New York Composer And Pianist To Make Carnegie Hall Debut

Ross Avant, the multitalented composer, pianist, singer, actor and protégé of the legendary American jazz musician Jim Cullum shall make his Carnegie Hall debut this winter in the Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall on December 10, 2021 at 8:00 p.m. It shall also be the world premiere of Avant's Piano Sonata No. 1 with Avant performing selections from his forthcoming album, Pieces for Solo Piano (St. Magnus Records). Tickets may be purchased by visiting carnegiehall.org, calling CarnegieCharge at (212) 247-7800, or alternatively by visiting the Carnegie Hall box office at 57th St. & Seventh Ave.

Avant has worked on various television shows and films including HBO's Succession, The Kitchen starring Melissa McCarthy, The Irishman directed by Martin Scorsese, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel and The Trial of the Chicago 7 written and directed by Aaron Sorkin. He has also composed music for the theatre including two productions at The City Theatre Company (Austin, TX): Cyrano de Bergerac (dir. Jeff Hinkle) and The Taming of the Shrew (dir. Levi Gore).

Pieces for Solo Piano, recorded by two-time GRAMMY Award winning recording engineer Brian Losch, which shall be released in the fall of 2022, marks Avant's first foray into recording his concert work. Heretofore he has focused primarily on his popular music. In 2017 he recorded his first EP, Dream of Surrender (prod. Mark Sinko), and his sophomore album, entitled Running Across America (prod. Ted Young), was released in the fall of 2019. Avant's concert music is influenced by a wide array of composers including Julia Wolfe, Shubert, Bach, Felix Mendelssohn, Philip Glass, Clara Schumann, Wojciech Kilar, Charles Ives, Elliott Carter, Anthony Braxton, Chopin, Allen Shawn, Schoenberg, Arvo Pärt, John Adams, and Mahler.

After having seen Elton John on VH1 when he was 13, Avant became mesmerized with the piano and began earnestly studying the instrument. Already a seasoned cornetist and trumpeter, he made his professional debut performing with the world-renowned Jim Cullum Jazz Band a few years later aged fifteen at the fabled San Antonio jazz club, The Landing. When he was twenty-four, he made his professional acting debut at The Public Theater of San Antonio as Tom/Jim in the San Antonio premiere of Bruce Norris' Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award winning play, Clybourne Park.

Avant has degrees in religion and philosophy from Trinity University (BA) and the University of Edinburgh (MSc). He is a proud member of AEA, SAG-AFTRA, BMI, The Society of Composers and Lyricists, The Society of Composers Inc., The Ivors Academy, and The Songwriters Hall of Fame. He lives and works in Manhattan.