Donald Wolcott

Donald Wolcott (April 13, 1990) is a jazz musician from Rockville, Maryland.

Donald Wolcott
Jazz musician Donald Wolcott
Background information
OriginRockville, Maryland
Genresjazz, rock
Occupation(s)musician
InstrumentsPiano, bass, guitar, drums

Biography

Donald Wolcott began training as a pianist at age five. He initially studied classical piano, but became more interested in jazz by the time he reached middle school. In high school, he was the pianist for the jazz ensemble, a position he held until graduation. He formed the rock band "Three Easy Payments," and performed with them over the next four years, singing lead vocals, playing bass and keyboards, and writing songs. In addition, he served as the producer and manager for the group. He is also self-taught in bass, guitar, and drums.[1]

In 2005, Wolcott received acclaim from the University of the Arts in Philadelphia as a top soloist in their annual jazz festival. In 2006, he was accepted as a bassist into the Montgomery County Honors Jazz Ensemble. In 2007, he earned an honorable mention for jazz performance in the National Distinguished Scholar Competition, and in 2008, he received the "Maestro Award" at the Washington D.C. Heritage Music Festival.[2]

Wolcott graduated from Rockville High School in Maryland in 2008. He accepted a scholarship to Towson University, where he majored in Jazz/Commercial Performance. He now works professionally as a pianist in the Baltimore/Washington D.C. area and teaches music at Saint James Academy in Monkton, MD.[3]

The Diamond Star Project

The Diamond Star Project is a collaboration between the rock band Point Valid and American mezzo-soprano and science fiction author Catherine Asaro. It resulted in Point Valid's second CD, Diamond Star (Starflight Music, April 2009), which is a soundtrack for Asaro's novel Diamond Star (Baen Books, May 2009).[4][5][6]

Donald Wolcott joined the Diamond Star Project in 2009, after the members of Point Valid dispersed to pursue their education.[7] He arranged and consolidated the songs from the CD so they could be performed by a duo ensemble in concert, with Wolcott on keyboard and Asaro as the vocalist. Wolcott toured until 2011 with Asaro, where she performed as the Guest of Honor at science fiction conventions, including venues in the United States,[8] at the Danish National Science Fiction Convention and at the New Zealand National Science Fiction Convention [9][10] In 2011, Greg Adams replaced Wolcott as the pianist and band leader for the Diamond Star project.[11]

References
  1. Fast Forward television interviews The Diamond Star interviews are also available on YouTube from the user FastForwardCrew
  2. Biographical article to accompany interview with Donald Wolcott on Writer's Chatroom
  3. Donald Wolcott's Home Page
  4. Ian Randal Strock (March 10, 2009). "Catherine Asaro's newest novel comes with its own soundtrack, which she helped write". SFScope.com. Archived from the original on July 8, 2012.
  5. Charles E. Gannon. "An interview with Diamond Star author Catherine Asaro and Hayim Ani of Point Valid". SF Site.
  6. Alasdair Wilkins (May 1, 2009). "Catherine Asaro Rocks Out For Her Latest Science Fiction Epic". io9.com.
  7. Cat Adams. "Diamond Star Interview (August 14, 2009)". Paraoddity. Archived from the original on July 8, 2011. Retrieved September 1, 2009.
  8. Texas-Apollocon Florida-Necronomicon Indiana-InConJunction
  9. Copenhagan, Denmark-Fantasticon
  10. Auckland, New Zealand-Context
  11. Windycon Archive: See year 2011
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