{"id":96187,"date":"2023-05-12T14:14:13","date_gmt":"2023-05-12T18:14:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/?p=96187"},"modified":"2023-05-12T14:14:13","modified_gmt":"2023-05-12T18:14:13","slug":"interview-ron-lopata-jacksoul-back-classical","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/2023\/05\/12\/interview-ron-lopata-jacksoul-back-classical\/","title":{"rendered":"INTERVIEW | Ron Lopata: From Jacksoul (Back) To Classical"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure id=\"attachment_96189\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-96189\" style=\"width: 1200px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-96189\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/05\/John-Lopato-INTERVIEW-7.jpg\" alt=\"Ron Lopata (Photo courtesy of the artist)\" width=\"1200\" height=\"628\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-96189\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Ron Lopata (Photo courtesy of the artist)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>In 2023, after decades in the music business, Ron Lopata has come back to where it all started: classical music. His EP of solo classical piano compositions will be released in June.<\/p>\n<p>Ron Lopata is best known as a musician for the years spent with Jacksoul, one of Canada\u2019s seminal RnB bands. They were active from 1995 until 2009, touring the nation and beyond, and recording five studio albums. He became Vice President of A&amp;R at Warner Music Canada in 2010, a position he held until recently.<\/p>\n<p>To recording artist, he adds producer, engineer, and songwriter. Ron has worked with a long list of music industry greats as well as newbies, including Jully Black, Matt Dusk and Michael Kaeshammer, and with a track record that includes playing a part in seven platinum and gold singles.<\/p>\n<p>The first track, titled Luminescent, was released in March, and has racked up more than 270K streams since then on Spotify alone. The second, Snowfall, followed in April, and Moonrise, the latest, is available today (May 12). The full album <strong>Sketches for Piano<\/strong> will be available on June 23 on Andante Piano, a division of Disruptive Records.<\/p>\n<div class=\"jetpack-video-wrapper\"><span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"youtube-player\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/YSRp3bK85Es?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en-US&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" style=\"border:0;\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation\"><\/iframe><\/span><\/div>\n<h3>The Interview<\/h3>\n<p>\u201cMy dad, as a kid, he grew up playing violin,\u201d Ron says. While his father, who grew up in Russia, Israel, and Canada, didn\u2019t have the means for professional level music instruction, but he loved music, and also played mandolin and guitar. From his mother came a strong love for classical music in particular.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAs a kid, they really backed me.\u201d In fact, he says his parents gave him the master bedroom to accommodate his piano.<\/p>\n<p>He began he studies at the age of five, after his parents discovered that there were not one but two piano teachers in the building they\u2019d just moved into. He remembers how they made what was a fortuitous choice. \u201cLet&#8217;s go to the seventh floor, it&#8217;s closer,\u201d he recalls. There, they found Marina Geringas, a Russian-born pianist who became one of the city&#8217;s leading teachers of elite music students.<\/p>\n<p>He began taking lessons with Geringas, and when she moved her practice to the Royal Conservatory, he followed her there. Ron began intensive training. He remembers practising about two hours a day in addition to his regular school by about grade seven, and competing in the usual Kiwanis and Canadian Music Competitions. There were weekly lessons with Geringas, another hour of music history, then another hour of music theory later in the week \u2014 in addition to practising on his own.<\/p>\n<p>He\u2019d earned his ARCT at 17. \u201cI was on full scholarships for five years,\u201d he says, noting that it allowed him to continue no matter what the family finances were. \u201cBasically, I spent Tuesday evenings, Friday evenings, a good chunk of Saturday [on music] While other kids were playing hockey, I had to practise.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Not long after earning his ARCT, however, Ron\u2019s father passed away from a brain tumour. It led to a change of heart, and a desire to become a physician. He turned his focus to medicine. In his third year of medical school, however, he had a kind of revelation one day working in a basement lab. \u201cI had a human brain in front of me,\u201d he recalls. \u201cI thought, I don&#8217;t think I can do this.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>After walking out of the lab, he went straight to the Conservatory. \u201cI rented a room, and played piano for about five hours,\u201d he says. After the detour to medicine, his devotion to music flooded back. \u201cMy mom wasn\u2019t happy at the time,\u201d he laughs. \u201cI finished my degree, and then I studied jazz at Humber.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>After studies at Humber with teachers he calls phenomenal, he spent a couple of years in the UK. On his return to Toronto, he began teaching at the RCM. He also joined Jacksoul.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI was really looking for making music with other people,\u201d he says, noting that the professional life of a classical pianist is often a solitary one. \u201cJacksoul, that was my family for a while.\u201d He was also learning how to produce and write at the same time.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_96190\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-96190\" style=\"width: 1200px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-96190\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/05\/Ron-Lopata-2.jpg\" alt=\"Ron Lopata (Photo courtesy of the artist)\" width=\"1200\" height=\"1200\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-96190\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Ron Lopata (Photo courtesy of the artist)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>When Jacksoul ended, after the death of singer Haydain Neale, Ron turned to artist development. \u201cI\u2019d take on two each year,\u201d he says, reporting a success rate of about 50 percent. After a few years, it was enough to turn heads at Warner. He was invited to join the A&amp;R team, and it was an opportunity to pursue it on a bigger scale. \u201cNow I get to do what I love with a team behind me.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>But, even during those busy years, whenever there was a piano in the room, it beckoned. \u201cI always wander back to the piano,\u201d he says. \u201cIt&#8217;s a beautiful thing.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The Warner experience was rewarding, but clearly had to operate within whatever parameters the powers that be decided on. It left a growing kind of hunger. \u201cI can&#8217;t ignore this bubbling pianist\/composer\/artist within me that I&#8217;ve suppressed for a number of years,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNow it&#8217;s time for my voice to come out. It&#8217;s time for me to bring that joy out.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Playing it since childhood means that the piano is truly second nature. \u201cIt&#8217;s not just a piano anymore, it&#8217;s a spiritual thing,\u201d he says. For him, the music expresses emotions he couldn\u2019t describe in words.<\/p>\n<p>For his own compositions, he\u2019s drawn to the growing neoclassical movement, whose appeal crosses demographic lines. \u201cI&#8217;m focusing on the neoclassical world. I feel connected to it. I feel there&#8217;s an appetite for it,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n<p>Along with many composers as well as fans, he\u2019s recognized the positive effects music can have on everyday life. \u201cThere&#8217;s an extreme hustle and grind every day,\u201d he says. \u201cI enjoy, and want to provide a [&#8230;] calm, a serenity, a beauty. It&#8217;s just a feeling.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>His compositions are lyrical and traditional in style, with some jazzy harmonic elements in the mix. As far as style, he\u2019s focused on melody. \u201cI believe in really beautiful melodies. I do try to create some kind of diversity in what I compose. I try to explore for myself different keys, different moods.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>His favourite composers are Chopin, Debussy, and Liszt, and with his new focus on composition, he\u2019s also taking time to learn more and more of their collective repertoire. \u201cI want to keep evolving,\u201d he says. \u201cI don\u2019t want to repeat myself.\u201d It\u2019s not all peace and positivity, all the time. \u201cSometimes I&#8217;m angry, and I write about that too.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>It seems strange, after such a long and publicly acclaimed career, to be talking about beginning. \u201cI\u2019ve always written,\u201d he laughs. \u201cIt\u2019s chapter six.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In addition to recording, he\u2019s looking for innovative ways and venues for performing his classical compositions, outside the usual concert halls and theatres.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI&#8217;ve released tons of music \u2014 it\u2019s the first time it&#8217;s my name,\u201d he says. \u201cIt&#8217;s just me baring my soul.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Along with the musical freedom, he relishes a return to the lifestyle. \u201cI practise, I compose. I\u2019m back to those things, and I love it. I haven&#8217;t been happier in so long.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>You can check out his piano compositions, including Moonrise, <strong>[<a href=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/artist\/126P8vRqW1X8AOS0LfKbtA\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">HERE<\/a>]<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"western\"><em><b>#LUDWIGVAN<\/b><\/em><\/h3>\n<p class=\"western\"><em>Get the daily arts news straight to your inbox.<\/em><\/p>\n<h3 class=\"western\"><em>Sign up for the Ludwig van Daily \u2014 classical music and opera in five minutes or less <\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/ludwig-van.us9.list-manage.com\/subscribe?u=4f785cb3f9058f2393ccad035&amp;id=57cdb68eac\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><em>HERE<\/em><\/a>.<\/h3>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In 2023, after decades in the music business as a producer and part of Jacksoul, Ron Lopata has come back to where it all started: classical music.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":64,"featured_media":96189,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[40430,18,4967,29,81,51,63],"tags":[40629,40515,40628],"yst_prominent_words":[7292,6767,6715,14729,6616,12857,14728,7141,24741,10395],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/05\/John-Lopato-INTERVIEW-7.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p9bakr-p1p","amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/96187"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/64"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=96187"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/96187\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":96191,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/96187\/revisions\/96191"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/96189"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=96187"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=96187"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=96187"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=96187"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}