Today we’d like to introduce you to Eli Baumgarten.
Hi Eli, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I am from Lakewood, Colorado. Around the age of five, I happened to attend an afterschool event in the library with my parents, and someone was there showing all the kids an electric piano. According to myth (my parents), I was very intrigued by the keyboard, so much so that they decided to enroll me in piano lessons. For the next approximate thirteen years, I took piano lessons at the Colorado School of Music in Golden, CO, from a man named Kirk Vollack. Without Kirk, I would not be the person I am today. He saw my curiosity and interest in music, especially in coming up with my own ideas. By the age of six or seven, I had written my first piece of music on the piano, “Skulls of Bones.” It is about eight measures (fifteen seconds) long. It is a surprisingly intense fifteen seconds…not necessarily harmonious, but intriguing nonetheless. Skulls of Bones set me on a journey of writing music. All throughout elementary, middle, and high school, I wrote songs on the piano and uploaded them on YouTube and other streaming platforms. I got accepted with a scholarship to the Thompson Jazz Studies program at the University of Colorado Boulder, where I studied jazz piano performance. Here, I was mentored by world-class musicians, including Victor Mestas, Andrew Cooperstock, Jeff Jenkins, Brad Goode, and many others. I played in various local bands in college, and wrote a lot of music. I was lucky enough to get to study abroad for a semester at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music in Sydney, Australia. This voyage directly inspired my first album, Into Nowhere, which I released in December 2023 upon graduating from CU Boulder. It features rhythm section (piano, bass, drums), cello, and violin. After college, I lived for a short time in Lakewood where I grew up. All the while, I was playing shows in Denver, and sold out the well-known Dazzle Denver jazz club for an album release show. After saving up money, I decided to move to Los Angeles. At the time, I was somewhat interested in medicine an decided to become an EMT. I got to Los Angeles, completed a highly accelerated EMT training program, then worked as an EMT while playing occassional shows in Los Angeles. I realized that I truly wanted to fully pursue music, and began teaching piano lessons, composing more music, and playing gigs, and I left the EMT job behind. Now, my day to day consists of composing, playing gigs, music directing, and teaching piano.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
I would say the road has been bumpy. Sometimes more so than I’d like, but mostly just the right amount. I am truly grateful for my journey so far. I am proud of my accomplishments; releasing original music, performing, teaching, music directing shows…For me, the struggles have come more from an internal than external place. I am a very ambitious person, and also struggle with self-belief. It takes me a while to own what I want, declare it to myself, and then go after it. At times, overthinking has given the road many twists and turns, as I’ve explored various paths to try and find my way. However, I think that this exploration has been entirely necessary for me, because I notice that it has provided me with deep clarity in many regards about where I want to go. As the saying goes, “hindsight is 20/20.” That is how I feel looking back on my life so far. All of the twists and turns have led me to where I am now. I try to remain grounded, present, and grateful for each moment.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I am a composer and pianist. Primarily, I write instrumental jazz music that fuses jazz and classical traditions, with an undertone of a cinematic feel. I am most proud of my first album, Into Nowhere, which showcases this sound and reflects the internal journey through which I was going when I was traveling in Australia during my semester abroad in college.
I also write music for theatre, and relish the process of crafting music to serve a character and a story. Theatre is a very collaborative art, and I find that some of my best work comes through collaboration. I enjoy writing theatre music in collaboration with lyricists, in addition to music directing theatre performances. Most recently, I have been directing the music for “An Evening With Eartha Live”, an Eartha Kitt-themed cabaret starring Thomasina Gross. Music direction entails a combination of leadership, collaboration, creative input, musical precision, and serving a larger vision. At times, even with collaboration, composing can be a solitary craft. For me, balancing this with music directing, which is highly interactive, keeps me excited about both sides of my musical life.
We’d love to hear about any fond memories you have from when you were growing up?
This is a tough question – there are many to choose from. Among all the camping adventures with my parents and brother, a surprise foray to Disneyworld, and exciting shows played throughout my childhood, one memory sticks out clearly. I remember in the middle of the summer, when I was about 10 years old, I was bounding into my parents’ driveway after sprinting up and down the block, about to go harass my younger brother. In the moment that I ran onto the driveway, I recall feeling a wave of awe, and thinking about how cool it was to be alive, and how much I loved my parents and my brother. In retrospect, I think that was one of my first times feeling deep gratitude, and that memory is still very clear in my mind. It’s my favorite.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.elibaumgarten.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/elibaumgarten
Image Credits
Heather Le Roy
