Andre R. Bio
Andre R.'s parents were able to teach him to sing songs before they were able to teach him to speak words. He experienced his first audience on his fifth birthday when he was cast as "Butchy Boy" on the local televised version of "Bozo's Big Top" in Windsor, Ontario, Canada. At the age of 8, Andre R. received classical piano lessons at an Ursuline convent and later used this foundation in music to teach himself how to play guitar, as well as several brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments.
Detroit (home of rock & roll and motown) radio stations inspired Andre R. to start writing songs as a teenager. After high school, he attended St. Clair College, the University of Windsor, taught music at the Canadian Conservatory of Music, and performed in bands and as a solo artist. Andre R. relocated to teach grade 7 and 8 instrumental music for the Toronto Catholic District School Board until January of 2009. He has taught thousands of students and continues to teach privately while focussing on his company, Andrecompositions, and his original music career.
Andre R.has performed in several venues and studios of the greater Toronto area(including his own musical comedy performances at Second City) and has won Billboard songwriting awards for three of his compositions. He also composed and performed the signature song for the Schizophrenia Society of Ontario's "Million for the Millennium" Campaign. Andre R. also became a top 5 finalist in the pop category of the 2010 VH1 World Wide Song Of The Year competition with his song, The World All Around Us. That song and others are available at cdbaby.com/Artist/AndreR, Itunes, Amazon and Napster, and can be heard at myspace.com/andrecompositions. Andre R. is the writer, producer, and arranger of his music and performs 95% of the instrumentation including lead and harmony vocals, electric and acoustic guitars, electric bass guitar, piano, organ, keyboards, alto and tenor saxophones, drums, percussion, and sound effects.
In 2010, Andre R. will be releasing a recording of original pop/rock songs that show influences of blues, funk, soul, latin, country, and classical music. His lyrics span a wide variety of subjects. He has also written and recorded several compostions for many other voices (male and female). In 2010, Andre R. will also be releasing 30 Christmas Carol Classics On Piano. The recording consists of popular songs performed on piano with no accompaniment. Andre's unique twist is evident on each track, while remaining faithful to the holiday spirit!
Andre R. has also become the creator and author of The Music Associate (http://www.themusicassociate.com), a website that connects it's visitors to all of their musical needs, dreams, and desires! This site represents over 500 companies and thousands of products with complimentary gifts for anyone wishing to browse through it's 24 pages. In March of 2010, Andre celebrated the launch of his new website, Childhood Obesity Cure(http://www.childobesitycure.weebly.com). This site consists of information, articles and programs regarding a very serious global epidemic!
Andre R. is also a journalist and an Ezine Articles Expert Author who has written several articles on a variety of topics. His other upcoming 2010 releases include "Playing Music By Ear" and "Wicked Internet Marketing Jokes" e-books.