Musical Ramblings – Music, Music, Music – This will be the new home of some of the recordings and videography that I have been privelidged to have made over these many years. It will feature some of the music of my Nephew, Tommy Gill and many of his associates, all of whom are among the finest Jazz musicians on the Eastern Seaboard.
Local Space Coast Artists, many of whom appeared at the now defunct “And All That Jazz Cafe”, often including Chef Peter Wells on Guitar, Bass, Mandolin or drums.
There will be humble offerings of my own playing and composition, often with video, and some video specifically for our piano students.
Ben Stroman studied piano as a young boy, but unfortunatly not for very long as my father did not think it appropriate for boys to learn piano. A few years later I took up percussion and studied at Charleston School of Music which was headed up by Professor Patrick Leonard. What a great school that was with dedicated teachers. Those dedicated professionals would have a lifelong influrence on me, my younger brother who is now a bandmaster in Charleston S.C and my nephew Tommy Gill who now plays professionally around the City of Charleston.
For years, I played drums for the Brevard Light Opera Association (BLOA) Orchestra for Years, the orchestra was under the direction of Alice Christ. Later I would begin to take over technical direction and design for BLOA and later Surfside Playhouse, followed by a new Summer Stock company located at the Surfside Building called Beach Summer Playhouse.
During the Theater Years, Ben took up the folk and classical guitar which he continued to play for many years. Just prior to retiring from Brevard County Government, he returned to the piano and later began lessons again with Miss Jill Rahn on a Classical approach to Piano.
Ben still takes lessons from Miss Jill when he can catch her in the midst of her travels around the country.
