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parts as well as a short soprano sax part on one track. I also composed all of the music. This album was released shortly after I went though a change from being a budding jazz musician to a new age composer and performer. I was about age 30 and had many life challenges that inspired the change, including the death of my father to Alzheimer’s disease and a physical problem that was threatening to my musical career. Distressed by not knowing if I was going to be able to continue with music, I started learning about holistic/spiritual healing, yoga, and meditation. This is when I was first exposed to “new age” music. I began playing in a New Thought church, improvising during guided meditations and performing original compositions during services. People told me they loved it! My compositions were not in any particular style, but a culmination of all the styles I had been playing for years. Most importantly, it was music I enjoyed playing (from the heart) and for people that were listening from a higher consciousness. I was learning to deeply express my emotions through my playing. It was heaven then, and still is!
KP: “Masterpeace,” your most recent release, came out last fall. How is it doing?
Akins: Really great! This CD has opened many doors for me. I spend a little time each day marketing it. In fact, I’m about to enter it for the Grammy Awards. Almost daily, I get a message with kind words from someone who has been listening to the CD.
KP: Why did you call it “Masterpeace”?
Akins: It is a play on words. I think of a masterpiece as a great work of art and that is what I wanted this CD to be. It was also my intention for the music to have a peaceful response from the listener. Hence, master “peace.”
KP: I have read that most of the music for the album came all at once after a long period of writer’s block. How did that happen?
Akins: During the 90’s, I composed a lot of music, including the music for “Keys to the Heart,” but in the year 2000, I was offered a full-time teaching position at Middle TN State University. I was very happy to have this new job, but it required a lot of time, especially since the university wanted me to complete a doctorate (which I finished in 2006). Therefore, I didn’t really do much composing for a couple of years (although I was playing and performing). Eventually, I was feeling more settled and began to compose again. The first piece was the title track to this CD. After that, they just kept coming! One after the other, I was composing solo piano tracks that I felt were my best work yet. Most of these pieces are on “Masterpeace.”
KP: Has the music continued to flow? Are you working on your next release? Any idea of when it will be ready?
Akins: Yes! As soon as I finished the recording session for “Masterpeace,” I composed the first track for the next release. Since then, I have composed five more piano pieces and plan to write about three or four more this year. My plans are to record my next CD early 2009 and release it next spring.
KP: That’s something to look forward to! How long have you been a teacher?
Akins: I taught my first piano lesson when I was about 20. I wasn’t sure if I could do it, but I gave it a try and it went fine. A couple of years later, I was asked to teach for a children’s summer camp. I realized during this camp that I loved teaching and knew it would be a big part of my life. However, I was mostly interested in teaching for higher education, and therefore earned a Master’s degree in Music. For the next several years, I taught private lessons and courses as an adjunct instructor until becoming a full-time professor at Middle TN State University in year 2000.
KP: Where and what do you teach?
Akins: The Department of Recording Industry at Middle Tennessee State University is awesome! It is the largest music industry program with about 1500 students from all over the world. It is a distinct program because it is not in a music school. However, I teach commercial music (music theory and class piano) and electronic music (MIDI). The students in our program are prepped for industry jobs such as audio engineering, songwriting, music publishing, etc. It is very different from the music schools where I earned my degrees! It has been very challenging and I have learned a lot about recording and the music business since being here.
KP: What and who do you consider to be your biggest musical influences?
Akins: When I was learning so much about jazz, my favorites were Herbie Hancock and Chick Corea. Over the past decade, I have been influenced more and more by new age pianists with David Lanz being my favorite. I own many of his CDs and often look to his music for ideas. I actually had the opportunity last November to hang with David for a few days in Centralia, Washington at the Lafond Conservatory of Music. I was on a high
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