Alvin Waddles
Pianist, singer, composer, director, Alvin Waddles began
studying the piano at the age of eight in his hometown of Detroit, MI. He continued his studies at the Interlochen Arts Academy and the University Of Michigan School Of Music after which he returned to the Detroit area where he currently resides. After returning home he immediately immersed himself in the rich musical culture of the city, benefiting from the diverse influences that would eventually shape his own unique style. .
Mr. Waddles has worked in the Detroit and Ann Arbor Public
Schools as well as the Music Ministries of several churches; among
them, the historic New Bethel Baptist Church, Hartford Memorial
Baptist and Hope United Methodist in Southfield, MI. where he has
served as the Director of Music since 1995.
He has been musical
director and/or pianist for numerous theatrical productions including:
The Wiz, The Color Purple, Dreamgirls, Chorus Line, West Side Story, Sophisticated Ladies and received rave reviews as a featured
performer in the Detroit Music Hall's long running production of Ain't Misbehavin'. During the 2010-2011 season his diverse gifts were
on full display when, within a two week period, he sang the role of
Crown for Bolling Green University's production of Gershwin's 'Porgy
and Bess' and played the composers 'Rhapsody in Blue' with the Michigan Opera Theater Orchestra.
Mr. Waddles has delighted Detroit music lovers with performances
in a variety of musical events including the Detroit International
Jazz Festival and the Detroit Festival of the Arts. He is the featured
piano soloist in annual productions of "Too Hot to Handel" in Detroit
and Chicago and can frequently be heard performing his own Fats
Waller Revue.
Mr. Waddles' engagements as a soloist and featured artist have taken him to a variety of destinations including Barbados, Beijing, Paris, Barcelona and Ghana, West Africa. He has also traveled extensively as musical director/pianist for Cook, Dixon and Young (formerly of the Three Mo' Tenors).
He has been blessed to work with some of the world's finest
musicians including Robert Shaw, Margaret Hillis, Brazeal Dennard,
Minister Thomas Whitfield, Aretha Franklin, Anita Baker, Placido
Domingo, George Shirley, Marcus Belgrave, Jack Jones, Haley
Westenra, Stephanie Mills and Tramaine Hawkins.