About
Biography
I have been fortunate in my life to have had three overlapping but distinct careers in music. As a younger woman I enjoyed freelancing as a pianist and singer; performing chamber music, solo and duo recitals, coaching and doing some part-time college teaching. Later I took a full time position as music professor at Los Medanos Community College, where I headed the piano, theory and recital programs. Now, retired from teaching, I am turning my focus to composing, a long-neglected love.
My lifelong experience as a performer has given me a great respect for the discipline, imagination and dedication required to bring any piece of music to performance level. When I compose, the performers and the listeners are always close to my heart. Musical composition for me is an act of deep and honest communication. I sincerely desire that my muse will spark the muse of others.
Select Career Highlights
Bachelor in Music and Master’s degrees in piano performance from San Francisco State University
Composition seminars with David Conte and Cindy Cox
Member of Piano Duo “Bachmann and Kanouse” with Monroe Kanouse from 1979 to the late 1990s. The duo received critical acclaim as “first rate” and displaying “exceptional artistry” in The Sacramento Bee, for their performance on the Crocker Art Museum concert series.
Premiere commercial recording: Wild Swans: Music of Nancy Bachmann performed by clarinetist Diane Maltester and Friends, featuring Ann Moss (Projected Release: Winter 2022) featuring chamber compositions for clarinet, piano, woodwind ensemble, harp and voice
Pianist for many years with the Villa Piano Trio with David Whisnia, and the late Roy Oakley
2022 Guest Composer with Nevada County Composers Cooperative
Long time performance relationship with the San Francisco Villa Sinfonia Foundation Professional Chamber Ensembles
Musings on Music
“Chamber Music is a truly democratic art form. There is no autocratic conductor or soloist to dictate the expression; it must be worked out among the performers, each member unique and vital. The end product is always so much more than the sum of its parts. The world would be a better place with more chamber music!”
“Music is a pure and peculiar Word painted on the canvas of Time.”
“Music flows from the imagination of the composer, through the re-imagining of the performer to spark the imagination of the listener. All three persons of this trinity are required for music’s very existence.”
“Music flies through the air and is gone…. but never really gone… for it echoes in the mind’s ear of all who love it.”
