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EVER SINCE HE STARTED making up songs at the age of five, Paul has led the musical life. He's performed in thousands of concerts with his band Trapezoid and now with his new group, Paul Reisler & A Thousand Questions featuring Howard Levy, Joe Craven and Amy Speace. He's written thousands of songs and instrumentals. And he's inspired thousands of adults and children's to live the musical life though his songcamps and his Kid Pan Alley project. His recent projects include his Aesop's Fables for Orchestra and Narrator and a new Kid Pan Alley musical that is in development.
Upcoming Events:
2012 SONGWRITING WORKSHOPS!
Due to Paul's intense Kid Pan Alley schedule throughout the year, Paul has cut back on his summer songwriting teaching for adults to focus on writing a new musical. He will be only be teaching two major workshops this summer along with a couple of one-day events. As Rocky Mountain sold out around Christmas time, the only opportunity to study with him this summer will be his 8-day intensive workshop in the South of France. What could be better?
August 12-16 Rocky Mountain Song School: The 2012 Song School has SOLD OUT. Paul will be teaching along with Mary Gauthier, Darrell Scott, Peter Himmelman, Pat Pattison, Steve Seskin and others.
September 1-8 • LIVING THE MUSICAL LIFE • Auvillar, France Paul's most intensive workshop held in a beautiful village of Auvillar in the South of France. It's a small and intimate workshop that will have lots of time for individual attention. To Register • For even more information
AUVILLAR WORKSHOP PRESS RELEASE: ENGLISH | FRENCH
BACKGROUND / BIO PDF | AUVILLAR WORKSHOP FLYER
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Kid Pan Alley Events:
March 22 • Concert • Virginia Museum of Fine Arts - Richmond, VA
April 1-5 • Garfield ES • Springfield, VA
April 8-12 • Forestdale ES • Springfield, VA
April 15-19 • Forestdale ES • Springfield, VA
May 4 • Kid Pan Alley Band concert • Lee HS • Springfield
May 11 • Kid Pan Alley w/ Manassas Symphony • Hylton Center • Manassas, VA
April 28 • Paul Reisler & Heather Mae in a concert of original music • Flint Hill, VA/span>
May 7 • Paul Reisler & A Thousand Questions featuring Howard Levy and Amy Speace • Gateway Theatre • Waynesboro, VA
May 8 • Paul Reisler & A Thousand Questions featuring Howard Levy and Amy Speace • State Theatre • Culpeper, VA
FABLES: FIVE AESOP'S FABLES FOR ORCHESTRA AND NARRATOR
Aesop was one of the greatest storytellers of all-time. His fables have been entertaining and teaching people all over the world for over 2,500 years. After all that time, his stories have finally been turned into a 25-minute orchestra piece. Fables: Five Aesop's Fables for Orchestra and Narrator, composed by Art Wheeler and Paul Reisler, had its world premieres with performances in January at Charlottesville’s Martin Luther King Performing Arts Center and Maestro Lorin Maazel's Theatre House in Castleton, VA. Tom Paxton and Paul wrote the libretto.
The performances featured Ted Pugh and Jamie Bernstein, daughter of Maestro Leonard Bernstein, as the narrators. Sergei Prokofiev’s masterpiece Peter and the Wolf rounded out the program. There are a number of other orchestras interested in performing the work in the fall. Stay tuned. (more info)
Paul Reisler and A Thousand Questions
Paul's band featuring Howard Levy (Flectones), Angela Kaset, and Amy Speace has a new album of Paul's songs and instrumentals—At Night the Roses Tango. They are joined by Ysaye Barnwell (Sweet Honey in the Rock), Viktor Krauss (Lyle Lovett), John Gardner (Dixie Chicks), Kenny Malone, Fred Bogert (Trout Fishing in America) and Joe Smyth (Sawyer Brown). (more)
Trapezoid
The Washington Post called them "the finest folk group in America." Stereo Review said, "they are a reason to believe there is still real music on this continent." Trapezoid was one of America’s most popular and influential acoustic bands for over 25 years. Paul Reisler was the co-founder and leader of the band throughout that time.
In 2002, the most popular configuration of the band got back together—the 80's version with Reisler, Lorraine Duisit and Freyda Epstein.
When Long Time Down this Road was released, Sing Out Magazine said, "This retrospective CD of Trapezoid's musical travels represents the broad swath cut by this influential group—the musical innovation from one of our most creative ensembles." Their long journey down the twisting musical road ended with the tragic death of Freyda Epstein in 2004.