Piano Squall
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Piano Squall (born March 8, 1983) is the stage name of Michael Gluck, a pianist specializing in the performance of music from video games and anime. He is recognized on MTV’s website for his contribution to the world of game music. He is currently employed at Electronic Arts in Redwood City, California.
On Michael’s personal website, he provides his original arrangements, recordings, and live concert videos for free download. He also runs a forum community with more than nine hundred registered supporters.
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[edit] Background
Michael Gluck was born in Hollywood, Florida. At the age of nine, Michael became fascinated with the music of Nobuo Uematsu—a Japanese composer who wrote the soundtrack to the popular Final Fantasy video game series. Michael was so inspired by the music of Final Fantasy that he decided to study piano so that he could learn to play it.
Although the availability of sheet music for video game soundtracks was extremely limited at the time, Michael quickly developed the ability to translate what he was hearing in the game onto the piano by ear. Over the years, he continued to write down his original arrangements and ultimately created an extensive music library from a wide variety of video games and anime.
In 2001, Michael graduated from Pine Crest School in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida and moved to Philadelphia to pursue his Bachelor’s degree in communication, marketing, and Japanese at the University of Pennsylvania. As a college student, Michael teamed up with vocalist Natalie Clyne to create a game and anime music performance group called the Otaku Duet. Together they toured at gaming and anime conventions in the Eastern United States.
[edit] Piano Squall
In 2004, Michael and Natalie parted ways, and the Otaku Duet came to an end. Now a solo pianist, Michael accessed the library of original arrangements that he had been building for more than a decade and used them to create a new concert program. In tribute to the series that sparked his love of music and inspired him to play the piano, Michael performed dressed as Squall Leonhart, the lead character from Final Fantasy VIII and became known throughout the game and anime music world as “Piano Squall”.
That year, he was invited to perform at Otakon, one of the largest anime conventions in the world, for an audience of three thousand people.
[edit] Charitable Work
On May 22nd, 2006, Michael’s grandmother, Betty Schifter, passed away after a forty year battle with multiple sclerosis. Devastated by the news, Michael focused his efforts on fighting the disease by donating a portion of all proceeds to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. He has also held Benefit Concerts that have raised money for a wide variety of charities including Baltimore Reads, The Matthew Foster Foundation, The Maryland Food Bank, and Tsunami Relief. In 2004, he raised nearly three hundred pounds of food for the homeless in a single evening at the Villa Julie College Benefit Concert.
