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Reiman, who has been playing piano since he was six and is primarily self-trained, composes instrumental music for the piano that he describes as contemporary classical – though he noted that those familiar with it say that, because he isn’t classically trained, he’s often more innovative.
“It’s a little outside the box,” he said, adding that it’s inspirational and even sounds a bit new age.
Reiman’s first album, North Maple Road, was released in September 2018. His second, A Glimpse of Grace, was released in September and he had a launch party in New York last month with colleagues also live streaming in from Montreal and Toronto. While the songs are primarily instrumental, there are some woodwinds and strings on the second album, plus one song with lyrics that he surprised his wife with at their wedding 20 years ago. The album is available on Amazon, Spotify, and Apple and “everywhere” you can download music, he said.
Reiman has been composing music since he was a child and says some of the songs on the second album have been with him for 40 years. He composed the first one in high school, and said, “I do it because I am compelled. I don’t have a choice. It’s really that simple.”
He’s always found pianos wherever he’s gone – at school, university, and even in airport lounges. But, when the pandemic began and he was working from home, he had a piano keyboard near his computer monitor, so could take breaks and noodle on it.