Georgetown, TX. (Top40 Charts/
James Olszewski Official Website) -
James Olszewski's debut album, 'Speaking In Whispers' has been a long time coming - and worth the wait. In a way, he has been working on it for most of his life.
James has been a musician since he was five years old. He trained himself while listening in on his sister's piano lessons, often repeating the lessons by ear after his sister had finished. He also enjoyed picking our harmonies to music playing on his parents' radio at a young age. Perhaps most significantly, James has been greatly influenced by the music in churches he attended throughout his childhood, learning music theory beginning in children's choirs.
James believes very deeply in the power of music, its ability to draw out emotion, and to help tell stories- or to tell their own stories. He credits the opening music in the movie 'Chariots of Fire' with helping him decide he wanted to write music. In 7th grade he received a keyboard as a gift and began writing short tunes of his own, eventually diving into writing full songs. Some of these very first melodies actually serve as the base for a few of the songs on his 'Speaking in Whispers' album.
James was a percussionist in high school and became fascinated with how simple drums were for him to play, yet how a musician could spend his or her life learning to play more perfectly. Many of his compositions reflect this love for percussion and rhythm. During high school he also began to develop a deeper appreciation of purely classical music, crediting influences including Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, and Igor Stravinsky, as well as more modern composers such as Mark Isham, Ray Lynch, and Hans Zimmer.
James also has a career as a successful technology/information systems professional in the Austin area and it has been difficult for the last several years to devote the time to producing his CD. As the composer, performer, and producer of all his own songs, the task was monumental. With the support of his wife and daughter and lots of long nights, his labor of love was completed at last. It is truly a moving compilation of emotional creations that no music lover will want to miss and includes pieces ranging from simple piano solos to fully orchestrated anthems.
It has long been James' dream to compose music for film and television. Even more than a dream, it is his passion and it has endured through the last 3 decades. To find out more about James and his music, please visit www.jamesolszewski.com. 'Speaking in Whispers' is available online at www.cdbaby.com/cd/jamesolszewski/, and on iTunes.
James is currently starting work on his second CD, a collection of unique orchestrations of hymns from his childhood. The CD is scheduled for release in mid- to late 2009.
