Soren Anders (born John T. Fischer) is an American composer, singer, record producer and instrumentalist from southern Illinois. He is the creator of the multi-award winning band
Shimmerplanet.
Early life
Anders has said that as a child, he spent a lot of time outdoors, growing things and getting dirty. A bit of a hippy, he subscribed to ''Organic Gardening'' magazine when he was eight years old. He spent much of his early years playing the piano and violin, drafting maps of imaginary cities, and escaping into endless hours of TV watching.
At the age of 16, Anders turned off the TV for good, and wrote his first piece, a terribly melancholy instrumental composition for solo piano.
In college, Anders committed himself to the piano, studying under the acclaimed principal pianist for the
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
The Chicago Symphony Orchestra (CSO) was founded by Theodore Thomas in 1891. The ensemble makes its home at Orchestra Hall in Chicago and plays a summer season at the Ravinia Festival. The music director is Riccardo Muti, who began his tenu ...
,
Mary Sauer
Mary Sauer-Vincent (born October 31, 1975, in Green Bay, Wisconsin) is an American pole vaulter. Her personal best jump is , achieved in July 2002 in Madrid
Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3 ...
. Anders possessed a special affinity for terribly melancholy Russian music.
Anders' has performed in many bands most notably
Shimmerplanet.
He has taught elementary school music in a dangerous neighborhood, formed an award-winning children's gospel choir, and wrote music for a few plays and films. And, in the middle of all this musical meandering, he moved to New York and created
Shimmerplanet.
Career
Ander's has gained much critical success as the creator of the band
Shimmerplanet has been called "a breakthrough creatively" and "brilliant". "It takes artistic courage to be this lyrically honest and musically experimental," wrote Indie-Music.com.
Awards from The
Songwriters Hall of Fame
The Songwriters Hall of Fame (SHOF) is an American institution founded in 1969 by songwriter Johnny Mercer, music publisher/songwriter Abe Olman, and publisher/executive Howie Richmond to honor those whose work, represent, and maintain, the he ...
, The Independent Music Awards, and Talent in Motion Magazine followed.
Anders has worked with 60s recording icon
Lesley Gore, 80s recording icon
Chris Stein
Christopher Stein (born January 5, 1950) is an American musician known as the co-founder and guitarist of the new wave band Blondie. He is also a producer and performer for the classic soundtrack of the hip hop film ''Wild Style'', and writer ...
(of
Blondie), and recently scored and conducted a choir for one of his favorite bands,
Menomena
Menomena is an indie rock band from Portland, Oregon, United States, made up of Justin Harris and Danny Seim. Both members of the band share singing duties and frequently swap instruments while recording. In concert, Seim plays drums, while Ha ...
. The recipient of numerous awards, international airplay and critical accolades, Anders is very busy, not just with
Shimmerplanet, but with various other collaborations (
Darren Ockert,
Carolyn Eufrasio
Carolyn is a female given name, a variant of Caroline. Other spellings include Karolyn, Carolyne, Carolynn or Carolynne. Caroline itself is one of the feminine forms of Charles.
List of Notable People
*Carolyn Bennett (born 1950), Canadian pol ...
,
Molly Bea).
References
External links
Soren Anders– official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Anders, Soren
Living people
21st-century American composers
American multi-instrumentalists
American male singer-songwriters
Singer-songwriters from Illinois
Shark Meat Records artists
American male pianists
21st-century American pianists
21st-century American male musicians
Year of birth missing (living people)