“Andrew Shapiro’s 2016 “Visiting Artist” event at Yale College was simply extraordinary.
I was inspired to invite him because I loved his TEDx Talk and the quirkiness and romance of his biography — including playing the piano at McDonald’s restaurants and in concerts all around Poland. He’s a phenomenal pianist, and I love his compositions.
He is also a stimulating speaker. The students and other attendees enjoyed discussing his serendipitous road to success. And so his visit to our campus was filled with beautiful music as well as a delightful conversation, and it was a great deal of fun.”
Performance and talk at TEDx Krakow (Click to view)
Performance and talk at The Bronx High School of Science, Bronx, NY
ANDREW SHAPIRO PERFORMS AND SPEAKS AT COLLEGES, UNIVERSITIES AND OTHER EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS ABOUT THESE AND OTHER TOPICS:
FOR STUDIO & VISUAL ARTS PROGRAMS
-Inspiration & '60s/'70s SoHo: Chuck Close, Philip Glass, Richard Serra and...Paul Smith
-Peter Wu & The San Francisco Art Institute
-Alfred Jensen and Family
-Falling in "Love" at Your Neighborhood Gallery: Glen Baldridge
-Making Cover and Other Art
FOR DEPARTMENT OF MUSIC / MUSIC COMPOSITION
-"Advanced" Tonal Practice"
-"Hangups and the Academy"
-”The Uptown-ization of Downtown Music”
FOR DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH / CREATIVE WRITING / AMERICAN LITERATURE AND CULTURE
-My start: Monsters of Grace (Philip Glass/Robert Wilson "opera") - words by Rumi
-The Great Gatsby & The Catcher in the Rye become "100 Houses: Gatsby Meets Caulfield"
-Prendergast on 100 Houses
-Popmatters: Collaborating with Neil Gaiman "Bash Street Worlds"
-Booknista: Andrew Shapiro makes a habit of writing songs inspired by literature.
-Can I write lyrics?
FOR CAREER DEVELOPMENT & ARTS ENTREPRENEURSHIP PROGRAMS
-Really and truly...where do YOU come from?
-Internship (with Philip Glass and others)
-Becoming a writer: 21st Century Music Magazine
-Interviewing artists; a way to create "the time"
-Publicist vs. "No" Publicist-- Downplaying the Attempt
-"How'd you get that?"
-"The only PR I ever did was make my album"
-On Interdisciplinary Collaboration - "Their Friends Come Too;"
-Daniil Simkin and my work at The Guggenheim Museum
-A natural progression: McDonald's to Poland to the TED Talk
-The New York Times: Quarter Pounder With Keys
-TED Talk: Casual Compositions
-Dolce & Gabbana sees me...
-The Mental Reservation - What's coming your way?
-"I Never Needed Anything Until I Had It"
-Lecture at Yale University: "Music, McDonald's and Minimalism"
ANDREW SHAPIRO SCHOOL AND UNIVERSITY APPEARANCES INCLUDE:
Emory University, University of Texas at San Antonio, Bard College, Cal State University at Stanislaus, Jagiellonian University, Krakow, Poland, Bronx High School of Science, Brooklyn High School for the Performing Arts, Yale University
"Andrew Shapiro is a sterling example of a highly talented, classically trained composer/performer taking on the challenges of making an entrepreneurial career. It's not just that his music is fresh and original and that it speaks directly to a young audience, it's that he brings his music forward by whatever means are available, often seeing opportunities where others don't. I couldn't imagine a more valuable experience for young musicians than to experience first-hand his combination of artistry and fearless professional invention.”
--Conrad Cummings, Faculty in Composition, The Julliard School Evening Division
"Andrew Shapiro takes the essence of popular song and blends it with classical minimalism to create a public performance art that is at once fresh and on the leading edge of fusion. He and his music connect well with a new generation, whether found on the internet, the street or in the university."
--John Anthony Lennon, Professor of Music Composition, Emory University