Melvin “Maestro” Lightford – Music Artist Review: Know, Grow, Sow Part III

The other day I received a Facebook invite alert to my Android.  The invite was from one of my church members, Melvin Lightford who almost everyone affectionately knows as “Maestro”.  The invite was to a Annual Benefit Concert.  Because I am a avid music lover, how could I resist the invite and the opportunity to interview someone who is a music lover himself.

 

What made you want to start playing?

• I was forced by my mother to start playing the piano. It was her dream that all her children learned how to play the piano because she was unable to as a child.

How long have you been playing?

• I took my first piano lesson at age 6, but it was not until my senior year of high school that I really became serious about playing music.

What’s the most fun part of being a musician?

• Performing. There is a certain rush that I get when I am performing that I never get from anything else. It’s the equivalent to being on an emotional, physical, and spiritual high all at the same time.

What is the hardest part?

• Dealing with all the different vibes (emotions) that I can have, and not letting them affect me musically. It is hard to play a happy song (with the right feeling) when I am incredibly sad.

What are some things you do as a musician?

• Create and perform music for the general public

What is your music background? 

• Graduated from Nashville School of the Arts in 2003. Also, I graduated from Belmont University with a degree in Music Education in 2008.
• I listen and play all sorts of genres: classical, pop, jazz, rock, gospel, blues, and many more

What are your long-term career goals?

• Become musical director for extremely talented and highly acclaimed artists who tour the world.
• Produce records for artist of various nationalities and musical backgrounds.
• Have my company, Lightworks Muzik (lightworksmuzik.com.) become internationally known for “Transforming dreams into reality”. Lightworks Muzik is striving to become a company that produces groundbreaking musical concepts and ideas that have a positive global impact.

 How would you define the word “success”?

• Accomplishing your goal(s).

What type of music do you enjoy playing the most?

• Although I am still learning to play it at a high level, I love playing jazz. Mainly because of the amount of freedom you have to express myself.

 How often do you perform?

•  I perform at least once a day. The audience for the   performance varies from performance to performance. Sometimes it may be in a large auditorium full of people to a small room with only a few people.

Do you perform with a group? Who?

• I play for numerous artists, but on a consistent basic I play for Lizzy McAvoy (lizzymcavoy.com) and Jackie Wilson (missjackiewilson.com).

Are there any artists that you have performed with?

• I have worked with (in a studio and/or in a live situation) with Michael McDonald, Vince Gill, Amy Grant, Tommy Sims, Alexander O’Neal, Tonéx, Angelo and Veronica, Kirk Whalum, and many more.

As a Christian how do you represent that is what you do/are?

• By staying true to what I believe in. If you do that people will begin to notice the different between you and other people they hang around.

Just for fun… 

Without music, I would be so out of luck.

Music is the universal language.

My music makes me feel like I have something profound to say to the world.

I write the songs because what’s inside of me must come out.

Support music because there is a direct correlation between it (supported music) and the quality of music. Not only does it sound better for a string ensemble to play a string composition (as oppose to playing it on a keyboard), but cost more too.

Contact information:

Website: lightworksmuzik.com
Twitter:  lightworksmuzik
Facebook Fan page: Lightworks Muzik -OR- Maestro Lightford

To find out more about the December 4th “Maestro’s 3rd Annual Benefit Concert”  and Lightworks Muzik   please go to the Community Spotlight tab