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Patrick Dennis Riley

Biography
Press

Patrick Riley is a professional piano/keyboard/percussion player with over 30 years of pro
experience in the Washington, DC area. His interests & activities include music
production/composition in a home studio using a computer, midi, synthesizers, & multi-track
recording software.
He is a past member of the American Federation of Musicians - locals 161, 770, & 389. His
music performance experience includes US army bandsman – club dates – steady location
work at hotels, restaurants, and piano soloist in the dining rooms and lounges on the Carnival
Cruiseline cruise ship Fantasy cruising from Florida to the Bahamas.
He has earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Music Education from Indiana State Teachers
College, Indiana, Pennsylvania, and a Master of Music degree in Music Composition from
The Catholic University of America, Washington, DC.
He has recently become a published poet.

Awards

Official Artist Channel Certification -YouTube

Award certification from Good Samaritan Society Kissimmee, Fl for volunteer work as a piano keyboard performer from Aug 2011 - Aug 2014 · 3 yrs

Played dinner music and jazz standards 2 to 3 times a month at Heritage Creekside dining room and Assisted Living dining room.

Gear

I play solo jazz standards appropriate for listening, dinner music, or dancing using my Korg pa900 keyboard (no vocals). The keyboard can be used with or without the onboard backing tracks. I can play a venue acoustic piano, if necessary.

Tags

Patrick Dennis Riley

Reviews of Compositions.

Patrick Riley, though an undiscovered compositional voice, has been a very active educator and performer of music throughout his career. Riley has composed many pieces, with a vast array of instrumentation and style. Riley has composed two complete symphonies and multiple other works for either full orchestra or string orchestra. He has also written choral works and many instrumental chamber works for a variety of ensemble sizes.

As a composer, Riley often attempts to incorporate elements of the styles he performed frequently, which include jazz, Latin, and rock. He is also interested in using computers, midi equipment, and synthesizers to create and record music.

Reviews of Compositions.

Patrick Riley, though an undiscovered compositional voice, has been a very active educator and performer of music throughout his career. Riley has composed many pieces, with a vast array of instrumentation and style. Riley has composed two complete symphonies and multiple other works for either full orchestra or string orchestra. He has also written choral works and many instrumental chamber works for a variety of ensemble sizes.

As a composer, Riley often attempts to incorporate elements of the styles he performed frequently, which include jazz, Latin, and rock. He is also interested in using computers, midi equipment, and synthesizers to create and record music.

Patrick Riley attempts to compose using a polystylistic approach, and his music certainly confirms the use of many different influences. Much of Riley’s music can show certain elements of expressionism, primitivism, minimalism, the use of electronics, and more. I would not try to claim that Patrick Riley is a composer of any given style, but rather that many different styles are present and equally used in his compositions.

Divergence for Orchestra and Pre-recorded Audio is one of Riley’s longest and largest scale pieces. It is a four-movement piece written for a full orchestra, with at least 3 percussionists as well as an electronic audio recording. Also within this piece are examples of primitivism. Rhythmically, there are a lot of patterns that are syncopated, accented, and go through different meter signatures, which are all common of primitivism.

Patrick Riley’s works are truly polystylistic and cannot be claimed by any single twentieth-century influence. Riley is constantly taking influence from sources such as contemporary music, jazz, and even from pre-classical period music. Though undiscovered, Riley’s compositions are vastly worthy of musical and intellectual analysis for his broad usage of style blending and sensitive musicality.