Joel Styzens

Description

Joel Styzens is a critically-acclaimed multi-instrumentalist, composer, recording artist, producer and hearing conservation advocate specializing in piano, hammered dulcimer, drums and guitar.

He has toured internationally and has been featured on NPR, Chicago's WGN and Fox television news broadcasts, and in such publications as Time Out, The National Music Examiner and the UK Hearing Times.

In January of 2006 Styzens woke up with the pitch A-sharp violently ringing in my ears.

Severe tinnitus and hyperacusis suddenly threatened his livelihood and halted his career as a professional drummer.  The result of this was discovering his voice as a composer.

As he began therapy he started writing his own lower-volume acoustic music, incorporating the diverse set of influences from his career as a percussionist—

creating a classical-crossover music that blends the rhythmic sensibilities and nuance of a jazz drummer and the texturally rich and dynamic emotion of classical and world music into a sound that breathes and respects space as much as sound itself.

Increasingly, we live in a fast-moving world that is noisy & chaotic.  Styzens creates intimate, colorfully-rich music that is presented in an accessible form that encourages pause, reflection and helps people to de-noise, relax, soothe & recharge.

RelaxYourEars.com

Work Sample

The video above includes three clips with a run-time of 1-minute and 45 seconds.  All include my own original compositions.

The first:  a solo piano performance at the Chicago Cultural Center in Preston Bradley Hall as part of the 2019 International Beethoven Festival.
Second clip:  Thirsty Ears Festival, Chicago - 2019.
Third:  Piano and Cello performance at the Chicago Classical Music Street Festival, 2020.

NOTE:  I am available for performances in solo form (Piano and hammered dulcimer), duo form with a cellist, quintet form with a string quartet as well as larger ensembles or ensembles with different instrumentation.

The above video contains clips from my original hammered dulcimer music with a movement artist, cellist and other instruments. (run-time ~4 mins.).

First clip-- a piece of mine from the a project called "Listessence" for dulcimer, accordion and bass.

Second clip:  hammered dulcimer and dance clip.

Third clip:  cello and dulcimer piece of mine called "Ascendance" that will be released on my forthcoming album.

NOTE:  I am also available for different performances with dancers and movement artists (as shown in the above video) as well as for piano or hammered dulcimer and piano performances.

Variety performance video - featuring my film scoring music examples, various live performance clips from the Old Town School of Folk Music and Preston Bradley Hall, and various house concerts, and also a track from my critically-acclaimed album "Relax Your Ears."
0:00-0:48 FILM MUSIC EXAMPLES
0:49-3:45 LIVE PERFORMANCE EX.
3:36-END "A-Sharp" (audio from the album "Relax Your Ears.")

The work samples I submitted are just a small fragment of what I have done within music but represent more of the recent variety well-- my new and varied compositions and collaborations-- and best represent my current music and performance aspects.

History

A working Chicago musician for over twenty years, I began as a jazz and rock drummer in Springfield, IL-- moving to Chicago after attending Millikin University and studying percussion and piano, eventually performing with members of David Bowie and Lenny Kravitz's bands and touring internationally. In 2006, tinnitus and hyperacusis impacted my work to the point of having to either give up or figure out how to adapt. At first, the disability seemed limiting. However, through it came new opportunity via new lower volume instruments, genres, composing and the scoring of film and commercial projects, and collaborative partnerships with other performers including dancers, multi-media artists, and with CSO cellist Katinka Kleijn-- releasing my “Relax Your Ears” album which received critical-acclaim and many awards and allowed for more national and international performances-- including features on NPR, WGN and Fox television news broadcasts, and in such publications as Time Out, The National Music Examiner and the UK Hearing Times.

Artistic Vision

In January of 2006 I woke up with the pitch A-sharp violently ringing in my ears.

Severe tinnitus & hyperacusis (constant ringing & extreme sound sensitivity) suddenly threatened my livelihood and completely halted my professional drumming career.  The result of this sensory processing disorder was discovering my voice as a composer.

I began composing lower volume acoustic music for my own therapy and found my own voice that developed into the goal of creating new classical-crossover music that blends the rhythmic sensibilities and nuance of a jazz drummer and the texturally rich and dynamic emotion of classical and world music into a sound that breathes and respects space as much as sound itself.

Increasingly, we live in a fast-moving world that is noisy & chaotic-- I focus on created intimate, colorfully-rich music that is presented in an accessible form that encourages pause, reflection and helps people to de-noise, relax, soothe & recharge.

Programs for Specific Audience(s) Expertise

I teach and perform for all ages and all backgrounds and can cater and tweak my performance programs and materials to suit the needs of just about any audience and any situation.  My programs are especially suited to those interested in more accessible forms of classical music -- instead of 10 to 20 minute pieces, I natural write in more of the traditional songwriting form of 3 to 5 minutes, for example.   But I have found that my music can be enjoyed and appreciated by almost any audience-- as I change my ensemble, what I play and what I say depending on the audience in from of me.

Traditional Folk/Ethnic Artform Statement

Along side my original piano compositions-- which have a goal of bring more accessible classical influenced music to more people, I also play and write for the hammered dulcimer.  The hammered dulcimer has a vast ethnic lineage but also is found in traditional Americana and American folk music-- and I have a continued goal of writing and sharing new music for it as it is an instrument that is not as common anymore.