"He presents a distinct, assured musical voice which is not quite like anyone else I have heard"
Classical Music Daily
John A. Carollo was born in Torino, Italy and brought to the United States by his adoptive parents. When he was in grade school, he studied classical piano and sang in the church choir.
While attending college in San Diego CA, he studied music and psychology. During this time, Carollo took piano lessons and began composing his first piano works. He graduated from San Diego State University being granted a master’s degree in clinical psychology.
When Carollo moved to Honolulu and began a full-time mental health career for the State of Hawaii, he started private composition lessons with Dr. Robert Wehrman. His first composition under Bob’s tutelage was a piano suite in six parts. Following this effort, Wehrman encouraged Carollo to compose an atonal work in 1998 entitled Frenetic Unfoldings for Solo Violin. After completing this large work, the composer focused his energies on compositions incorporating various instrumentations including duets, trios, quartets, quintets, and orchestral works.
Carollo quit his public servant job to compose full-time in 2006. He also writes poetry and collects art, including the books, and ephemera of Edward Gorey, a lifetime hobby.
Albums
Orígenes
Release Date: November 3, 2023
Catalog Number: NV6570
Catalog Number: NV6570
21st Century
Solo Instrumental
Guitar
Composer-performer Giovanni Piacentini’s ORÍGENES is an exploration of the spirit of the Americas through the guitar. Spanish colonizers introduced string instruments like guitars and vihuelas when they arrived in America, which in turn gave rise to a series of indigenous instruments across the continent such as the Colombian tiple, the Mexican jarana, and the Panamanian mejoranera, to name a few. This blending of American and European cultures is at the heart of ORÍGENES. Drawing on the contributions of legendary guitar composers like Manuel M. Ponce, Heitor Villa-Lobos, and Astor Piazzolla, Piacentini’s ORÍGENES contributes a fresh perspective to this musical legacy.
Sustain Vol. 3
Release Date: September 23, 2022
Catalog Number: NV6466
Catalog Number: NV6466
21st Century
Solo Instrumental
Organ
Piano
Navona Records presents SUSTAIN VOL. 3, an exploration of the capabilities of piano and organ highlighting the varied compositional approaches of today's composers. Influenced by the classical canon and moving in new directions, the latest edition in the SUSTAIN series pays homage to the classical composers of yesterday, while thoughtfully expressing modern personalities and ideals in a dynamic presentation of new piano repertoire. From the suspenseful passages of Sydney Hodkinson’s Organmusic, to the turbulent times reflected in Bruce Babcock’s Alternative Facts, and Hayg Boyadjian’s delicate variations on Bach, SUSTAIN once again gives it all, and everything in between.
Inviting Worlds
Release Date: July 22, 2022
Catalog Number: NV6435
Catalog Number: NV6435
21st Century
Orchestral
Large Ensemble
From the mysterious magic of our darkest corners to the exuberant atmosphere of Carnaval, infinite possibilities lay within INVITING WORLDS from Navona Records. The musical dimensions of several composers are explored by the Janáček Philharmonic Ostrava, Zagreb Festival Orchestra, and the National Moravian-Silesian Theater Choir in this dynamic journey, offering insight into new realms through imaginative approaches to composition. Even in far away lands, close-to-home concepts are explored in thought-provoking soundscapes, showcasing the rhythmic dexterity and textural nuance of today’s orchestras across a wide breadth of compositional styles.
Pinnacle Vol. 2
Release Date: September 24, 2021
Catalog Number: NV6368
Catalog Number: NV6368
21st Century
Chamber
Solo Instrumental
Clarinet
Piano
String Quartet
Navona Records presents PINNACLE VOL. 2, a collection of contemporary chamber works by composers John A. Carollo, Edmund Cionek, Sarah Wallin Huff, Santiago Kodela, Adnan Marafi, Amintas Silva, Joseph T. Spaniola, and Kong-Yu Wong, that highlight the melodic, emotive, and dramatic styles offered by today’s chamber music. Throughout the album, the composers explore the cyclicity of life and nature.
Sustain Vol. 2
Release Date: April 23, 2021
Catalog Number: NV6345
Catalog Number: NV6345
21st Century
Chamber
Solo Instrumental
Piano
Piano Trio
Saxophone
Two years after the release of SUSTAIN comes the long-anticipated follow-up, SUSTAIN VOL. 2. This fresh collection of works centered around the piano includes a range of contemporary compositional styles: tonal, atonal, and everything in between. This volume features a new cast of composers and performers, with contributions by Sarah Wallin-Huff, Karen Tarlow, Chen-Hsin Su, Bill Sherrill, Jim Puckett, Ron Nagorcka, Gordon Monahan, Kenneth A. Kuhn, Santiago Kodela, John Craven, and John A. Carollo. The album’s varied soundscapes and arrangements—including solo piano, piano and saxophone, and piano and strings—constantly surprise and delight the ear. A fitting sequel to the first installment, SUSTAIN VOL. 2 is steeped in the dynamic complexity piano music offers.
Sparks Vol II
Release Date: March 12, 2021
Catalog Number: NV6337
Catalog Number: NV6337
21st Century
Orchestral
Orchestra
The album SPARKS VOL. 2 couldn't be more aptly named, as bows bend and sparks fly in this vibrant collection of pieces for string orchestra. Bound to please modernists and traditionalists alike, this eclectic collection contains pieces by Dave Dexter, William C. White, Simon Andrews, Rain Worthington, Allen Brings, John Carollo, John Franek, and Jeff Mangels.
Symphony No. 3
Release Date: October 11, 2019
Catalog Number: NV6250
Catalog Number: NV6250
21st Century
Orchestral
Orchestra
Quite surprisingly, Symphony No. 3 had humble beginnings. Back in the late 2000s, composer John A. Carollo connected on MySpace (!) with English soprano Sharon Selman, who was deeply involved in the preservation of trees and forests. She suggested that Carollo use the poetry of William Blake as a starting point to create a piece about nature. Carollo didn't think twice; and a song cycle named Awake Humanity to Nature’s Beauty! was composed, then reworked, resulting in two different instrumentations.
Sustain
Release Date: February 8, 2019
Catalog Number: NV6207
Catalog Number: NV6207
21st Century
Chamber
Solo Instrumental
Percussion
Piano
Within their varied appearances and sounds, the piano, vibraphone, and marimba make up a unique family. Nonetheless, key similarities bind them together, and SUSTAIN explores just that. The latest multi-composer release by Navona Records, SUSTAIN presents works for various keyboards that explore not only the abilities of each instrument, but the varied approaches from five different composers.
Music from the Ethereal Side of Paradise
Release Date: March 9, 2018
Catalog Number: NV6148
Catalog Number: NV6148
21st Century
Orchestral
Solo Instrumental
Flute
String Orchestra
Violin
John A. Carollo’s fourth PARMA release, and follow up to 2017’s THE TRANSFIGURATION of GIOVANNI BAUDINO, is a wondrous musical journey through the world of desire. With MUSIC FROM THE ETHEREAL SIDE OF PARADISE, Carollo makes an impassioned plea for the power of romance.
The Transfiguration of Giovanni Baudino
Release Date: August 1, 2017
Catalog Number: NV6109
Catalog Number: NV6109
21st Century
Orchestral
Orchestra
John A. Carollo’s newest release, THE TRANSFIGURATION OF GIOVANNI BAUDINO is a fascinating mixture of music written for different orchestral instrumentations and with wildly varying intended emotional responses. The composer himself may best define the intangible aspect of his music’s emotive intentions, writing, “I have always preferred to let music speak for itself. We each derive our own unique personal meanings from our listening experiences and most of it is felt viscerally.”
Winter’s Warmth
Release Date: April 14, 2017
Catalog Number: NV6091
Catalog Number: NV6091
21st Century
Orchestral
Orchestra
One of the central tenets of Albert Camus’ philosophy is the indomitability of the human spirit, a subject on which he famously mused that “In the depth of winter, I finally learned that within me there lay an invincible summer.” This quote encapsulates the theme of WINTER’S WARMTH, Navona’s latest orchestral compilation featuring works from John A. Carollo, J.A. Kawarsky, Andrew Schultz, and R. Barry Ulrich. These composers present conceptual pieces that all act as soundtracks to our resiliency during the toughest moments of the human experience.
Moto Continuo
Release Date: July 10, 2015
Catalog Number: NV6003
Catalog Number: NV6003
21st Century
Chamber
Solo Instrumental
Cello
Piano Trio
Praised for his "bold and expressive" playing (Gramophone Magazine), cellist Ovidiu Marinescu and Navona Records present MOTO CONTINUO, a collection of six contemporary solo cello and piano trio works - from the intense, dark, and expressive to the calm, light, and austere - performed by Marinescu and his colleagues from Trio Casals, violinist Sylvia Ahramjian and pianist Anna Kislitsyna.
Fine Music, Vol. 3
Release Date: January 1, 2012
Catalog Number: NV5868
Catalog Number: NV5868
21st Century
Chamber
Orchestral
Electronic
Orchestra
Piano Trio
FINE MUSIC, VOL. III is the third compilation of the Navona Records Fine Music digital series. This installment features the works of Lawrence Siegel, Sergio Cervetti, Tony Piccolo, Adrienne Albert, Daniel Perttu, Gerhard Stabler, Jane O'Leary, Jim Scully, Meira Warshauer, Piffaro, John Carollo, William Vollinger, Peter Van Zandt Lane, Lawrence Ball, and Benjamin Yusupov. This collection both highlights some of Navona's choicest tracks and offers a preview of things to come.
Starry Night
Release Date: March 1, 2011
Catalog Number: NV5844
Catalog Number: NV5844
21st Century
Chamber
Orchestral
Clarinet
Orchestra
Saxophone
STARRY NIGHT is the latest release from Hawaii-based composer John A. Carollo. This release features compositions that span a decade, including the concert band version of Transcendence in the Age of War, previously released on the Navona label. Carollo's skillful representations of fear, suffering and sadness, as well as enthusiasm and determination, are on full display as he takes us through the course of emotion. From orchestra pieces to works for saxophone quartet, Carollo is able to capture the essence of what it means to be human.
