Richard Pressley (b. 1970) has enjoyed performances of his music at festivals and concerts in the United States, Europe, even Brazil and Australia, by such performers and ensembles as the JACK Quartet, the Minnesota Orchestra, Claire Edwardes, thingNY, Patrick Crossland, ensemble platypus, Richard Ratliff, the dissonArt ensemble, the Moran Quintet, the Definiens Project, and counter)induction, among others.

He began his musical career in rock music in his early teens, playing and touring with rock and punk bands. He then attended the University of Indianapolis and Butler University for his BM, Cambridge University for his Master’s, and the University of Minnesota for his Ph.D; also doing post-doctoral study at the Karlsruhe Musikhochschule and Darmstadt in Germany.

His composition instructors include Wolfgang Rihm, Sandeep Bhagwati, Dominick Argento, Judith Lang Zaimont, Alex Lubet, Daniel Chua, and Michael Schelle. He has also participated in master classes and private sessions with many of today’s leading composers. Pressley lives in Charleston SC with his wife, Johanna, and his son, Silas, where he is Assistant Professor of Music Theory at the Horton School of Music at Charleston Southern University.

Albums

What Are They Doing To That Piano?

Release Date: May 12, 2017
Catalog Number: NV6100
21st Century
Solo Instrumental
Piano
From Navona Records comes an exciting new CD bundle of five previous releases featuring the piano at its most prepared and extended. WHAT ARE THEY DOING TO THAT PIANO? features composers and artists dedicated to finding the most adventurous and compelling sounds that the piano has to offer. Opening with SONATAS AND INTERLUDES IN A LANDSCAPE, composed by John Cage, the virtual godfather of prepared piano, and performed by the virtuosic Kate Boyd, this CD bundle contains one of the most eclectic collections of solo piano music a listener will ever encounter.

Felt

Release Date: February 10, 2015
Catalog Number: NV5987
21st Century
Solo Instrumental
Piano
FELT, a compilation for solo piano offered by Navona Records, presents an array of techniques and themes to illustrate the piano's dexterous capacity for limitless expression and tonal colors.