MOVING THROUGH WORLDS: Composer Fiona Joy Hawkins Reflects on the Past, Explores the Now on Her 13th Album of Originals

Piano keyboard and Fiona with windblown hair

Moving Through Worlds by Fiona Joy Hawkins is an exploration of the "now": fire, survival and the vanishing of souls into the wind. Cover photo by Liz Linder. Artwork by Alicia Moodley/Junior Massive

Composer Fiona Joy Hawkins at Imaginary Road Studio;

Composer Fiona Joy Hawkins at Imaginary Road Studios; photo by Liz Linder.

FIona Joy Hawkins hands playing free weekly "Living Room" concerts

Fiona Joy Hawkins plays free weekly "Living Room" concerts for her global fans during the quarantine era. Photo by Liz Linder.

Fiona Joy Hawkins' uplifting new album of melodic instrumental and solo piano works was produced by Will Ackerman and Tom Eaton.

Music is a universal language that connects us without prejudice, it speaks to us all equally, yet is received with great variation.”
— Fiona Joy Hawkins
LOS ANGELES, CA, USA, July 7, 2020 /EINPresswire.com/ -- As the Australian Bushfires crept toward her rural home, Fiona Joy Hawkins turned to her Stuart & Sons piano to do what has always bought her solace: write music. After crafting 4 songs that she later marketed as fundraisers for firefighters and wildlife rescue – and which are included on this album – she began final preparations on a new album: Moving Through Worlds. And, when the fires gave way to a pandemic she was grounded from touring, so Hawkins began a wildly popular series of weekly live-streamed “Living Room Concerts” on Facebook, much to her fans’ delight. In celebration of her new album releasing today, she will be the premier guest on "The River of Calm's 20-Minute Tuesdays Concert Series" produced by The River of Calm – Music to Soothe Your Soul™ on Tuesday, July 7, 2020 at 7pm CDT; to watch, simply go to https://www.facebook.com/theriverofcalm/ or the Fiona Joy Hawkins music page at https://www.facebook.com/fionajoyhawkinsmusic/.

Hawkins began recording and conceptualising this album three years ago, and yet she describes it as an album over 44-years in the making. One of the classical-crossover pieces is “For the Roses” which a 12-year-old Hawkins wrote and performed for her Grandmother’s funeral. The song “Calling County Clare” reaches even further back, to her family’s Irish roots, called forth with a wistful Irish whistle by Paul Jarman, Hawkins on piano/vocals, and Will Ackerman (guitar/hopi), Tom Eaton (accordion), Jeff Haynes (percussion) and Tony Levin (NS bass). Along the way, Hawkins also attracted musical contributions from renowned soprano & violinist Rebecca Daniel, Charlie Bisharat (violin), Jill Haley (English horn), Jeff Oster (flugelhorn, and Eugene Friesen (cello).

“My wish is to open a few more hearts to the power of music with this album. I believe music is a gift from another world, from ancestors of the past communicating to inspire and give us hope,” Hawkins said, reflecting on the world’s current challenges. “Music is a universal language that connects us without prejudice, it speaks to us all equally, yet is received with great variation. Now, more than ever, we need the connection to our past to find the pathway to our future.”

The 14-track album was produced by Will Ackerman (Founder, Windham Hill Records) and Tom Eaton. As per her usual style, Hawkins defies genre by bringing classical, contemporary piano, ethereal vocals, and lush new age instrumentals together to create a sound that is uniquely her own. The blend of solo piano and instrumental pieces reflect some of the worlds that she has moved through so elegantly while this powerful music gathered in her soul: cue the cumulative life of an artistic woman: granddaughter, nurse, wife, mother, daughter-in-law, caretaker, friend, lover, painter, pianist, singer...and, ultimately, composer.

Jonathan Widran, in a music review for JWVibe, wrote “While fusing the old and new on these tracks to help her come to terms with the past and 'put her ghosts to bed,' Fiona places a dreamy, easy flowing coda on this era of her life with 'All That is Left,' blending piano, violin and flugelhorn to create a final confrontation with these issues – and a sense of hope that she is on her way to healing.”

Hawkins' loyal fans are a global bunch who "chat" excitedly during the weekly live streamed concerts, while newcomers enjoy Hawkins' ballet-like piano playing style, stemming from a childhood spent learning classical piano, dance, painting and overcoming her shyness via performance. In her music, one can hear the inspiration of Felix Mendelssohn and Frédéric Chopin, and yet it is usually likened to modern composers such as Ludovico Einaudi, Michael Nyman, Liz Story, and George Winston. When not at her rural Australian home, Hawkins regularly tours China and the USA, and is also a member of the award-winning contemporary instrumental group, FLOW (Fiona Joy, Lawrence Blatt, Jeff Oster, Will Ackerman). For a complete biography, visit Hawkin's Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fiona_Joy_Hawkins

MOVING THROUGH WORLDS will be available in physical and digital formats, both downloadable and streaming on Amazon, iTunes, Spotify, Pandora, Apple Music, Tidal, Deezer and 200 other platforms, or, purchase directly from the artist at https://littlehartleymusic.com.au/shop/music-cds-sacds/moving-through-worlds-2/

Track List:
1 Calling County Clare (5:06)
2 Bushfire Moon (5:03)
3 Prayer For Rain (4:08)
4 All That is Left (5:34)
5 Aqua 1 (1:55)
6 Prelude in E Minor (Chopin, #4) (2:37)
7 Desert of Crystal (4:28)
8 Tolling of the Fire Bell (5:18)
9 Aqua 2 (1:20)
10 Passing Of Midnight (3:39)
11 Moving Through Worlds (4:28)
12 For the Roses (Solo Piano) (3:28)
13 Song For Louise (1:49)
14 Twilight Moment (2:32)

Connect:
https://littlehartleymusic.com.au/
https://fionajoy.com/
https://flowthegroup.com/
https://www.facebook.com/fionajoyhawkinsmusic
https://twitter.com/fionajoymusic
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fionajoymusic/
Videos: https://www.youtube.com/user/fionajoy

About Fiona Joy Hawkins
Fiona Joy Hawkins is a mainstream Composer/Pianist/Vocalist with an international following, whom she greets weekly with pandemic-inspired, live-streamed concerts from her rural home in NSW Australia. The event’s growing popularity may be attributable to a combination of her musical talent, a love for her fans, and her disarming Aussie humour. Her latest album is Moving Through Worlds, produced by Will Ackerman and Tom Eaton, for her own label, Little Hartley Music. A prolific composer, she has always been interested in creating music that evokes images, emotions and tells stories. https://fionajoy.com/

Album and Video Credits:
Written/Piano/Vocals: Fiona Joy Hawkins
Music Produced by Will Ackerman and Tom Eaton
Mixed and Mastered by Tom Eaton
Video: The Big Movie Company (Brad Diebert, Tanya Marino)
Drone Footage of Irish Coastline: Bryan Patterson
Artist photos by Liz Linder

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Official Video: "Calling County Clare" by Fiona Joy Hawkins from the new album, MOVING THROUGH WORLDS