New Video "Carol Of The Bells"

Christmas Decorating

Today we set up our Christmas tree. This is something that gets more fun every year. After we finished we took some photos for the family album and some of them were so funny that I thought I'd share...




What can I say... my husband's goofy :)

Here we are looking more "normal":


Hope everyone else had as much fun decorating as we did!

SL:MIMA update...

The winners of the "Swan Lake: Moving Image & Music Awards" have been posted and one of the videos featuring my music just won first place in the category of animation! The video is entitled "The Value of Love" and was created by Christian Hein. It's a great video and if you haven't seen it yet, please visit newagepiano.net and check it out.
Congratulations Christian on a really awesome job!

Here is a little news clip about the show...

SL:MIMA 2007 AWARD GALA
November 7, 2007

Over one hundred viewers from five nations , three categories and six smiling winners - that is in brief what the successfull award show of the Swan Lake: Moving Image & Music Award was about on the 7. November.

While doors went open at 7.30 pm in the Studio B of the University of Applied Sciences Mittweida there had already been the first audience wanting to get hold of one of the scarce seats inside of the hall. The original dinner gala with buffet quickly got a new motto: there is still enough space to put another chair in it. But this was only one aspect getting the viewers from different countries (e.g. Finland, Hungary, Poland and UK) closer together, not only in the literal way. The visual interpretation of new age piano tracks by artists from all over the world provided topics of conversation as well as the great two-man-band X-Jazz that featured a terrific combination of piano and e-guitar.

The felicitous atmosphere got his climax with the public voting. The winner of the audience award was determined by an "applausometer", an ambient multimedia system developed by students of the interactive media track at the University of Applied Sciences in Mittweida.

The great winner of the evening was Christian Hein who could take home the first price in the category animation as well as the public price.

Vote for your favorite SL: MIMA video

Public SL:MIMA voting is now open. Choose your favorite video clip online. The videos that use my music are "Creativity" and "The Value of Love"...

Fall Fun...

Monday, the girls and I went to a local farm for pumpkin picking and pony riding. It was a whole lot of fun!

Naomi turns 8!

Pictures from Naomi's birthday party.

New Review for "Thoughts and Dreams"

"Seven short years ago Jennifer Haines began composing. For an aspiring musician waiting to see the fruit of her labors this can add up to a lifetime. I can tell you it was worth the wait. I had the pleasure of reviewing Christmas Magic, Jennifer’s holiday album, and the warmth and tenderness she exhibited on that album show up everywhere on this one. All the pieces of Thought & Dreams are solo piano works. Occasionally, Jennifer hit a series of notes that are reminiscent of The Lanz Style of Music. I say this in a complimentary fashion. Her overall style is light, sparkling and intricate. Such is the stuff that dreams are made of.

Dark clouds roll on the horizon and a briskened wind sweeps the leaves from the paths. The trees bow and sway as the music fills you with a sense of urgency and trepidation. The opening track The Storm Begins has a lot of movement in the notes. Raindrops the size of pennies begins to fall with a tap-tappet-ta sound on the top of your umbrella. Instinctively, you head for home and safety.

There is a pair of songs called Ocean - Atlantic and Pacific that are quite remarkable and you can hear countless stories in the tunes. Jennifer does an excellent job of turning the past into music. You can hear about the Atlantic, a corridor between America and Europe that is dark green, violent and full of history and myth. It is the rough carpet that was crossed by explorers and armadas by the score and immigrants by the millions with the idea of discovery and hope fresh on the crest of every wave. The Pacific is clear blue, vast and a bottomless bowl to the hungry of several continents. It is a living breathing entity filled with unfathomable trenches and sleeping volcanoes. It is Mother Nature’s ongoing project.

Desert Beautiful is a favorite. It is the sound of hidden beauty and hope. For some the desert is a dry, ugly place with miles and miles of nothingness. To the practiced eye it is place of cactus colonies with outstretched arms, rainbow rock formations that delight the eye and life small and large that thrives despite the unfavorable odds. The sky may well be the color of God’s eyes.

There is something exciting about having a feeling and rushing to the door on a cold winter’s night and getting a surprise. The porch light makes sparkling whites jewels out of the millions of snowflakes that come tumbling silently in the soft illumination. The music you should be listening to is Jennifer’s tune Flurries. By morning Nature will have donned her spotless white mantel to the delight of all.

Finally almost at day’s end is Twilight. The bright orange-red ball of light falls from sight as the earth turns over for the night. The sun gives the earth a final goodnight kiss and the sky blushes with a rosy glow. It is an instance where time slows and hands and hearts touch with emotion. Jennifer’s passionate piano offers a sweet, but reluctant goodnight as well. This is another of my favorite tunes.

Jennifer Haines began her musical career at the age of three. Singing her own songs for self-amusement. She lost the passion briefly, but began again in earnest at sixteen and taught herself to play piano. It is apparent that she had an apt teacher. She began composing in 1999 and has seven albums to her credit. Artist, composer, guitar player and soccer mom. We can hear her faith and passion in her music, but where does she get the energy?"
RJ Lannan
New Age Reporter

SL:MIMA

I just found out that two of my songs from the "Beautiful Solitude" CD have been used for videos by students participating in the Swan Lake Moving Image and Music Award's. Both videos are among the 15 videos that have been selected for the final judging round!

The videos have been posted on NewAgePiano.net if you want to take a look. They are really cool!

The Storm Begins - Live From My Living Room!

Hi Everyone!

I've got big news today...

All of the sheet music from the "Thoughts and Dreams" CD AND the "Christmas Magic" CD is done and available for sale at my website. It was hard work, but it is nice to have accomplished this as it has been a goal of mine for some time.

The new pieces are:

From Thoughts and Dreams

1. The Ocean: Atlantic
2. Miles Apart
3. Trooper
4. Aspen
5. Desert Beautiful
6. Dreamy Draw
7. Morning
8. Twilight

From Christmas Magic

1. Cantique De Noël
2. God Rest You Merry, Gentlemen
3. Still, Still, Still
4. The Coventry Carol
5. The First Nowell
6. Angels We Have Heard On High
7. Stille Nacht
8. What Child is This
9. Three Kings of Orient
10. Good King Wenceslas

In addition to individual sheet music purchases, I am also making several discount packages and collections available.

The "Thoughts and Dreams" and "Christmas Magic" collections are $24.50 and in each collection you get every song from the CD and a neat title page to help keep it all organized. The Complete Collection is the "whole enchilada", so to speak, and includes every piece of my sheet music that is currently available. The Complete Collection is $50.00 and saves you over 50% off the individual sheet music prices.

The discount packages consist of 4 songs each and are arranged by mood. They are $11.50 each.

If you'd like a preview of the sheet music, I'm making two selections available as free downloads. They are "Dreamy Draw" and "What Child is This".

All sheet music is available by visiting:

http://www.usfourmusic.com/music2.html

Take care!

I Got Art!

I just received a beautiful clay board etching from a fan in Florida. It's so cool that I had to share...

New Photos

I added a nifty little photo gallery to my website. Check it out if you get a chance

PHOTOS

Sheet Music

Hello All,

I've just uploaded 6 new sheet music selections to the website and I wanted to let everyone know.

The new pieces are:

From Thoughts and Dreams

1. The Storm Begins
2. Pacific
3. Wildflower
4. Flurries

From Christmas Magic

1. Un Flambeau, Jeannette, Isabelle
2. Noel Nouvelet/Veni, Veni, Emanuel

To purchase .pdf files of the music please visit:

http://www.usfourmusic.com/music2.html

I'm still working on more sheet music and hope to do another big upload in a few weeks. I'll keep you posted...

The Lake Trip

O.k., so we didn't -just- get back from the lake. We were there July 22-28. We go every year to visit Peter's brother Will and his family. We have fun tubing, boating, swimming, relaxing and, this year, watching lots of Star Wars! It was a blast and I've been meaning to put a few pictures up, so here they are (I do digital scrapbooking so I thought I'd add layouts - more photos at once).

Click on the layout for a better view:

Pre- Release Material Added To My Podcast

I've added my arrangement of the song "O The Deep, Deep Love of Jesus" to my podcast. Let me know what you think. This will be for my upcoming solo piano hymns album.

New Age Reporter "Top Ten"

"Thoughts and Dreams" is #10 on the New Age radio charts!!! I'm very excited.

My Wildflowers

I was out walking today and I took a photo of my wildflowers to share with you guys. If you own the Thoughts and Dreams CD you know that my wildflowers are my favorites! So here they are...

New Review

Hi All!
I just got a review of "Thoughts and Dreams" from Kathy Parsons of Solo Piano Publications.
Kathy writes:

"Pianist/composer Jennifer Haines’ new release, “Thoughts and Dreams,” has the distinction of being the first album I’ve reviewed from my new Oregon Coast home. Haines’ gentle musical optimism is the perfect accompaniment to watching the tiny birds I can’t yet identify darting from tree to tree in the summer coastal wind, the sky a bright blue backdrop with wisps of fog floating by. Haines’ previous release, “Christmas Magic,” is a delightful collection of her arrangements of favorite Christmas songs, but “Thoughts and Dreams,” is all original material, right down to the charming watercolor cover artwork. The music of “Thoughts and Dreams” is warm and inviting without being saccharine or superficial, and while a consistent mood is sustained throughout the album, the thirteen pieces are distinctive and individual. In the liner notes, Haines briefly explains the inspiration for the music, allowing us a glimpse of her private and personal world.

The opening track, “The Storm Begins,” reminds me a bit of Robin Spielberg, one of my very favorite composers. The contrasting of the high treble and deep bass notes is always effective, perhaps describing the bright first raindrops and dark, forbidding clouds. This is not a ferocious storm, but it has energy, and the piece is wonderfully refreshing. The title track is light and playful, referring to the artist’s ability to escape to her imagination in otherwise boring situations. “Pacific” recalls a favorite childhood memory of a day at the ocean with her family and friend, and conveys the ceaseless rhythmic flow of the waves and their constantly-changing energy - beautiful! “Miles Apart” is a wistful musical love letter to parents who live far away, full of longing and deep emotion. “Desert Beautiful” depicts the richness of the desert, contrasting the delicate cactus flowers with the solid, awesome rock formations. “Wildflower” is a simple, freeform little piece that describes the varied colors and forms of wildflowers, as well as their gentle innocence as they sway in the breeze. “Flurries” is my favorite track. Energetic and dancing like the first snowflakes of winter, the piece has a free-flowing sense of excitement that is infectious and joyous. “Morning” promises a fresh start with the beginning of each new day. “Twilight” is an enchanting love song, telling the story of a romantic marriage proposal on the very spot where the happy couple met.

“Thoughts and Dreams” is a delight from start to finish, and should boost Jennifer Haines into the forefront of contemporary pianist/composers. While not overly complex structurally or harmonically, the music comes from the heart and brings a gentle sense of peace and well-being. It is available from usfourmusic.com and cdbaby.com. Highly recommended!"

Kathy Parsons
Solo Piano Publications

iTunes

"Thoughts and Dreams" has arrived at iTunes! If you'd like to purchase downloads they are available here

Also, I've been busily working on my next CD. I'm not going to say much about it yet, but I will tell you that it is going to be a solo piano Hymn CD. So be looking forward to that in the near future!

I'm starting a podcast as well. Be sure to check it out because I will be adding prerelease material soon. The podcast can be found here

Introduction

Hi All!

Well, I've decided to give this blog thing a spin. Seems like fun! For those of you who aren't familiar with me, my name is Jennifer Haines and I compose solo piano music.

This blog will be mainly about what I'm up to musically (new CD projects, sheet music etc.), but I plan on adding family stuff from time to time as well.

Stay tuned...

-Jennifer