The Inside Story: Dinah Bianchi and FIRST IMPRESSIONS

Award-winning Michigan composer, Dinah Bianchi, shares an impactful creative vision on her self-titled album, DINAH BIANCHI: FIRST IMPRESSIONS. Performed by 10 world-class musicians, many of whom frequently showcase their talents with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra and Detroit Opera House, this collection embodies the composer’s belief that music should be sublimely beautiful and communicative.

Today, Dinah is our featured artist in the “Inside Story,” a blog series exploring the inner workings and personalities of our composers and performers. Read on for a glance at her passions outside of music, and her thoughts on the importance of defining your own path…

If you weren’t a musician, what would you be doing?

I’ve always been a musician, so to think of myself as something other than a musician is nearly impossible, but if I had to choose a different profession, I would most likely choose to serve as an advocate for people with developmental disabilities in order to strengthen and empower those of us whose voice, at many times, goes unnoticed.

If you could collaborate with anyone, who would it be?

If I could collaborate with any one living person, it would most certainly be John Williams. The wealth of his artistry to this world is immeasurable and his music is undeniably awe-inspiring. If I could collaborate with any one ensemble, it would absolutely be the Detroit Symphony Orchestra. Living in Detroit for a period of my life, as well as in close proximity to the city for much of my life, there has been no direct influence greater to my musical development than the DSO. As a professional orchestral performer, it is an honor for me to have been able to study in length with three of the most remarkable musicians in the orchestra during their time: Carl Karoub, Karl Pituch, and Corbin Wagner.

What advice would you give to your younger self if given the chance?

If I could give my younger self advice, I would say to live more in the moment and not to focus too much on the future. Life can be absolutely unpredictable, and yet, through faith, hope, and perseverance, things tend to progress infinitely better than planned. I suppose that I would also stress the importance of defining one’s own path and not to allow others the opportunity to define what you’re capable of achieving. 

What emotions do you hope listeners will experience after hearing your work?

Human intuition is incredibly powerful, and although I’m intimately familiar with the emotions that I perceive to be emanating from my music, it is my hope that each listener will experience the emotions that resonate most deeply with them as they listen to the vast multitude of varying soundscapes contained within this album. My personal advice would be to listen with an open mind and feel with an open heart.

What were your first musical experiences?

Without a doubt, my father contributed to my first musical experiences. As a church pianist and musical enthusiast, he would practice without fail, every morning as the sun was entering the sky, so whether I wanted to or not, I awoke to an abundance of varying styles and genres, including works written by Bach, Beethoven, Tchaikovsky, Chopin, Rachmaninoff, Scott Joplin, George Gershwin, Louis Armstrong, Andrew Lloyd Weber, and Fats Waller (just to name a few). It’s interesting to note that music was such an integral part of my upbringing that I was named after Louis Armstrong’s iconic song, Dinah.

Where and when are you at your most creative?

I am most creative in the late evening and early morning, when everyone else is sound asleep and I have the freedom to allow my musical concepts to flourish and ideas to actualize.

What are your other passions besides music?

Besides music, my passions include: supporting the sustainability of nature and wildlife; dabbling in the culinary arts; creating significant memories with my family and friends; and overall, living an artful and meaningful life while encouraging others to do the same.