Episode 96

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Published on:

17th Mar 2026

3.7 - Paula Dreyer

Paula Dreyer is a classically-trained contemporary composer and pianist living in the Pacific Northwest who seeks to inspire, include, and connect individuals through music. She has created her own, unique sound – weaving a wide range of influences from the Romantic and Impressionistic eras, film composers, Spanish music, and solo improvisation albums from the masters. Listeners are transported through her music that is sophisticated yet intimate, melancholic yet hopeful, hauntingly melodic, and rhythmically alive.

Combining multi-disciplinary art forms and collaborating with various artistic mediums, Paula’s shows are a transporting, mesmerizing experience for the eyes, ears, and heart. Frequent collaborator and award-winning choreographer Kevin Jenkins says this: “Paula infuses her music with perfectly phrased emotion that makes my mind explode with movement concepts. The only challenge is keeping up with her brilliance.”

Kevin has choreographed her compositions and recordings with Jacob’s Pillow featuring dancers from Boston Ballet, as well as St. Louis Ballet, Ballet 5:8 in Chicago, and various dance conservatories. San Francisco-based artist Adrian Arias has created paintings inspired directly by her music, many of which will be featured in her concerts.

An avid performer, Paula has played at world-class venues such as Carnegie Hall and the Green Music Center, and with the Santa Rosa and Monterey Symphonies. Paula was a band member for the legendary show Beach Blanket Babylon, which the New York Times calls “a treasured San Francisco staple.”

She was the winner of the Montréal Classical Music Festival and was a chamber music semi-finalist in the Concert Artist Guild Competition at New York’s Merkin Hall. She was the recipient of the full scholarship Poné Award during her master’s degree in Chamber Music Performance in San Francisco. She also holds music degrees from McGill University in Montréal and Interlochen Arts Academy and studied at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto.

She completed an artist residency at Obras in Portugal, where she composed much of the music for her Little Gems for Piano books. The books have sold thousands of copies worldwide and were recently published in China. Paula is also a well-respected educator and directs a private teaching studio in addition to presenting internationally to piano teachers and adjudicating various festivals.

In her debut original solo album Central Star, Paula uses music as a soul awakening, energy shifting experience. During these tumultuous times when we can feel disconnected and distracted, she seeks to alter the vibration of the room- providing fuel for the soul through the unifying force of music. Central Star tells a personal story about the powers of imagination, intuition, and creative expression during challenging times of transition, as well as offering a therapeutic medium during everyday life. This spellbinding album speaks to the triumphant yet calming creative spirit and evokes feelings from the universal human experience. Prepare to elevate your spirit and embark on a sonic and visual journey like no other.

Paula currently spearheads her concert series Piano Flow Live and her improv program Piano Flow. Piano Flow Live combines live music, outdoor adventure and visual arts. She gathers local creatives such as musicians, artists, photographers, and filmmakers to create unique events under the umbrella of the Bend Creative Music Project. You can find her performing innovative shows in ski lodges and along the Deschutes River.

She recently completed a tour of China. She was invited to present her Little Gems books and perform candlelit concerts in eight cities across China.

A dynamic pianist, composer, and educator, Paula captivates global audiences through her Little Gems for Piano books, albums, concerts, and the transformative Piano Flow improvisation program, fostering inspiration and connection worldwide.

Paula lives in the mountain town of Bend, Oregon with her husband and their two daughters.

https://pauladreyer.com

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About the Podcast

Composer Chats
Composer Chat is a podcast where we talk a little bit about music, a little bit about life, and a whole lot about whatever we feel like at the moment! Each episode I am joined by a special guest composer and we will chat about their pathway towards success in their musical career!

About your host

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Jason Nitsch

Jason Nitsch’s music is equally at home on the concert stage, in outdoor venues, and streaming online, reaching the broadest audience of musicians, performers, and music enthusiasts possible. As a composer dedicated to the exploration of new ideas, his music has evolved over a 25-year career to incorporate more and more non-traditional elements, such as effect tracks, sound drops, and enveloping electroacoustic works combining live and pre-recorded elements. Much of his work is rooted in a large ensemble context; his wind ensemble works have received thousands of performances throughout the US including at Midwest, State Music Conferences including Texas, Colorado, and Kentucky Music Educators Associations, Colleges and Universities like Baylor University, the University of North Texas, and Syracuse University, and at other regional music festivals (ITEA).

In recent years Jason has focused on more intimate chamber musical settings, including collaborations with solo musicians such as trumpeter Kate Amrine , Cellist Carolyn Regula (The Cello Doll) and vocalist Michaela Catapano, as well as chamber groups across the US (Chicago Brass Choir), while continuing expand his sizable catalog of works for larger instrumental forces.

Jason is well known for his work as an educator, dedicated to providing young promising musicians with the foundational experiences on which a lifetime of music-making can be built, and is pursuing research into the ways that music students process their experiences as learners and performers.

Combining his long career in music with a deep love of science fiction and a natural talent for storytelling, Jason recently launched his first podcast, “Beyond the Belt: Adventures from the Outer Rim.” “Beyond the Belt” is a collection of 8 original dramatic science fiction episodes for which he served as writer, producer, and composer. It tells the story of a scientific research experiment gone horribly wrong. With Zombies (of course!).

Jason has released three digital albums in recent years, including the Season One Soundtrack from the Beyond the Belt podcast, “1000 Steps to Nowhere", a collection of chamber music compositions, and most recently “The Dead Teach the Living,” featuring nine vocal collaborations ranging from solo works to Orchestral compositions.

Jason is a lover of dogs, video games, and all things Star Wars (yes, even the prequels). He is also a husband, father of two budding musicians, and a patron of art forms that stretch traditional boundaries.

He currently lives in Waxhachie, TX with his family. He can occasionally be sighted lurking at select music conferences.