Eli Wallace, pianist and composer, graduated from New England Conservatory, Boston, MA with a Master's in Music (Jazz Composition) in 2011. At NEC he was privileged to study with Jason Moran, Jerry Bergonzi, Ken Schaphorst, Frank Carlberg, and Kati Agocs. Since relocating to the Bay Area, he has played with numerous musicians in all different genres of music from free improvisation, to straight ahead jazz, to rock/pop. Some of the groups with which he's appeared include: Karl Evangelista's Ai-Ai, Jim Ryan's Virtual Assembly and Retro Blue, John Givens’ No Lovely Thing, and Bill Wolter's Inner Ear Brigade. He also appeared on Dan Meinhardt's first album Gone West, released in 2012. His own recent project is a series of pieces composed specifically for solo piano that embraces his interest in jazz, improvisation, and contemporary avant-garde classical music; it culminates in a nuanced and complex combination of carefully notated passages intertwined with torrid and visceral guided improvisation. Additionally, he co-leads a new trio with Karl Evangelista and Jon Arkin. As a composer he has been commissioned to write music for jazz big band, solo piano, chamber orchestra, and dance performances; he was also awarded Honorable Mention after submitting his piece "Influx Rebellion"� to the EarShot Jazz Composers Orchestra Institute Readings (in affiliation with Columbia University and the American Composers Orchestra).

Previously, Eli received his Bachelor's of Music from Lawrence University, Appleton, WI, in 2009. At LU he graduated Summa Cum Laude based on a Senior Honors project where he composed, recorded, and presented a composition for studio orchestra. At Lawrence he was also the recipient of numerous jazz awards and scholarships, and is incredibly grateful for the tutelage he received from Fred Sturm, Mark Urness, and Lee Tomboulian.