Scranton composer Zach Sprowls collaborates on live mixed media performance of new album on Nov. 9
From a press release:
Showcasing a unique fusion of music, visual arts, and live performance through a creative collaboration with an array of talented local artists, Zach Sprowls is set to debut his first album with an innovative mixed media concert in the intimate black box theater of The Shakes Space in downtown Scranton on Saturday, Nov. 9 at 7 p.m.
The evening will feature a performance at the piano of all the songs on his forthcoming neoclassical album “All Beginnings Are Hard,” accompanied by a live string trio of some of Northeastern Pennsylvania’s finest players: Leah Valenches, Juliet Valenches, and Peter Brubaker. Sprowls will also be joined his musical friends Timothy Zieger, an indie folk “singer/songwriter of uncommon depth,” as hailed by George Graham of WVIA; ambient vocalist Mystic Joy (Joy Zavada); and local power funk legends Jesse Mower, Jon Ventre, and Jami Novak, newly named Greenfield III.
In addition to music, this immersive event will include live painting by Christine Smith and custom visuals designed by Michael Nasser, with audio support from Clyde Rosencrance of Republic Audio Studio; photography by Keith Perks of 1120 Studios; and graphic design by Tony Susi.
This show marks a significant milestone in Sprowls’ career, combining multiple art forms to offer an unparalleled cultural experience. In essence, this isn’t just about releasing an album – it’s a celebration of the vibrant local arts community and a testament to the creative connections artists can foster. His vision is to break down the artistic division that often separates people, creating a space where musicians, visual artists, and performers can come together and collaborate. It is about more than just showcasing talent – it’s about uniting diverse artistic voices and nurturing a collaborative spirit that strengthens the local creative community as a whole.
Tickets, which are $15, are available at zachsprowls.com and at the door of The Shakes Space inside The Marketplace at Steamtown (300 Lackawanna Ave., Scranton).
The piano is Sprowls’ voice. With it, he composes stories that are as much everyone’s as they are his own – affecting and true to life.
Once rootless, he now proudly calls Scranton home. The classically-trained full-time composer and pianist has come to identify with the relentless heart of the city, with its long history of struggle and pushing for better days ahead.
Cutting his teeth as an accompanist and arranger, Sprowls came to the city feeling broken but found healing in music while there. His first solo release under his name in 2022 reflects that. The song “All Beginnings Are Hard” – a phrase borrowed from Chaim Potok’s novel “In the Beginning” – is built around a piano part he recorded in his small apartment. The aching strings, recorded by members of the U.S. Army Strings at Cue Recording Studios outside Washington, D.C., underpin that vulnerable core like a testament to his personal hope for the future. To this, he added understated analog synth textures. The combined result envelops the listener in a lush soundscape as deft as it is moving. In it, listeners can find their own story of taking the next step amid hardship and becoming more than they imagined. It’s confident, full of expression, and masterfully captured.
“All beginnings are hard. … Especially a beginning that you make by yourself. That’s the hardest of all.” The wisdom of Potok’s book was hard-won and, for Sprowls, deeply resonant, so his first single echoes that wisdom. Its vulnerable arpeggios and breathing strings tell the story of life after loss – not in the tired clichés of resurrection or rebirth, but in the quiet resolve of motion itself. The piano at the center of the composition is simultaneously a song, a thought, and a step, seeking and making its way forward through hardship. Much like life, the immersive beauty of the piece comes from subtle transformations that reward listeners as they stay present. He followed this up with “I Thought I Knew” and “Shiver” in 2023.
With a musical gift that is as rare as it is disciplined, Sprowls is eager to publicly perform his compositions that bring together an eclectic mix of neoclassical minimalism, Americana storytelling, and ambient experimentation. Variously compared to Nils Frahm, Ólafur Arnalds, and Max Richter, his pieces weave the piano, strings, synthesizers, and electronic sounds into crystalline soundscapes that tell real human stories, and he is ready to share his voice. Released on Oct. 25 on all major streaming platforms, the album “All Beginnings Are Hard” represents a bold new chapter in his artistic journey and a commitment to pushing the boundaries of traditional music performance.
Expertly toeing the line between beauty and pain, the 11 tracks tell a musical story about what it’s like to start over, a very personal collection of songs all written from his experience rebuilding his life after losing everything. Borrowing heavily from his influences in the seemingly disparate genres of classical and folk music, the record is an expression of suffering, hope, and the process of learning things the hard way.
The heart of the album was recorded – and filmed – live in Philadelphia earlier this year with a string trio from Washington, D.C., and a producer from Miami. The rest was finished at home featuring an organ and ambient vocals from Scranton’s own Mystic Joy. Sprowls’ piano playing is a voice that speaks with all the complexity and charisma of personal meditation. Woven together with classical strings, analog synthesizers, a blues organ, and biting lyrics, it creates a cinematic tapestry that is as sullen as it is pretty.
In “All Beginnings Are Hard,” he has given voice to his transformation. From his lowest point six years ago – devastated and starting over – Sprowls has gradually emerged as an artist to watch.
