OUR FEATURED ARTIST IS: LOUIS ANTHONY DELISE
Louis Anthony deLise was born in Philadelphia and from age five grew up in rural Bucks County, Pennsylvania. He studied jazz drumming as a youngster and taught himself to play the piano by making up tunes and reading through fake books at the family spinet.
His formal studies in composition and orchestral percussion performance (he pursued a double major) began at Temple University in Philadelphia. While still in music school, deLise wrote for local television programs and achieved his first Billboard Magazine “Pick Hit.” After graduation, he split his time between Philly and New York where he took additional classes in composition at the Juilliard School. He returned to Temple University’s Boyer College of Music and Dance where he earned a Doctor of Musical Arts in composition.
Louis’ first album as featured artist, “Natural Light,” achieved a top-ten chart position on the Zone Music Reporter (ZMR) charts and was nominated as “Best Neoclassical Album” by the One World Music Awards in 2019. That same year, he was nominated as “Best New Artists” by ZMR. Natural Light included performances by Jeff Oster and Grammy-winner, Nancy Rumbel.
Also in 2019, deLise’s flute concerto, Salone del Astor, was named, “Best Newly Published Mixed Duet” by the National Flute Association. As a session and concert musician, LAd has performed with Tony Bennett, Bob Hope, Diana Ross, Mel Tormé, Cab Calloway, and Luciano Pavarotti among others.
A Gift of Moments – Louis’ 2nd album:
The title, “A Gift of Moments,” comes from something a friend wrote about her deceased husband. She described their too-short time together as, “a gift of moments.” (Time with someone you love is always “too short,” isn’t it?)
Louis says, “Since February 2020, (since I’ve been locked down at home with my patient and loving wife, Theresa), like the rest of us, I’ve been reminded each day of just how delicate life is. My friend’s comment about her lost love has gradually revealed itself as a worthy title for the collection of music I was creating during this time of lockdown. All of the pieces on A Gift of Moments are in some way about love: of a mate, of family, our way of life, and those beliefs we consider particular to us.
“The recordings on A Gift of Moments are personal to me: the music is from my heart. I performed and recorded most of it myself and wrote every note that others performed. The compositions are varied in style as they encompass musical gestures reflective of the many disparate musical traditions alive in my soul.
“With this unapologetically sensitive, perhaps even nostalgic, music of mine I intend to blur the arbitrary boundaries of genre classification, like classical or pop; ambient or orchestral. That’s all OK with me, too.”
New album releasing September 30, 2022:
New solo piano works performed by composer, Louis Anthony deLIse.
“I’ve wanted to make an album of solo piano pieces for a while now, but every time I’ve tried I would find myself adding instruments: a cello here, an oboe there, and always, always percussion! The impulse to add other parts is for me pretty predictable since I’ve worked as a professional arranger and orchestrator for a long time. Hearing stuff orchestrated is just what happens in my head! CLOSE ENOUGH TO PERFECT is my first piano-only album.”
The album releases September 30, 2022.
More about Louis:
Louis was arranger and conductor on Grammy®-winner Patti LaBelle’s number one hit album, The Gospel According to Patti LaBelle, and was co-producer, co-writer, and arranger/conductor for William DeVaughn’s second hit album, Figures Can’t Calculate. He has arranged for a variety of performers, including the Grammy-winning band, Halestorm, Bunny Sigler, Robert Hazard, and Grammy-winner, Peter Nero.
Additional songwriting and composing credits include albums and singles on the EMI, Vanguard, Def-Jam, Centaur, and CBS record labels. His arranging and conducting work appears on albums alongside performances by many of the country’s top pop artists including, Carlos Santana, Sheila E., Wynonna Judd, Kanye West, CeCe Winans, and Paul Shaffer.
Louis is the author of “The Professional Songwriter,” a textbook on the art, craft and business of songwriting.
Dr. deLise has served on the faculties of The Boyer College Music and Dance, Rowan University, and Pennsylvania State University.
LAd’s concert music compositions are available in print from ALRY Publications and Metropolis Music Publishing.
