Evan Pointner
Classical piano, popular piano, film music, composition, improvisation
Evan Pointner is a graduate from WLU’s music program where he studied classical & contemporary music, as well as psychology. As a student, he has worked with composer-performers John Kameel Farah, Glenn Buhr, Linda Catlin Smith, and Martin Arnold – learning from one-on-one lessons, and gaining creative capacity for playing piano, improvising, and composing music. In 2011, he started experimenting with sample-based electronic compositions & remixes, a habit that has recently re-emerged. In contrast to that creative area, he also has been drawn to singing and arranging songs. In 2013, he started working in bands, initially by facilitating two tribute concerts as an arranger & singer/pianist – Then, continued this creative practice in a more relaxed way with a smaller improv-based band (Acoustic Dirt) from 2014-15. He has also collaborated on various other projects on the stage and in the studio – as keyboardist, singer, percussionist, and producer.
Evan has been organizing & hosting small-scale events for over 5 years in Kitchener-Waterloo: acoustic house shows, group-improv workshops, and sound meditations. His ongoing music-making project Cedarwood Sounds is an intuitive channel for piano improvisation & other sounds, and an opportunity for mutual deep listening with a room full of people. Within this project, he has also done performances of songs & collaborations with other musicians. These experiences have taken place at soft-seat venues*, bars & cafes**, and living rooms – with musical influences ranging from jazz, folk, soul and rock… to ambient, experimental music, and sound walks.
As well as doing performances in spaces with an audience, he plays with other improvisers (musicians + dancers) in the local contact dance group Friends of the Floor, and facilitates sound meditations that can float between piano, ambient music, and group improvisation. These events have sometimes been in collaboration with a guest facilitator, involving things like crystal singing bowls, didgeridoo, and acoustic soul-songs. The common thread that ties these experiences together is the mindset of being in the improv-zone, working authentically from one’s own centre in each new moment, with openness and curiosity.