Conversations with Adam Kormondy

Today we’d like to introduce you to Adam Kormondy.

Hi Adam, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I started playing the piano at age 6. Most activities I tried as a kid fell away quickly, but I kept with the piano and throughout school learned other instruments for more opportunity to perform in different ensembles and styles. It was in middle school when I first got to play in a “jazz” band. While at that point I hadn’t been properly taught the language, just gaining the freedom to improvise on the instrument changed something in me. Growing up there was a feeling I had no control and was at the mercy of others’ expectations and ideas. To create my own music was a chance to take back agency in a small way. So much of our lives is not up to us, but the choices I made on the bandstand were, and that was enough to start to push back against the fear and dread that had been building. It was a foothold from which I started building a sense of self-direction.

Most of high school I wanted to be a psychiatrist, but in my senior year it became clear music was the path I needed to take. After playing in jazz band, marching band, drumline, concert band, symphonic winds, a musical, multiple combos, and a saxophone quartet how could I ignore where my attention had naturally led to?

For college, I attended UC Irvine for Jazz Studies in piano and Philosophy of Law. I studied under Kei Akagi, who was the first teacher that properly explained to me the language and introduced me to many of the musicians who are at the core of my influences today. The college experience expanded my understanding of the world. I became more sensitive to history, was pushed to stretch my creative boundaries, and developed my own aesthetic sense learning from faculty like Kei, Michael Dessen, Stephan Hammel, Lukas Ligeti, Darek Oleszkiewicz, Colleen Reardon, Nicole Grimes, Amy Bauer, Dawn Norfleet and Bobby Rodriguez. Each of them played a part large or small in creating the musician and person I am today, and I am forever grateful.

After graduating, it’s been a wonderful few years of being a full time musician and educator. My life consists around music in so many forms, and I get to continue my process of learning and growing. Currently I’m also working on attending law school, to eventually be able to better pursue my ethical and political ideals as a lawyer.

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Although I’ve been given a lot of privileges, it has not been a smooth road. My parents divorced when I was young and even though I went between two houses (and eventually one) it took a long time to feel I had a home. Pushing my high school schedule to the max was a way to avoid having to be shut in my room which was the only place I could feel somewhat safe. This did get better eventually as the people who made me feel this way were removed from the environment but it took years.

My largest struggle then and today has been learning to overcome myself. To overcome my own tendency to overthink and read into everything I do as a musician and person. Insecurities about my musical ability, fears that my beliefs aren’t worthy to be shared, feelings that regardless of my intentions I’ll come across in a negative light, and guilt for even having these feelings are all battles I fight every day. Remembering that the only thing up to me are how I react to impressions and the actions I take from those impressions is something I constantly strive to get better at. Thank you to Epictetus.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I am a full time musician and educator, currently working with 24 students (and always happy to add more!), performing with my own original groups the Albion Kristof Quartet, the Stagg Street Trio, and Some Nice People, and being a sideman with wonderful artists like Angela Muñoz, Matt Tuley and the 345, the Jake Fleder band, and Jake Stirn along with many one off gigs. I’m also the music director of the Fullhouse Ensemble, for which I’ve arranged the entirety of base MK8 Deluxe for our Live Mario Kart event, and over 30 pieces for our Disney Jazz event. Finally, I do a lot of solo piano work for restaurants, private parties, and the like with over 500 tunes in my current repertoire. Hire me for your bands and events!

I’m most proud of my composing and arranging, and think that it is the main thing that sets me apart from others (although we live in a time with so many incredible and distinct musical voices). Whether it’s a long narrative piece, a short “head” form for improvising, or a recreation of a popular tune, my works emphasize the importance of the individual present moment and the choices of the performer. I never want two performances of a piece to sound exactly the same, but to be molded by the individuals that are performing it. So far I’ve written about 90 tunes with many more still in progress, each one representing a different side or synthesis of my musical interests. I’m only competing with myself.

Let’s talk about our city – what do you love? What do you not love?
I love LA and Socal and it’s hard to see myself living anywhere else. People stereotype it as being hyper-individualistic but whenever we’re faced with disaster the true community comes through and we rise up to help one another however we can. In this upcoming era marked by fascism, climate change, and alienation, it’s that mentality that will be essential for our survival as a city (and a world, but that’s another conversation). No matter what comes, LA will endure.

What I like least about LA (and Socal as a whole) is the dismal state of public transportation. Car-centric infrastructure reduces the potential of the city to be a tight-knit community and pushes many to stay mostly within their immediate neighborhood and feel fragmented. If it were easier to move around, our community as a city would be unstoppable. It also feeds into the divide between rich and poor as it becomes easy for the wealthiest to stay within their bubbles and ignore the lives that so many are living.

Pricing:

• 30/45/60 Minute Piano Lesson at Your Home: $40/$60/$75
• Music for Your Event: email for a quote!

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kormondy.keys
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/@albionkristof
• Email: heliosphererecords@gmail.com

Image Credits
Sky Bartlett
Paul Edward ”Sal”azar
Mark from Radiant