Bringing Classical Back

Solo piano recital by Haley Myles featuring the works of Chicago-based composers John Griffin and Nicholas E. Ballen (including premiere of new works).

Biographies:

As a Steinway Artist, Haley Myles maintains an international performance schedule. Her appearances to-date include recitals in the United States, France, Germany, Austria, Portugal, Italy, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. She has participated extensively in various high-profile international music festivals, both domestic and foreign. She is also a laureate of seven international competitions and has appeared on radio shows throughout Europe and America.

Haley holds diplomas and degrees from distinguished institutions including the Mozarteum (Austria), Imola Piano Academy (Italy), and the Trinity Laban Conservatoire (UK). Previous teachers include Paul Badura-Skdoa and Andrei Gavrilov. She has also had lessons from Cyprien Katsaris, Enrico Pace, Olli Mustonen, Boris Petrushansky, and László Gyimesi, amongst others.

In addition to performing core repertoire, Haley regularly collaborates with contemporary composers. She has worked with over 50 composers to-date, proof playing, recording, and performing their works. Her YouTube channel boasts over 100 recordings resulting from these collaborations.

Nick Ballen is an American composer based in Chicago. Born and raised in Washington, D.C., he earned his undergraduate degree in international studies from Middlebury College in Vermont and his J.D. from the University of Illinois College of Law at Champaign-Urbana. A lifelong fan of classical music, among many other genres and styles, and an erstwhile student of the piano in his youth, Nick is largely self-taught as a composer. He began composing as a hobby and creative outlet while not otherwise engaged in his day job as an attorney.

Nick especially enjoys writing in the classical style, which also happens to be his favorite period for playing and listening alike, and is heavily inspired by Mozart, Hadyn, and Beethoven.

Growing up, John Griffin idolized Beethoven symphonies, Star Wars movies, and Disney Cartoons in equal measure. So he went to film school with a minor in music composition hoping that filmmaking would be the path to using all of his talents. Instead, it led to a lengthy career as a TV Animation Director which didn’t allow much time for music.
But that was then…
In 2017 John began composing again with intensity and renewed skill. The result has been 4 full piano sonatas, 2 Violin Sonatas, a Cello Sonata, 2 Clarinet Sonatas, A Flute Sonata, a String Quartet, and a set of 5 bagatelles for piano (plus a few misc. works).
John has labelled his musical style as “RetroClassical” – a mix of 19th century musical forms with a cinematic sense of drama.