-Walden, 'Conclusion'

KEN PEDERSEN'S WALDEN BIO
This CD is about getting back to the basics of life -- before its too late," says Ken Pedersen about his new solo piano CD, Walden. Named after the same titled book by American philosopher Henry David Thoreau, Walden is Pedersen’s debut. "It’s so easy to get caught up in the life’s bustle that its really important gifts can get lost. The idea of cutting through the muck and getting at what’s real is something I’ve always been interested in," he says.

According to Pedersen, the Walden theme was a perfect framework for addressing his musical goals. "Thoreau had such a love for nature and also brought along a richness of ideas -- it’s a perfect combination," say Pedersen. "I wanted to do New Age CD that was true to the feelings of peace and repose but one which had a basis in ideas." The resulting style, which he terms ‘Classical New Age,’ should appeal both to fans of new age and classical music. "The idea is to retain the accessibility of new age, while moving forward in musical sophistication."

Pedersen began studying piano at age five and at eleven won the DuPage (Ill.) Youth Orchestra competition. However, crisis struck the next year when an accident threatened to end his piano playing altogether. "I amputated part of one of my fingers in a skill saw accident. It was a miracle that only one finger was hurt." According to Pedersen, the injury still presents obstacles. "You have to get creative sometimes. Luckily I’ve been able to work around this limitation."

Regarding his creative method, Pedersen usually begins with a motif or improvised material, and from there composes the formal elements using classical principles of development. He says that the resulting style is at once easy to enjoy while providing substance for those who want to look deeper. "Tracks like ‘Simplicity’s Prayer’ and ‘Solitude’s Companion’ are about as new age peaceful as you can get," while tracks like ‘The Leavetaking’ and ‘Uncommon Hour’ -- the latter a duet with Russian cellist  Martine Benmann -- have an added classical underpinning, claims Pedersen. "I believe there is an audience out there that hungers for the next step in musical refinement in a New Age package. I hope they see my music as that step."

As a consultant in his 'day life,' Pedersen sometimes sees first-hand the costs that today’s work life often exacts. "We get so focused on careers, sometimes we let our own being -- and well being -- get swept away in society’s tidal wave. It takes true bravery to value oneself enough to act against that tide. That was a key point for Thoreau’s philosophy."

Pedersen has good reason to identify with philosophy, having graduated from Loyola University of Chicago and both graduated with a philosophy undergraduate degree. "I started out by getting excited about Soren Kierkegaard and even studied at the University of Copenhagen in Denmark." Pedersen opted for a career in technology -- including a year teaching artificial intelligence as an Assistant Visiting Professor at Purdue. "Still," he says wryly, "Jean Paul Sartre is never too far from my minds."

"Philosophy taught me that reality is what you create -- both in one’s life as well as one’s art. The CD is one way of trying to communicate this to others as well as living a valuable new experience myself." Those experiences included collaborating with new artists. Besides the cello duet, Walden features "Waltz in the Woods," a guitar/piano duet that features Jeff Kust on guitar who has performed with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. "It started out as a piano solo that wasn’t working. I decided to rework the basic ideas for guitar and piano. I showed a draft to (noted guitarist) Muriel Anderson who gave me some feedback and agreed to play on the disk. Unfortunately she had to tour Japan at the time I was recording, but that led me to meeting Jeff. He did a great job."

What’s next for Pedersen? "I hope to further pioneer this style of music," he says. "Classical new age has the potential to become the classical music of the next century. I want to be on the cutting edge of that development."