Canadian-born pianist, composer, and researcher Dana Reason. Reason is a composer and pianist who has performed widely in the U.S., Canada, and Europe. She can be heard on more than eleven CD recordings. Frau Musica Nova and Guelph Jazz Festival. She also performed at Banff Center For The Arts. Stanford University, San Francisco Jazz Festival. Spring Reverb. Seattle, Festival and many other venues. Reason performed in The Space Between Trio 2000s with Pauline Oliveros. She has performed alongside Joelle Leandre and Fred Frith as well as with Bert Turetzky and Alex Cline. Reason premiered her new piece, Oui/Yes/Non/No-Peut–Etre for solo piano in Prague, June 2013. It is the soundtrack to a new film by Cynthia Valdecadena (Bienve Films), and will be premiered at Poto Festival August 2013. Her newest trio album ANGLE OF VISION (2013) includes both her compositions and works by Billie Holiday (Bienve Films), Clara Schumann, Clara Schumann, Astor Piazzolla, Billie Holiday, Allison Johnson and Clara Schumann. The trio includes Glen Moore, bassist, and Peter Valamis, drummer with Reason playing the piano. 482 Music released the album. Oregon State University and Dr. Chris Chapman commissioned Reason in 2012 for CURRENTS. This is a wind ensemble composition. CURRENTS premiered at University of Reno in Winter 2012. Rova Saxophone Quartet and Jeffers-Carlson Duo were also commissioned. Meet The Composer Grant (NY) was another example. The Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada awarded her a grant for her research on Women Improvisers. “Perceptual Interiorities,” an inter-media theater piece, was co-created by Shelley Jordan, a visual artist, and Kevin Patton (guitar/computer musician). It was premiered at The Art Center (2012), Corvallis. Reason has a Bachelors of music from McGill University, a Masters of Composition from Mills College and a Ph.D. (Experimental Practices/Critical Studies) from the University of California San Diego. Her mentors include a brilliant array of musicians who specialize in 20-21st century music practices in composition/piano/improvisation or musicology and include the following outstanding musicians: George E. Lewis, Alvin Curran, Alcides Lanza, Pauline Oliveros, Aleck Karis, Anthony Davis, Muhal Richard Abrams, Julie Steinberg, Roscoe Mitchell, Frederic Rzewski, Louis-Phillippe Pelletier, Jon Rea, Natalie Pepin, Jann Pasler, Christian Wolff, Chaya Czernowin, Leslie Bassett and Boaz Sharon. Dana Reason is the current director of Popular Music Studies at Oregon State University, School of Arts.
