Jackson Berkey
Encyclopedia
Jackson Berkey is an American composer, pianist and singer, best known for his work with Mannheim Steamroller
, which he co-founded with Chip Davis
in 1974.
. He began playing the piano at age 5. His mother learned to play the piano by ear, and insisted he receive the training she had not. As a result, he was quite an accomplished pianist by the time he entered high school. He received a scholarship from the Huntingdon Music Club to attend the Chautauqua Music Festival in western New York state, where he displayed his very serious demeanor as a musician - while his fellow students were enjoying the great outdoors that the area provided, Berkey was attending orchestra rehearsals.
After graduating from high school in 1960, Berkey briefly attended the Eastman School of Music
in Rochester, New York
. Unfortunately when his money ran out he was forced to drop out of school and get a job as a programming director at the local classical music station in Rochester. He kept up with his piano skills by keeping a keyboard in the booth with him at the radio station.
Berkey eventually returned to study, but this time at Wilkes College
in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania
where he earned a bachelor's degree in piano performance. At the urging of a friend, he auditioned for the Juilliard School of Music, and was accepted into their graduate program. He received a master's degree in piano performance from Juilliard in 1968 after several years studying with accomplished pianist Josef Raiff.
. They released it under the pseudonym "Mannheim Steamroller" as a play on the phrase "Mannheim roller," an ascending arpeggio named for the late 18th century Mannheim school of music
.
Over the next three decades, Mannheim Steamroller released over 30 different albums, including 11 albums of Christmas songs.
Currently, Berkey is composing a series of nocturnes that cover all 24 major and minor keys.
Mannheim Steamroller
Mannheim Steamroller is an American music group founded by Chip Davis and Jackson Berkey, known primarily for its modern recordings of Christmas music. The group has sold 28 million albums in the U.S. alone.-Beginnings:...
, which he co-founded with Chip Davis
Chip Davis
Louis F. "Chip" Davis, Jr. is the founder and leader of the music group Mannheim Steamroller.He also wrote the music for C.W. McCall, including the 1975 hit "Convoy".-Biography:...
in 1974.
Early life and education
Jackson Berkey was born May 24, 1942 in Huntingdon, PennsylvaniaHuntingdon, Pennsylvania
Huntingdon is a borough in Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania. It is the county seat of Huntingdon County. It is located along the Juniata River, west of Harrisburg, about halfway between Pittsburgh and Harrisburg, in an agricultural and fruit-growing region, with valuable forests and deposits of...
. He began playing the piano at age 5. His mother learned to play the piano by ear, and insisted he receive the training she had not. As a result, he was quite an accomplished pianist by the time he entered high school. He received a scholarship from the Huntingdon Music Club to attend the Chautauqua Music Festival in western New York state, where he displayed his very serious demeanor as a musician - while his fellow students were enjoying the great outdoors that the area provided, Berkey was attending orchestra rehearsals.
After graduating from high school in 1960, Berkey briefly attended the Eastman School of Music
Eastman School of Music
The Eastman School of Music is a music conservatory located in Rochester, New York. The Eastman School is a professional school within the University of Rochester...
in Rochester, New York
Rochester, New York
Rochester is a city in Monroe County, New York, south of Lake Ontario in the United States. Known as The World's Image Centre, it was also once known as The Flour City, and more recently as The Flower City...
. Unfortunately when his money ran out he was forced to drop out of school and get a job as a programming director at the local classical music station in Rochester. He kept up with his piano skills by keeping a keyboard in the booth with him at the radio station.
Berkey eventually returned to study, but this time at Wilkes College
Wilkes University
Wilkes University is a private, non-denominational American university located in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. It has over 2,200 undergraduates and over 2,200 graduate students...
in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania
Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania
Wilkes-Barre is a city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, the county seat of Luzerne County. It is at the center of the Wyoming Valley area and is one of the principal cities in the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre metropolitan area, which had a population of 563,631 as of the 2010 Census...
where he earned a bachelor's degree in piano performance. At the urging of a friend, he auditioned for the Juilliard School of Music, and was accepted into their graduate program. He received a master's degree in piano performance from Juilliard in 1968 after several years studying with accomplished pianist Josef Raiff.
Pre-Mannheim Steamroller
Berkey was able to pull together enough money to make his professional debut at the Town Hall in New York City in 1969, about which Allen Hughes of the New York Times had this to say: “Mr. Berkey is an accomplished performer and more often than not a persuasive one. His interpretation of the Beethoven Sonata in D major, Op. 10, No. 3 was expertly and sensitively shaped.”Mannheim Steamroller
After this recital, Berkey had several jobs, including as a pianist on the Norman Luboff Choir tour. There he met Almeda, his future wife, and Chip Davis. Davis was experimenting with a new style of music, something he called "18th-century rock," but the piano parts he was writing were well outside of his skill as a pianist. The two became fast friends, and the music they were working on would evolve into the album Fresh AireFresh Aire
Fresh Aire was the first album released by new age musical group Mannheim Steamroller. The album was originally released in 1975. It is also the title of one track on the album. It was followed by seven additional albums in the Fresh Aire series. Each of the first four Fresh Aire albums is based...
. They released it under the pseudonym "Mannheim Steamroller" as a play on the phrase "Mannheim roller," an ascending arpeggio named for the late 18th century Mannheim school of music
Mannheim school
Mannheim school refers to both the orchestral techniques pioneered by the court orchestra of Mannheim in the latter half of the 18th century as well as the group of composers who wrote such music for the orchestra of Mannheim and others.-History:...
.
Over the next three decades, Mannheim Steamroller released over 30 different albums, including 11 albums of Christmas songs.
Solo work
After Berkey had moved to Omaha in 1974, he and Almeda wed. She became the director of choral activities at the University of Nebraska, and later directed Omaha's Soli Deo Gloria Cantorum. Berkey's first attempts at composition on his own were choral arrangements for his wife's choirs, which they worked on together. Many of Berkey's compositions are songs, cantatas, and other works for vocal ensembles of men, women, and mixed choirs.Currently, Berkey is composing a series of nocturnes that cover all 24 major and minor keys.