Meet Chrisopher Simmons
Christopher Simmons is a pianist, keyboardist, and composer. His compositions encompass several genres, including jazz, contemporary, new age, and classical.
The pianist is also known for his work with the Christopher Simmons Trio featuring bassist, Artie Roth, and drummer, Kevin Dempsey. Together, they’ve performed in jazz venues across Toronto.
Simmons released his second solo album in 2015, ‘Known the Now.’ The album is inspired by the readings of Echart Tolle and Dr. Wayne Dier who very much believed in the ‘power of now,’ which has especial meaning to how Simmons approaches his music and life.
The pianist describes the power of now as “being absorbent in the present moment and embracing everything that is pure.”
“So much of art is very spontaneous and it is important to engage in the present moment – I try to apply that philosophy to my life,” said Simmons. “It is about being more aware of what’s going on and I think a lot of time in life we take things for granted.”
Simmons emphasizes that being aware extends to how we interact with people, and being able to listen and to respect those around us. In all, the power of now means “savouring our experiences of present day and appreciating things we would never appreciate before.”
On top of his inspiring outlook on life, the pianist brings to Music Can Heal extensive work performing at Dorothy Ley Hospice.
Simmons partly attributes his partner, Karen, as to what led him into healing and music. Being close to her work in holistic healing helped him become more aware of the power of the sound of music, in terms of the feelings certain vibrations can give an individual.
Simmons’ time at Dorothy Ley only emphasized to him how powerful music can be.
“Just seeing the people there – they really embraced it, it’s a good feeling for them to hear music.”
When asked about his most memorable experience?
“After my performance at the conservatory there was a little child in a wheel chair, a cancer victim. He came up to me asking for my autograph, and I said, we got this wrong, I want your autograph,” said Simmons. “He was just a brave little soul, it really touched me. Life is so precious, and you can’t take everything for granted. “
