hoping to meet just one student with the genius you wish you were born with." Since leaving school, Jace has been winning the hearts of audiences wherever he performs. Jace has been invited to perform with Marvin Hamlisch, at Marvin's request.