Review #1: Jason Kellner, Reno Gazette-Journal
January 30, 2004

Reno pianist and composer Chad Twedt has a lot of people telling him he's going places. University of Nevada, Reno music professor Dr. James Winn says Twedt is a composer to be reckoned with, and Twedt is on the short list of artists for a big East Coast event that he risks blowing if he tells you about it.

Time will tell where this Reno artist is going. For now, he's living the life of the do-it-yourself independent artist, mounting and marketing a tour and teaching piano to about 40 students out of his home where he lives with his wife and 4-month-old daughter.

His first CD of original compositions, "Ostinato," was released late this year, and he'll be performing his first concert of original material tonight at UNR's Nightingale Concert Hall, where he sold out the 600-seat theater in a student recital in 2001. Word of mouth helps bring the crowds, Twedt says.

If it's not real interesting, they're not going to come back," he said in an interview. "I pick programs that are enjoyable and exciting to watch."

In the past, Twedt has tempered his classical repertoire with selections by PDQ Bach, the Weird Al Yankovic of classical whose music parodies the genre. But his new concerts are the first in which he's putting his own work up for consideration. "Ostinato" showcases that music.

"It has aspects of all kinds of music," Twedt said. "It has the complexity and difficulty of classical. It has some new-age sound in some of the pieces. There's even aspects of other music, like techno, that I've taken some techniques from."

Twedt discovered a knack for composing only recently. Beginning as an elementary-school student, Twedt took piano lessons, where he was schooled in the classical greats while his peers listened to pop radio.

"I liked rock and listened to the radio, too, but as you progress through piano and advanced repertoire, the classical stuff becomes more exciting," he said.

Around the age of 10, one of Twedt's piano assignments was to write a composition. He wasn't interested, and when he completed the project, his teacher accused him of plagiarism.

"She thought it was too good to be written by me," Twedt said. "She thought I had surely ripped it off."

Years went by before he composed again, until finishing his master's degree in 2001. An advanced music theory class had him writing in a technique called serial composing, and the result was something his professor had never heard.

"If I hadn't finished my master's, I don't know if I would've explored composing," Twedt said.

One of Twedt's goals is to blur the line between classical and popular music, opening up his music and artists like him to a broader audience.

"When I was 12 or 13 ... I could already see a sharp line between classical music, which much of the public regards as boring music for elitists, and popular music, which many classical musicians look down on because of its simplicity. I felt there was so much classical music that the public would love if they would be exposed to it."

Twedt is confident he's going to draw a diverse audience at his concerts, and says he's appealed to hard-to-please classical fans as well as fans of rock and rap.

· Show Info: Twedt performs at 7pm Jan. 30 at Nightingale Concert Hall on the University of Nevada, Reno campus. Tickets are $16.50 after entertainment tax, available at the door, or in advance on Twedt's web site, www.twedt.com. He's donating 25 percent of the profits to the Red Cross. Details: 784-6145.

Review #2: Rollan Melton, Reno Gazette Journal
Article at original location (www.rgj.com)
April 23, 2001

WONDERFULLY talented pianist Chad Twedt will earn his master’s degree in piano performance at UNR’s commencement in May. But first, there is the matter of another recital by this young master of the keyboard. Ordinarily, a student musician in recital may draw an audience of about 40 people — and that includes family, too.

But Twedt is something else. His last recital drew close to 400 at Nightingale Hall. I wouldn’t be surprised if this rare young talent on Sunday fills all 612 seats at the concert Hall. For one thing, the 7 p.m. show and refreshments are free and the public is encouraged to attend. For another, the program features the music of Beethoven, Chopin, Scarlatti and Stravinsky.

Finally, there is Twedt, who began piano studies in Reno as a 6-year-old. He has had a succession of standout teachers, including, of course, the now-retired Ron Williams. For the last three years, his talents continued to flower under the mentorship of UNR professor James Winn.

Says Winn: “Chad is a wonderfully talented pianist, always getting around the keyboard beautifully.”

Twedt is a past recipient of the UNR Excellence Fellowship, awarded to only two students each year. In 1997, he was the Nevada state winner of the MTNA-Young Chang collegiate artist piano competition. He has recorded three CDs and one video, all at his live performances. They are available at www.twedt.com. Listeners also may hear much of what he has recorded at www.mp3.com/twedt.