Levi Randolph

I grew up with music. From the time I was little, I was surrounded by the rich vibrations slipping through the little F’s of my grandfather’s violin, the resonating chords of my aunt and uncle’s piano playing, the plucking of my father’s guitar strings filling the room, and the beautiful harmony of my mothers voice resounding in the halls of the church. As a little kid, I would watch enthralled as my brother and sister banged out their James Bastien Primer books, waiting for the day I could infix myself on the endeavor of learning the piano. At the age of 5, that day came; I had my first piano lesson. Studying under Vasana K. De Mel at Resonations Studios, I began to scratch the itch that had been there for as long as I could remember. The next few years were devoted, solely, to my study of the piano. As a young student, however, I was very ear-driven, so in addition to the primer books I was racing through, I learned by listening and recreating what I heard. Dr. De Mel encouraged the growth of this particular creative muscle and before I knew it, I was learning the piano accompaniment to “Let it Go” by ear and composing countless pieces on the piano. The first real piece I wrote, at the age of 6, was called “Butterfly Beat”. This began the recurring streams of original works performed, year after year, at recitals, malls, coffee shops, and churches. I proceeded to study piano with Vasana for the next 11 years studying jazz, classical, and rock, and my musicianship along with my creativity blossomed under her direction.

While my experience in piano developed, a vocal counterpoint began to weave its way into my playing. Due to my aural nature and the constant sound of the piano in my ears, singing came easy. At the age of 8, I auditioned for my first musical, Willy Wonka. This show ignited my desire for the stage. With the experience I gained from the stage combined with my ability to accompany myself on piano, I became a one “man” show. Throughout elementary school, I performed whenever an opportunity came my way- school talent shows, statewide school recognition events, and poetry recitations creatively sung to my compositions. In fourth grade, I performed as Dad in Junie B. Jones, alongside Riley Max, the featured singer on my album, who played the role of Junie B. Jones. Having been friends both then and now, we reunited to record “Synthetic Love” on Opus 1. This song is a rich blend of current stylistic language combined with the unique 80s sound filled with synthesizers and drum machines. 

Fourth grade must have been a big year for me because this was the year my grandfather, Dennis Ferrigno, agreed to teach me violin, as long as I put in the work and time that he expected. After 5 months under his instruction, I was admitted into the 5th grade orchestra, earning my position as a 1st violinist. Within 6 months of entering middle school, I was invited to join the high school advanced orchestra and there I remained for the duration of my time in my high school orchestra, playing 1st and 2nd violin and viola. My experience gained in the orchestra was put to use in my album, writing violin duets and trios to some of my piano compositions. These can be heard in “Love Part 1, “Love Part 2” and “With you” in Opus 1.   

My middle school life was cut short just as everyone’s was due to the pandemic. But, as a lot of people feel, the virus was both a blessing and a curse. Stuck at home with my piano, voice, violin, and the beginner audio interface my mom had bought me, my brother and I started to create. With only the internet as our teacher, we toyed around with Davinci Resolve and started producing covers of famous songs. We had barely a clue what we were doing and probably didn’t get a single thing right, but we were having fun in our experimentation. Within weeks of learning how to produce music, we added a video component, and before we knew it, the production of our first music video was born, “What do I know” by Ed Sheeran. (You can probably still find it on our original YouTube channel, Melodic Outbreak, though I wouldn’t). With our newfound skill, we produced our first original song, “Omicron Standard Time '', capturing the frustration of teenagers across the country through one song. Within 24 hours of its release, the song exceeded 1000 views and our area of reach had been drastically enlarged.

Jumping on this momentum, I reached out to Cory Cullinan of Pictoria Records to see if he would be interested in producing my single, “With You” and as a surprise to me, he agreed. We hit it off immediately. During the craziness of my junior year, amidst my professional debut in Parker Arts & Culture Events Center as Cavemen in The Addams Family, assistant directing my first show, Beauty and the Beast, and preparing for my National Piano Guild High School Diploma exams, “With you” was released. After hitting over 24K streams across all distribution platforms, I realized that my music resonated with people across the world, and the inspiration for the creation of my first album Opus 1 was born. 

Opus 1, draws from my mixed piano studies in jazz, classical, and rock, pulls from my 5 years of orchestra experience, and brings in my 10 years of musical theater training to effectively convey the story. This work, written over the past 4 years, represents that unrestricted, messy version of love that we all face. Each song explores a different style of music, as well as a different side of our relationships. The album speaks to the endless cycles of love, the path it travels, oscillating in and out of our lives, the unimaginable pain we feel when we lose it, and the ways that pain is tempered by the reminder of loving moments to come. I hope that you enjoy, Opus 1.

-Levi Randolph