Photo © Paul Schnaittacher
A realized vision. From dance halls to Carnegie Hall.
For a young lad growing up in the country outside of Manitowoc, Wisconsin it was only a dream…. It started at an early age. At three Allen was composing waltzes and playing the piano by ear for family and friends.
At five he began studying with a jazz pianist. Although always a jazz player, classical music took on a special focus in high school. Recipient of a privately funded full scholarship to the Lawrence Conservatory of Music, he later earned the first Doctor of Musical Arts degree granted by Catholic University of America.
With a myriad of concerts, commissions and scholarly accomplishments in his distinguished professional career, Allen is Professor of Music at Mount Holyoke College and still a superb jazz pianist!