Pianist · Composer · Improviser
A Russian-born pianist who started playing by ear at four and a half, and never stopped improvising his own tunes.
The story so far
Sasha Sound (Sasha Burdin) grew up in Russia, where he began at the piano at four and a half, learning by ear and inventing his own melodies long before he could read them. He trained at the music college in Bryansk and at the Maimonides Academy in Moscow, then came to the United States, earning a Master of Music at Bowling Green State University and a Doctor of Musical Arts in piano performance, with secondary studies in jazz, at the University of Iowa.
Masterclasses and festivals took him to Tanglewood, the Tel Hai International Piano Master Class in Israel, and workshops in Greece, Azerbaijan, Italy, Denmark and Slovakia. For nearly three decades since, he has lived a double life of stage and studio: performing, recording, composing and teaching.
Medtner
His doctoral work centered on the music of Nikolai Medtner, and two recordings followed: Ich denke dein (Albany Records, 2019), Medtner’s vocal and chamber works with soprano Rachel Joselson and violinist Scott Conklin, and Dreams and Improvisations (2022), devoted to Medtner’s piano music. Fanfare called his playing “positively spellbinding.”
Global Art Bridges
In 2019 he founded Global Art Bridges, a multicultural modern ensemble that brings musical traditions of East and West into one conversation. His work Calling, written for the ensemble’s eight musicians, premiered at San Francisco’s Center for New Music.
Teaching
He is the founder and CEO of School for Creators, the Bay Area nonprofit behind an integrated musicianship method for pianists, singers and songwriters. He taught for about ten years as a master piano teacher at Pacific Piano School, serves on the faculty of Chromatic Music Academy, and has directed choirs and children’s music programs.