Greta Gertler is a

pianist A pianist ( , ) is an individual musician who plays the piano. Since most forms of Western music can make use of the piano, pianists have a wide repertoire and a wide variety of styles to choose from, among them traditional classical music, ja ...

, singer, and songwriter. She is originally from

Sydney, Australia Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and List of cities in Oceania by population, Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metro ...

, and got her start there as a songwriter, penning hits for other artists. She is co-leader of

orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * bowed string instruments, such as the violin, viola, c ...

l pop collective, The Universal Thump, with Adam D Gold.

Early career

She self-released a solo effort, Little Sins, and toured the country with her chamber pop combo, Peccadillo. She then moved to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

and her career developed. In 2001, she took home the grand prize in N.Y.C.'s Indie Band Search Competition for her song "Everyone Wants to Adore You." The song became the first track on Gertler's May 2003 release, The Baby That Brought Bad Weather

Debut release

Her debut solo release "The Baby That Brought Bad Weather" was described as "one of those hoped-for revelations that emerged from the never ending pile of new releases" by

Vin Scelsa Vincent Anthony Scelsa (born December 12, 1947, in Bayonne, New Jersey) is an American broadcaster who was at "the forefront of the FM radio revolution" as the host of several freeform radio programs, the best-known titled ''Idiot's Delight''. H ...

(WFUV) and "a sonic revelation and lyrical treat" by John Rhodes (Headliner Magazine, Radio City Music Hall). Her most recently released solo album, "Edible Restaurant" (2007), features members of

Slavic Soul Party! Slavic Soul Party (often stylized Slavic Soul Party!) is an American Balkan brass/jazz band. The band borrows from dixieland, funk, klezmer, and Roma music. The band has performed on stages usually known for rock bands, opening for such acts as A ...

and the song 'Veselka' (which was voted NPR Song of the Day) about the much-beloved Ukrainian diner on 9th/2nd.

Other accomplishments

In her native land, she is a multi-platinum-selling hit songwriter, having co-penned the 'classic rock' hit, "Blow Up the Pokies" (performed by

The Whitlams The Whitlams are an Australian indie rock band formed in late 1992. The original line-up was Tim Freedman on keyboards and lead vocals, Andy Lewis on double bass and Stevie Plunder on guitar and lead vocals. Other than mainstay Freedman, the l ...

), which was ranked 11th in a popular vote as one of the country's Top 20 Best Songs of All Time. Her song, "Charlie # 3" (also co-written with Tim Freedman and a track on the breakthrough album, "Eternal Nightcap") was performed at the

Sydney Opera House The Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue performing arts centre in Sydney. Located on the foreshore of Sydney Harbour, it is widely regarded as one of the world's most famous and distinctive buildings and a masterpiece of 20th-century architec ...

and the

Sydney Symphony Orchestra The Sydney Symphony Orchestra (SSO) is an Australian symphony orchestra that was initially formed in 1908. Since its opening in 1973, the Sydney Opera House has been its home concert hall. Simone Young is the orchestra's chief conductor and firs ...

in December 2009. She has performed and recorded with a diverse range of artists such as

Sufjan Stevens Sufjan Stevens ( ; born July 1, 1975) is an American singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist. He has released nine solo studio albums and multiple collaborative albums with other artists. Stevens has received Grammy and Academy Award nomi ...

("All Delighted People" EP), Sarah Blasko, Noe Venable, Clare & The Reasons, John Wesley Harding, Missy Higgins, Matt Kanelos, Martha Wainwright, Glenn Tilbrook (Squeeze), Glenn Patscha (Ollabelle), Joan As Policewoman, The Last Town Chorus and Madeleine Peyroux, Elysian Fields and was cited as one of NYC's Top 20 Orchestral Pop artists (

the Deli Magazine ''The Deli'' was a Brooklyn based independent music magazine, with both print and online editions, as well as a blog (still active) that covers local music scenes and their emerging artists. Magazine In its print version, ''The Deli'' was a quar ...

). In 2009 a successful Kickstarter campaign raised funds for The Universal Thump, an album inspired by Moby dick, performed by an "orchestral pop collective" and initially released in 4 chapters.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gertler, Greta Living people Australian pianists Australian women pianists Australian women singer-songwriters Australian singer-songwriters Musicians from Sydney 21st-century pianists Year of birth missing (living people) 21st-century women pianists