Allan G.

From his home base in New York City, Allan has been in and around the arts and arts education for most of the last thirty years.  His time has been equally divided among the New York music, dance, theater and architecture cultures as piano soloist (with the Dance Theater of Harlem, 1982-83); music director in Off-Broadway, Off-Off Broadway, cabaret and Broadway national touring productions (1980, 1981, 1993, 1994, 1996, 1997, 1999-2000, 2000, 2001, 2002); ballet, theater and film composer (1980, 1989, 1997, 2000, 2005); company pianist for professional dance troupes (1980-81, 1982-83); dance accompanist (1978-present); ballet conductor (2003-present); theatrical vocal coach (1978-2003); arranger and orchestrator (1980-present); and trained architect specializing in theaters and concert halls (1993-1996).

At all steps along the way, Allan has been a teacher, instructor, coach and mentor to dozens of musicians, dancers and actors at all stages of their careers.  He particularly enjoys teaching children about the joy, the wonder and the discipline of a life touched by the arts.  Currently, as Music Director at The Ballet School of Stamford in Connecticut, he works in collaboration with the dance faculty to teach children ages 7 and up about music and the role it plays in dance.

For the record, Allan holds a B.A. in Music from Carleton College, and a B.Sc. (Architecture) and B.Arch. from the City College of New York.  He has also been awarded the Thomas J. Watson Fellowship in Musical Composition and the Camargo Foundation Fellowship (France) as Artist-in-Residence.

He resides in Park Slope, Brooklyn, New York, where he loves and is loved back by his brilliant wife, violinist and architect Juliana Boehm, and his loving little boys, Oliver, 5, and Ravi, 2.

Allan teaches piano and other keyboard instruments (including digital keyboards and synthesizers), songwriting, composition, music theory, conducting, accompanying, arranging and orchestrating, and the basics of music for children and adults.  In addition, Allan has had a vocal coaching practice for musical actors and aspiring actors, featuring audition preparation, for many years.  He recommends children begin music study within a year or two of being able to hold a conversation, and learning to read music within a year of learning to read a written language.

Allan writes: "The all-important first step is to spend a session getting to know the student and the important adults in the student's life.  Once I have an understanding of what brought us together and where we want to go, I compose lessons that will guide us as comfortably as possible from skill to skill and level to level.  I am much more interested in sparking delight and creativity than in training the student to be a performing machine.  We can and will go anywhere in any style, even in any language.  My lessons are about the joy of learning."

Styles:Classical (Renaissance to present), Musical Theater, Jazz (1900-1975), World Music, Jewish music (klezmer).

music, piano, conducting, composing, arranging, orchestrating, vocal coaching