Philip Pletcher Music

616-204-9616
phil@PhilipPletcher.com
For more information or to inquire about booking Phil for an event:
Contact Us
Personal Words from Phil
I love music...even piano music with which I'm wrestling in the practice room. I suppose that's a positive attribute, as I have some melody or another playing around in my head nearly 24/7. I was four years old when I began picking out melodies in our living room. The Poole piano was one of questionable quality for which Dad had paid cash at a truckload sale. My experimentation with basic harmonization came soon after, although my hands were too small yet to play more than two notes with each. 

Mom, Dad, my brother and two sisters are all natural musicians so there was never a time when music was not filling our home as a pivotal force in my life. As soon as I demonstrated the unusual talent, my parents searched for a teacher in order to circumvent the pitfall of growing up having the ability to play only "by ear." The Suzuki method not yet being in vogue, finding a piano studio that would accept me at such a young age proved to be challenging even though I was already able to read.

They soon found her...Maxine Haller, the woman who became my mentor through sixth grade, at which time she recommended that we engage another teacher for more advanced studies. Charlotte Adams then became my guide through high school. She was perfect, as she was a musician's musician who understood the art in any form. She "got it" from the kishkas, as one could say in Yiddish. She simply oozed music and modeled being as comfortable with a George Shearing jazz interpretation as with a classical sonata or concerto. Then came college and grad school and a lifetime of playing. I often wonder how many times I have ever pushed a key on a piano.

A little about my favorite musical tastes:
    Opera---Aida
    Symphonic Works---Gustav Mahler's "Das Lied von der Erde"
            Camille Saint-Saens' "Organ Symphony"
            Claude Debussy's "L'apres-midi d'un faune"
    Musical---Howard Crabtree and Mark Waldrop's "When Pigs Fly"
    Musical Instruments---Piano and anything with strings
    Piano Sonata---Ludwig van Beethoven's "Opus 109"
    Piano Concerto---Johannes Brahms' "Piano Concerto No. 2, Op. 83"
    Duet Piano Piece---Franz Schubert's "Fantasy in F-minor, D. 940"
    Piano Duo---Sergei Rachmaninoff's "Suite No. 2, Op. 17"
    Pianist---Martha Argerich
    Pop Singer---Nina Simone
    Opera Singer---Renee Fleming

​