Peter Manning Robinson Performs With His Newly Created Refractor Piano

Award-winning pianist and composer Peter Manning Robinson will enthrall audiences with a stunning aural and visual art experience on Wednesday, October 19, 2016 at MOCA Grand in Downtown Los Angeles: The Refractor Piano™ Concert at MOCA. Performing live with his invention, The Refractor Piano™, Robinson is pioneering a new music form called "refracted music." Without using prerecorded tracks, triggered samples, external sounds, or MIDI instruments, the Emmy and multiple BMI award-winning composer creates a vast spectrum of new musical environments with just a refracted, acoustic piano. Robinson plays "improvised compositions" within the refractions generated by his newly created instrument. The music combines elements of neoclassical composition and jazz improvisation that, when acoustically refracted, produce a truly original and transcendent live music experience. To learn more about the artist and the concert please visit www.petermanningrobinson.com.

Having worked in the studio for many years with the project's creative collaborator and co-developer, Klaus Hoch, this will be Robinson's second live Refractor Piano™ concert after a successful debut in April at Bergamot Station in Santa Monica, CA. Award-winning set and projection designer Hana Kim is creating a special projection accompaniment for the concert.

In addition to performing, Robinson will also speak about his music and The Refractor Piano™. The performance will begin at 8:00pm and doors open 30-minutes prior. Ages 12-and-up are suggested. Light refreshments will be served. This one-night event will take place at The Museum of Contemporary Art, 250 Grand Avenue, Los Angeles, CA, 90012 (213-626-6222). Find MOCA/Map/Parking Options here. The concert is free with reservations. RSVP for The Refractor Piano™ Concert at MOCA on Eventbrite: http://peter-manning-robinson-refractor-piano-moca.eventbrite.com.

Peter Manning Robinson, Pianist-Composer -

Peter Manning Robinson is a composer, pianist, and vegan chef who has won an Emmy and multiple BMI awards. He was born in Chicago and grew up in Vancouver, Canada as well as on the streets of San Francisco. Then, at age 16, he ventured to Los Angeles. Robinson started touring and playing in clubs at a young age and received formal music training from USC and Berklee College of Music in Boston.

He has performed and recorded with such jazz greats as Ernie Watts, Phil Woods, and Freddie Hubbard. Robinson has also composed for film and television. He first met creative collaborator Klaus Hoch when he composed the music for Flypaper, which Hoch wrote and directed. Additional credits include Without A Trace and The CroW. Robinson won an Emmy Award for KABC's Above and Below and five BMI TV Music Awards for Without a Trace. He was also nominated for an OFTA Television Award for The Unexpected Mrs. Pollifax. Members of The London Philharmonic, MusicaNova Orchestra, and the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra have recorded his orchestral works.

In recent years, performing on his newly created Refractor Piano™, Robinson is pioneering a new style of music called "refracted music." Without prerecorded tracks, triggered samples, external sounds, or MIDI instruments, he creates innovative music that combines classical and jazz composition with improvisation and acoustic refraction for transcendent live musical experiences.

Klaus Hoch, Director/Producer/Co-Developer -

Wearing many hats as creative director and producer, Klaus Hoch is a writer, filmmaker and musician who has collaborated with Peter Manning Robinson for the past six years to develop The Refractor Piano™. He and Robinson first collaborated on the feature Flypaper, which Hoch wrote and directed - a black comedy crime film featuring Craig Sheffer, Robert Loggia, Illeana Douglas, and Lucy Liu. Hoch studied music composition with pianist and composer Wally Cirillo as well as guitar with jazz legend Joe Diorio. He earned an MFA from NYU in Film and Television and is a member of the Directors Guild of America.

Hana Kim, Projection Designer -

Hana Kim is an award-winning set and projection designer for theater. Recent design credits include: projection for Fallujah, directed by Andreas Mitisek (Long Beach Opera); scenic and projection for Dogeaters, directed by Loretta Greco (The Magic Theatre, San Francisco); projection for museum installation of Pearls of the Planet (Annenberg Space for Photography, Los Angeles); and Em-ee-leh (Baryshnikov Arts Center, NY). She is a recipient of the Princess Grace Award in Theater Design and a member of United Scenic Artists Local 829. Her works were also featured in the architecture magazine Form as well as the book Scene Design and Stage Lighting by Dick Block.