Alica Martwick

As a piano-kid growing up, I never dreamed I'd have an opportunity to make a living in music. When I moved West in the 1990s, I was hired by a music company to edit music that played back on the player pianos they built. My focus was primarily classical music, MIDI recordings of famous pianists to be played on pianos in restaurants and hotels and hospitals all over the world. It was rewarding and satisfying work and had the bonus of introducing me to my engineer husband, who was designing the piano electronic systems. Together, we've restored an old Gulbransen player piano from pedals to lid and raised two STEM-oriented, musical sons who are basically mashups of their parents.

I left my own musical journey while raising kids, focusing on their music lessons and band camps, and it wasn't until my sons were in high school that I felt ready to turn to my own endeavors again and to discover who I am, creatively speaking, at this point in my life. My musical sensibilities are most influenced by my favorite classical composers, and my desire for composing music that creates relaxing, restorative spaces is most likely influenced by having shared the past twenty years in a house full of high energy boys and men.

I've also written lyrics and melodies for pop and folk performers, and I write books for children, but the piano is my home.