...Charles Overton

Introducing…

...in the nation.

One of the few Jazz Harpists...

Berklee Graduate

“youth prodigy”

Longwood

Symphony

Orchestra

Boston

Philharmonic

“Charles Overton, Jazz Quartet

debuts at Scullers Jazz Club”

Youth Prodigy Destined for International

Fame— Felice Pomeranz, April 2016

On April 20, 2016 at 8pm, Charles

Overton will take the stage at Scull-

ers Jazz Club, Boston’s premier jazz

venue. He’ll join the ranks of great

jazz elders like Wynton Marsalis, Da-

vid Sanborn and so many others.

Overton has been referred to as “a

young jazz lion whose youth and

modesty belie his talent,” according

to Berklee College of Music’s Profes-

sor of Harp, Felice Pomeranz.

“He is that rare harpist classically trained but equally skilled and gifted as a jazz mu-

sician.” Overton started playing the violin at only 2 ½ years old. He began studying

harp in Richmond, Virginia and later attended Interlochen Arts Academy in Michi-

gan, and graduates from Berklee College of Music in May 2016.

Overton’s gifts of perfect pitch and an incredible ear for music have drawn the at-

tention of impresario Fred Taylor who invited him to perform at Scullers Jazz Club.

As Boston’s #1 Rated Jazz Club, Scullers has been presenting top name performers

Latin and Contemporary Jazz, as well as Blues, Soul, R & B, Cabaret and World Music

for over twenty five years.

Despite his youth, Overton has already received numerous awards and accolades.

Charles is the first and only harpist admitted to the Berklee Global Jazz Institute un-

der the direction of Danilo Perez. He has been featured as a concerto soloist with

Benjamin Zanders Youth Philharmonic Orchestra, as well as with Mark Churchill’s

Symphony Pro Musica. Overton recently won a fellowship to the prestigious Tan-

glewood Institute, and will be a featured soloist in Spain this summer with Benjamin

Zanders’ Boston Youth Phil Harmonic. Additionally Overton will be featured at the

Camac Harp Festival in Los Angeles coming up in November 2016 and the American

Harp Society National Conference in Atlanta this year.

Overton has studied under the tutelage of great teachers such as Joe Lovano, Terri-

Lynne Carrington, John Pattitucci, Antonio Sanchez, Adam Cruz, Danilo Perez and

many others. While in Boston he has studied harp with Felice Pomeranz and Jessica

Zhou.

Jazz Ensembles...

Charles Overton & Friends Listen to “Footprints”

(by Wayne Shorter)

Strings & Things Listen to “Passion Dance”

(by McCoy Tyner)

"Charles Overton and Friends Present: The Music of Wayne Shorter" series of song perfor-

mances was recorded on 3/6/15 at the Oliver Colvin Recital Hall at the Berklee College of Mu-

sic.

Pop Performances...

Strings & Things Listen to “Come Together”

(by John Lennon)

Strings & Things Listen to “Big Poppa”

(by Biggie Smalls)

"Strings and Things" is a Boston-based trio that plays jazz standards, popular tunes, as well

as original improvised music. Made up of harpist Charles Overton, bassist Max Ridley, and

drummer Peter Barnick, this group of Berklee College of Music students hopes to offer a

fresh take on the traditional "jazz trio."

Classical Sounds...

Live Broadcast Listen to “Claire De Lune”

(Prairie Home Companion)

Boston Philharmonic

Youth Orchestra Listen to “Concerto for Harp in E-flat

Major, op.74”

Charles Overton has been afforded the opportunity to perform in some of the world’s most

famous concert halls such as Tokyo’s Suntory Hall, Carnegie Hall, the Berlin Philharmonic,

and the KKL Luzern Concert Hall among others.

In The News... “Academy Students Take the Stage with Garrison Keillor”

The Interlochen Summer Arts Festival kicked off in June with a live broadcast of “A Prairie

Home Companion,” with Garrison Keillor on the stage of Kresge Auditorium. In addition to

Prairie Home favorites including News from Lake Wobegon and the Guy’s All-Star Shoe

Band, the sold-out performance on the shore of Green Lake featured a number of guest art-

ists including Arts Academy students. Violinist Yuri Popowycz and harpist Charles Overton

each performed solos as part of the program.

Crescendo caught up with Yuri and Charles to talk about the experience of performing on

one of Public Radio’s most popular and long-running programs.

“A Prairie Home Companion” is heard by more than 4 million listeners each week on

some 590 public radio stations, and abroad on America One and the Armed Forces Net-

works in Europe and the Far East. A Prairie Home Companion is produced by Prairie

Home Productions, and distributed nationwide by American Public Media. The pro-

gram is underwritten by General Mills and Ford. - Interlochen Center for the Arts

The Berklee College of Music featured Charles Overton in its promotional video

for their string department. Watch the official video online.

“Academy Harpist Finds

National Audience on BET”

This spring, Academy sophomore harp major Charles Overton was se-lected to participate in a promotion-al video with BET television net-work. Charles flew to New York City to participate in a video shoot. His brief appearance will air periodically throughout the month of June. In addition to his appearance on

BET, Charles is featured in a student

profile in this month’s eCrescendo.

- Interlochen Center for the Arts

The Boston Philharmonic Youth Orchestra recently featured Charles Overton in

its series of performer interviews. Watch the official video online.

Full Biography

Charles Overton is a Boston-based harpist and performer of classical, jazz and

world music. He began his study of the harp at age ten under the direction of pri-

vate instructors Lynelle Ediger-Kordzaia and Jeanne Chalifoux. During his initial

years of studying the instrument he was an active member of the American Youth

Harp Ensemble where he had the opportunity to perform with the group interna-

tionally, in notable venues such as New York City’s Carnegie Hall and the Salle

Gaveaux in Paris, France. In 2009 Charles went on to attend the Interlochen Arts

Academy where he had the opportunity further his musical development under the

direction of harpist, Joan Raeburn Holland.

Over the course of his studies, Charles has had the opportunity to learn from some

of today’s leading harpists such as Judy Loman, Nancy Allen, Judy Loman, Sarah

Bullen and Yolanda Kondonassis, to name a few.

Continued...

He has also been afforded the opportunity to perform in some of the world’s most

famous concert halls such as Tokyo’s Suntory Hall, Carnegie Hall, the Berlin Philhar-

monic, and the KKL Luzern Concert Hall, with a variety of ensembles such as the

Boston Philharmonic Youth Orchestra and the Pacific Music Festival Orchestra. In

addition, he has attended summer music programs such as the Bowdoin Interna-

tional Music Festival, the Pacific Music Festival led by Maestro Jun Markl, the Cas-

tleton Festival led by the late Maestro Lorin Maazel, and has been invited this up-

coming summer to be a fellow at the Tanglewood Music Center.

Charles is a 2016 graduate of the Berklee College of Music, with a major in music

performance. While at Berklee, he began to explore the world of jazz and contem-

porary more seriously, and in 2014 became a part of the Berklee Global Jazz Insti-

tute where he is afforded the opportunity to work and learn in an intimate setting

with master artists such as Danilo Perez, John Patitucci, Joe Lovano, and

Continued... Terri-Lynn Carrington, among others.

Additionally, while in Boston Charles has

had the opportunity to perform with

several notable Boston-based orchestras

such as the Longwood Symphony Or-

chestra, and the Boston Philharmonic

led by Maestro Benjamin Zander. He

currently studies harp privately under

the tutelage of both Felice Pomeranz

and Jessica Zhou.

...and Bookings

Media Inquiries…

email:

overtoncg@gmail.com

phone:

804.678.9707

fax:

804.501.0439

charlesovertonmusic.com