...to compel in me, a resolute ambition to create piano music which reflects my nature, my love for the piano and my commitment to that which inspires me.
Purchase Tracks
Throughout my adult life I have always appreciated music written expressly for the piano. I began to study the piano when I was sixteen. The piano nurtured in me both a love for music itself and the art/craft of composition. I compare artful piano music with artful string quartet music. Both require from the composer his or her best efforts. Both require intimacy and an endless proficiency of craft. What is of particular interest to me, with regards to the character in piano music, is pervasive melody, a distinct metrical/harmonic appeal and a lyrical, expressive/percussive dichotomy. I do not intend to dissuade my interest in the piano as a vehicle for the expression of contemporary classical art music. These days, it would seem impractical and inopportune to express one’s aesthetic ideologies in relic forms such as fantasy prelude and the sonata. Nevertheless, “anything goes” in 2. fantasy. There are no promises made concerning form or content. Preludes are short, sweet and savory. The responsibility of writing a skillful sonata is more painstaking than it would appear. This collection of fantasies, preludes and sonatas comprised in Piano Music is not intended to perpetuate either a traditional or unorthodox approach, but to compel in me, a resolute ambition to create piano music which reflects my nature, my love for the piano and my commitment to that which inspires me.
Listen to any track with this symbol by clicking on it – 
Purchase Tracks
| # | Title | Play | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Fantasy for Piano #1" (3' 39") | | |
| 2 | "Fantasy for Piano #2" (7' 16") | | |
| 3 | "Piano Sonata #1" (12' 37") | | |
| 4 | "Piano Sonata #2" (14' 13") | | |
| 5 | "Nine Preludes Book #1" (17' 59") | | |
| 6 | "Nine Preludes Book #2" (17' 39") | | |
Sandy Holder
Sandy Holder was raised in Louisville, Kentucky where she studied piano and voice at the Youth Performing Arts High School. She began her career as a freelance pianist at the age of 14 and was awarded a scholarship from the University of Kentucky to study with David Doran. She received a Bachelor’s of Music degree from the Oberlin Conservatory of Music where she studied with Russian pianist Lidia Frumkin. Ms. Holder moved to Eugene, Oregon in 1989 and completed a Masters of Music degree at the University of Oregon where she studied with pianist and composer Victor Steinhardt. She has worked with the Eugene Symphony, the Eugene Opera, the Oregon Symphony, the Van Ummersen Dance Company, Eugene Children’s Choir and the Oregon Festival of American Music. Ms. Holder has performed in numerous recitals, in the Eugene area, at the University of Oregon School of Music and Lane Community College. Ms. Holder is an avid supporter of new music and has performed in the Music Today Festival of Eugene, conferences of the American Musicological Society, the College Music Society, the Millennial Marathon Concert and the Seventh Species Concert Scries. She was involved in the premiere of Robert Kyr’s Symphony No. 9 “The Spirit of Time” performed by the Eugene Symphony Orchestra. Ms. Holder has premiered and/or made professional recordings of works by many Oregon composers including Andrew Sauerwein, Mark Vigil, Rob Hutchinson, David York, Matt Svoboda and Bernard Scherr. Ms. Holder continues to live in Eugene as a piano instructor, a freelance pianist and an award-winning folk singer/songwriter.