David Parkhurst Crane
You can hear this music by clicking the "listen" menu tab. And for the bio: It's an autobiography. I've left out the parts that don't relate to the making of the music. I didn't include a lot of my influences; they're mostly people whose name you wouldn't recognize. People like close friends etc. There are so many things that should go into a "bio" that somehow don't get put in. And there is usually lot's of history and lists. And there is nothing juicy in this kind of thing either. Still- here goes:
All of the music was written by me including the music for the violins, cellos, flutes, and vocals (there are many oo's and ahh's -but no lyrics.) The only drums are on Autumn's Glory.
The guitar is my favorite instrument, and I love playing it. I have been playing on and off since the Beatles era. (Mostly on.) About that time, the choir director at my church wrote to the Ohio State University, College of Music after I had played my first original composition for him. He was very encouraging and I was certainly excited that acceptance for admission was granted without my actually having applied! The fact is I was thrilled, but knew I couldn't attend - for two reasons. It was clear they assumed I had more of an extensive musical background than I really did. You see, I didn’t read music, and catching up with the many talented students seemed a formidable if not impossible task. Also, I had always heard music in my mind and was afraid it might be overshadowed or possibly lost with rigorous instruction.
Later I saw the advantages of going to music school and tried to augment my lack of technical knowledge with questions about playing, which I would ask at every opportunity. I also joined The Philadelphia Classical Guitar Society and The Delaware Valley Fingerstyle Guitar Association, where I was fortunate to meet many artisits. Jason Vieaux and Roland Dyens coached me on tone, as did Joseph and Kathleen Mayes. Sharon Isbin, master guitarist at Julliard, graciously helped with her vast expertise, and Tommy Emmanuel gave classes that I attended. Pete Huttlinger freely offered to my growing knowledge base, as did Clive Carroll. It’s fair to say I have gleaned important information from popular icons in guitar music, and will always be very grateful for the impact they made with me and the help they provided.
The songs first came to me in earnest about a decade ago. I basically play only the guitar yet was raised in a musical family and was aware of the interweaving of orchestral instruments. The orchestration you hear was performed using “sampled” instruments. To date the guitar music arrives first, and when I hear the accompaniment in my mind, those instruments are added --including the oo's and ahhs.)
I live near the lovely college town of West Chester, Pennsylvania where I record in my home studio.
Hopefully, you’ll like the music because of the way it makes you feel. Go ahead and listen to some of these; and if you like them you'll find many songs are free to download. As you know, the entire second CD, Timely... is currently free to download. So help yourself and please tell a friend too. If you'd like higher fidelity music that offers the highest quality sound for your home and car stereos, purchasing the CD is your best choice. I truly hope you find them as moving as I do, and that my enjoyment of the music and the serenity that I feel as I play is shared by you and brings you back to this website again.