Edward MacDowell’s “To a Wild Rose” was my first piano recital piece at 10 years old. It was learned, polished, memorized, then performed on a 9’ Steinway under the bright concert hall lights. A very special memory for me, and I still enjoy playing his Woodland Sketches though have yet to explore more of his works. As his music can be played especially quietly and slowly, it lends itself to my Nap Time Piano pieces while my little one slumbers.
Have you heard music selections from Florence Price, Fanny Mendelssohn, and Agatha Backer Grondahl played as slowly and quietly as humanly possible? Here for Nap Time Piano is a new edition with three of my favorite pieces that lend themselves to being played extremely quietly and slowly, in this case to avoid waking a sleeping little one.
Finding the time to practice or record at the piano is a true challenge as a working, stay-at-home parent! I am grateful for the moments that I have to invest in creative endeavors, and have wanted to put out a longer video to my YouTube channel for the past year. Today, I overcame my fear (somewhat) of playing the piano after my toddler’s bedtime. Enjoy a very slow, cautious interpretation of Erik Satie’s Gnossienne Nos. 1-3 played as quietly as humanly possible in an attempt to not “wake the baby”…
I am overjoyed to have come across the music of Connor Chee, a Diné composer based out of Phoenix, AZ whose piano works flow peacefully across the keys. Hope I can do his works justice!
If you are interested in downloading his compositions, they can be accessed here…
Documenting events has always been a challenge for me - what is the perfect balance between capturing “content” to share with those who couldn’t be there, and staying present in the music? I’ve always leaned into the latter, but after the fact I wish I had more videos and photos!
On February 14, 2026, I had the pleasure of performing at Bin189 in the Lake Arrowhead Resort & Spa for their annual Valentine’s Day Dinner. It was a full house. Everyone was dressed to the nines and filling the room with laughter. I played a selection of classical pieces from the Romantic and Impressionist era, including special requests for Clair de Lune and arrangements from Somewhere in Time - personal favorites.
Thank you to the kind guest who captured some live action footage from the evening!
Playing Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata at the end of the night, one of my favorite closing pieces. It’s familiar, relaxing, classic. The perfect send-off song as guests head out into the moonlit night.
Maybe some day I will perfect the balance and have more footage to share after a gig, but for now I am simply grateful for the memories and opportunity.
You might notice a different background behind my Steinway M in recent YouTube videos. In the last year, I relocated from the sweltering heat of Scottsdale, Arizona to the beautiful banks of Lake Arrowhead, California. Pines and mountains have always been a source of inspiration, joy, restoration to my heart and I am overjoyed to spend more time in nature than the Arizona climate allowed. Stay tuned for new performance venues in the works, and subscribe to my YouTube channel for new videos on the horizon.
Want to learn more about the art on the mantle? Explore the original paintings of Brianna Voron at briannavoron.com/shop-originals
For the new year, I have begun a regular accompanying gig for a local church ensemble, who had previously brought me on for their Christmas Mass several years ago.
It’s a pleasure to work with an active ensemble that - while smaller than before - is still performing regularly and is very involved in their community following the pandemic.
This is a great experience for me as a musician, with new challenges and fresh music every week. While I’ve been accustomed to playing whatever I chose as a solo pianist, accompanying pushes me to listen, follow, lead, and improve my technique on styles that I have not played in for some time.
This video below is from a rehearsal of Chris Tomlin’s “Your Grace Is Enough”…
Sometimes you just need to dance a little! Danzas Españolas No. 2 by Enrique Granados is a piece that I learned in college and has stayed in my repertoire over the years because it is fun to play with its lilting movement and familiar ABA form.
If you haven’t subscribed to the SLK Music YouTube channel just yet, now’s a good time because I’m hard at work recording and uploading more, longer, and landscape-oriented (ha!) videos. Today’s upload is of Johannes Brahms’ Intermezzo in A, Op. 118 No. 2 - a favorite among pianists and classical music lovers alike. Full of feeling and with a distinctive melody that transforms throughout the piece, this is good one to close the week with:
Written by Florence Price, a groundbreaking and prolific composer who would become the first African American woman whose symphonic compositions were performed by a major orchestra, Adoration is a profoundly calming piece with a songlike quality to it. This recording is of an arrangement for solo piano from a living room practice session.
As a place to store, share, and compile my living room recordings of beloved pieces, I have launched a YouTube channel titled SLK Music! Please like, subscribe, provide feedback and requests. I look forward to sharing my music from the home and beyond!
