Scott Kirby records his second collection of original compositions. Tangos, choros, waltzes and exploratory forms of Terra Verde contribute to this diverse body of work. At times mourning and at others celebrating, this music offers a full range of expressive as well as technical pianism, exploiting Kirby's propensity for merging the rhythmic with the romantic.. About The Company: The recordings of Viridiana Productions, L.L.C. represent a grass roots movement designed to promote the new music Terra Verde, as well as various traditions from which it draws. Terra Verde, a contemporary and distinctly American musical art form, fuses elements of European romanticism with New World ethnic styles, such as ragtime, jazz, Latin-American and country.The result is a rich and vital language for our time, and a new stage in the evolution of piano-based composition. Viridiana exists to champion the composers and performers of Terra Verde, and to pay tribute to the innovative and sometimes unheralded forerunners to this exciting new realm of American music. About The Artist: Pianist/composer Scott Kirby specializes in distinctly American musical styles which include Classic Ragtime, New Ragtime, Creole Music and Terra Verde. As a performer, he is also an educator, providing historical context and musical insight into the program as it unfolds. Whether on the concert stage or in the classroom, Kirby offers a musical experience which is both informative and intimate, educational yet highly personal. Each presentation is unique and may include examples from North America, South America and the Caribbean, illuminating how a rich musical heritage evolved from a melange of ethnic music and "art music", from the aural and the composed traditions. Various composers include Louis Moreau Cottschalk, Scott Joplin, Brazilian composer Ernesto Nazareth, Jazz pioneer Ferdinand "Jelly Roll" Morton and Ernesto Lecuona of Cuba. Concerts may also contain short pieces from Latin America and the French Caribbean such as the Haitian merengue, the biguine from Martinique, the Puerto Rican danza, the cumbia or the Cuban habanera. In addition, Kirby champions writers of New Ragtime and Terra Verde, contemporary counterparts to the more traditional styles. As a composer, Kirby combines the influence of nineteenth century romanticism with these New World idioms into his own individual, syncopated language. A native of Ohio, Scott Kirby began his study of music at the age of six, and continued formal piano instruction for seventeen years. He worked under Robert Howat of Wittenburg University of Ohio, and Sylvia Zaremba at the Ohio State University. After obtaining an English degree from Ohio State University, Kirby moved to New Orleans and began his professional music career. In the following four years, he recorded the complete rags of Scott Joplin, and made his debut at all of the major ragtime festivals in the United States, as well as festivals in Belgium, France, Norway and Hungary. Kirby now divides his time between performance and composition, and is available for concert appearances, workshops, residencies and festivals. Discography: SOLO PROJECTS: Scott Joplin's Ragtime The Complete Scott Joplin, Vol.1 The Complete Scott Joplin, Vol.2 The Complete Scott Joplin, Vol.3 The Complete Scott Joplin, Vol.4 More Damn Good Ragtime The Complete Rags of Scott Joplin, vol. I (New series in 3 volumes) Grace & Beauty On Lincoln Place Ravenna COLLABORATIVE PROJECTS: Terra Verde Creole Music Bucktown in the Nineties Ragtime Primer 57 Kinds of Blues Augie Jr. and the Big Mess Blues Band Some Assembly Required Frontiers