Official site of composer Andrea Clearfield. Biography, list of works with audio, score samples, reviews and program notes, photographs, upcoming performances.
Andrea’s SZALON is celebrating its 37th Season! The hybrid SZALON (Salon + Zalon) features local and remote performers streamed in and out. Click here to view videos of previous programs. Join Andrea and 12 extraordinary ensembles at the next Szalon on April 21st! 7pm ET Community welcome, 7:30 performances, 9:30 chat with the artists. For the program and how to join live in Philadelphia or online, visit this page. SZEE you at the SZALON!
The Salon was awarded Philadelphia Magazine’s Best of Philly® 2008
The Salon, a renowned performance series modeled after 19th-century European salons, was founded in September 1986 by composer Andrea Clearfield who has hosted them in Philadelphia and around the U.S. The Salon was conceived with the idea of continuing the Salon tradition with a contemporary spin – 10 ensembles X 10 minutes of classical, contemporary, jazz, world, electronic, chamber, opera, dance, multimedia and more – helping to build a vital and engaged community around the arts. The diverse programming has led to a cross-fertilization of audience that continues to expand. In the thirty-five years since, more than 9000 performers and 19,000 audience members have come through Andrea’s living room and even more on the virtual stage since the pandemic. The Salon reflects the strong tradition of music in Philadelphia and beyond, builds and informs audiences, and fosters new art forms in an intimate and supportive atmosphere. It’s been heralded as “one of the best-known music salons in the country” with a “deep bench of topflight musicians” and “an underground sensation” (The Philadelphia Inquirer), and given the “Best of Philly Award 2008″ (Philadelphia Magazine). The Salon’s longtime home was put on the market in Spring 2014. Investors and contributors from around the country miraculously came forward to secure the property. Watch this short film that helped to make a long-time dream come true!
“Andrea Clearfield is to be thanked for daring to disturb the universe.” — Victor Schemer, All About Jazz
“The evening seemed like it cast a golden band of music around the globe, uniting so many people in peace, harmony, and creativity. Thank you so much for this immensely important cultural work that you do!” — Noëlle Streuber-Eden (violinist) and Sonja Streuber (pianist)
See images of Andrea’s Salon in the Philadelphia Inquirer Gallery “Just steps from the Kimmel Center is a performance venue of a different sort: Andrea Clearfield’s Secret music salon. For the last 25 years, the renowned classical composer has been holding salon-style concerts in the soaring living room of her storied, historic house. These unpublicized events have become an underground sensation among music lovers” – Philadelphia Inquirer, April 1, 2011
Winner 2006 Citypaper Choice Awards:
Most Creative Way to Spend a Sunday
“For 20 years, contemporary classical pianist-composer Andrea Clearfield has hosted performance salons that throw open the door to artistic possibility. Her gatherings for musicians, composers, poets, dancers and choreographers are not only vibrant recitals, they’re critical sessions for sound explorers, archivists and adventurers tuned into a different cosmic station.”
- Lewis Whittington, Philadelphia City Paper, November 1, 2006
The TEMPLE NEWS Intimate Setting: Amplified Sound “Andrea Clearfield has been hosting a European-style salon in her loft for the past 25 years. This underground safe-haven for classical, new-wave, eclectic, indie, experimental and traditional musicians is one of Philadelphia’s hidden gems”. – Emily Rolen, November 4, 2014
A.D. Amorosi writes about the Salon’s plea for investors The Naked City
City Paper, January 24, 2014
Essays about arts from Iberia and the Americas: Andrea Clearfield’s Salon
By Celesta Mann, June 12, 2014
“Andrea Clearfield’s home-based Salon has been creating community through music for 20 years. This monthly performance and concert series started with friends invited by the musician/composer host and then expanded to a free email subscription service. Clearfield organizes the evening to achieve a warm, engaging concert experience featuring original compositions, jazz, electronic, improvisation, folk, experimental, poetry, dance, world music, and time-honored classical chamber music and opera. As to the performers, Clearfield says, ‘People want to come to a place where they can be really free to express themselves from the heart’.
Andrea’s Music Salon – An Underground Sensation – turns 37!
Photo by Thilo Marg Bracken
Logos by Mia Bosna
Andrea’s SZALON is celebrating its 37th Season! The hybrid SZALON (Salon + Zalon) features local and remote performers streamed in and out. Click here to view videos of previous programs. Join Andrea and 12 extraordinary ensembles at the next Szalon on April 21st! 7pm ET Community welcome, 7:30 performances, 9:30 chat with the artists. For the program and how to join live in Philadelphia or online, visit this page. SZEE you at the SZALON!
The Salon was awarded Philadelphia Magazine’s
Best of Philly® 2008
The Salon, a renowned performance series modeled after 19th-century European salons, was founded in September 1986 by composer Andrea Clearfield who has hosted them in Philadelphia and around the U.S. The Salon was conceived with the idea of continuing the Salon tradition with a contemporary spin – 10 ensembles X 10 minutes of classical, contemporary, jazz, world, electronic, chamber, opera, dance, multimedia and more – helping to build a vital and engaged community around the arts. The diverse programming has led to a cross-fertilization of audience that continues to expand. In the thirty-five years since, more than 9000 performers and 19,000 audience members have come through Andrea’s living room and even more on the virtual stage since the pandemic. The Salon reflects the strong tradition of music in Philadelphia and beyond, builds and informs audiences, and fosters new art forms in an intimate and supportive atmosphere. It’s been heralded as “one of the best-known music salons in the country” with a “deep bench of topflight musicians” and “an underground sensation” (The Philadelphia Inquirer), and given the “Best of Philly Award 2008″ (Philadelphia Magazine). The Salon’s longtime home was put on the market in Spring 2014. Investors and contributors from around the country miraculously came forward to secure the property. Watch this short film that helped to make a long-time dream come true!
The Salon has become a beloved Philadelphia cultural gathering. The online ZALON version was created in April, 2020 to continue the tradition, connect the community and support artists during the pandemic.Patrons and organizations around the country have hired Andrea to help them start their own Salons in unusual venues. She has served as curator, M-C, organizer and advisor for numerous new Salons including Mozart: Reloaded (a jazz and classical multimedia Salon at the Kimmel Center), The Salon Aspen Colorado, Main Line Reform Temple Salon in Wynnewood, Pa; Salon at the Garden in Scottsdale, AZ; Salon at Jay Heritage Center in Rye, NY; Intercultural Salon for the Interfaith Center of Philadelphia and 1917 Music and Dance Salon at the National Museum of American Jewish History and One Book, One Jewish Community Salon.. Scroll down for press. Watch the Salon films: 30 Year Salon, 28 Year Salon, 2011 Film, 25 Year Film. Want to start your own Salon? Contact Andrea!
“Andrea Clearfield is to be thanked for daring to disturb the universe.” — Victor Schemer, All About Jazz
“The evening seemed like it cast a golden band of music around the globe, uniting so many people in peace, harmony, and creativity. Thank you so much for this immensely important cultural work that you do!” — Noëlle Streuber-Eden (violinist) and Sonja Streuber (pianist)
30 Year Salon Anniversary
Press
Coming up in Philly Music: Andrea Clearfield Celebrates 35 Years of Musical Salons
- Broad Street Review, January 20, 2021 by Tom Purdom
See images of Andrea’s Salon in the Philadelphia Inquirer Gallery
“Just steps from the Kimmel Center is a performance venue of a different sort: Andrea Clearfield’s Secret music salon. For the last 25 years, the renowned classical composer has been holding salon-style concerts in the soaring living room of her storied, historic house. These unpublicized events have become an underground sensation among music lovers” – Philadelphia Inquirer, April 1, 2011
Read about the Salon in the PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER
Building’s sale could bring down curtain on music salon
By Inga Saffron, Architecture Critic, April 1, 2011
Andrea Clearfield and her Salon
By Moira Lobianco, June 20, 2018
Musical Revelations with Andrea Clearfield: Salon at the Garden
By John Zerio, March 12, 2014
Winner 2006 Citypaper Choice Awards:
![CityPaper Logo](../images/logo-citypaperchoiceawards.gif)
Most Creative Way to Spend a Sunday
“For 20 years, contemporary classical pianist-composer Andrea Clearfield has hosted performance salons that throw open the door to artistic possibility. Her gatherings for musicians, composers, poets, dancers and choreographers are not only vibrant recitals, they’re critical sessions for sound explorers, archivists and adventurers tuned into a different cosmic station.”
- Lewis Whittington, Philadelphia City Paper, November 1, 2006
The TEMPLE NEWS
Intimate Setting: Amplified Sound
“Andrea Clearfield has been hosting a European-style salon in her loft for the past 25 years. This underground safe-haven for classical, new-wave, eclectic, indie, experimental and traditional musicians is one of Philadelphia’s hidden gems”. – Emily Rolen, November 4, 2014
A.D. Amorosi writes about the Salon’s plea for investors
The Naked City
City Paper, January 24, 2014
Essays about arts from Iberia and the Americas:
Andrea Clearfield’s Salon
By Celesta Mann, June 12, 2014
Read about the Salon in the JEWISH EXPONENT
Composer Revitalizes the Salon Tradition
By Michael Elkin, December, 3, 2013
Read about the Salon in the Center City Quarterly, June 2013
“Andrea Clearfield’s Musical Salon”
By Bonnie Eisenfeld, June, 2013
Read about the Salon in the PHILADELPHIA CITY PAPER
Encore? After 24 years, Andrea Clearfield’s beloved Salon series faces an uncertain future.
By A.D. Amorosi, August 12, 2010
Read about the Salon in NewMusicBox
By David Smooke, April 24, 2012
Read about Andrea’s Salon in the PHILADELPHIA CITY PAPER
Close for Comfort: Salon culture is on the rise as local art lovers make a case for intimacy.
By A.D. Amorosi, September 16, 2009
Read in ALL ABOUT JAZZ
Music a la Carte: Andrea Clearfield’s Salon in Philadelphia
By Victor L. Schermer, February 1, 2009
Read in CHUTZPAH MAGAZINE
Music From The Heart: Composer Andrea Clearfield Reveals Her Passions
By Tina Isen Fox, Fall, 2010
Read in OPERA TODAY
Andrea Clearfield: An Interview
By Tom Moore, April, 2010
Read in THE PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER
For 16 years, Andrea Clearfield has hosted musicians at her monthly salons. Invitees leave their shoes – and preconceptions – in the hall.
By David Patrick Stearns, November 10, 2002
Read in the BROAD STREET REVIEW
Mozart: Reloaded, A Composer for All Seasons
By Lewis Whittington, February 1, 2006
Read in ALL ABOUT JAZZ: Mozart Reloaded
“Mozart: Reloaded”: A Jazz and Classical Multimedia “Salon”
curated and hosted by Andrea Clearfield at the Kimmel Center
by Victor L. Schermer, February 6, 2006
READ IN MY CITY PAPER
Mozart: Reloaded Music Picks
by Peter Burwasser, January 19, 2006
The Salon: An 18-Year Philadelphia Tradition
By Andrea Clearfield
Published in the Journal of the International Alliance for Women in Music (IAWM), vol. 10/2 (2004): 15-18
Listen to the Salon story on WRTI: Creatively Speaking!
With Jim Cotter
Susan Lewis: The Salon, underground concert series
May 20, 2006
Listen to the Salon story on WXPN:
![logo](../images/logo-wxpn.gif)
Philadelphia Music Makers Series with Tracy Tanenbaum
April 2007
Watch the TV spot on the Salon on WHYY:
![whyy logo](../images/logo-whyy.gif)
WHYY Experience
“Andrea Clearfield’s home-based Salon has been creating community through music for 20 years. This monthly performance and concert series started with friends invited by the musician/composer host and then expanded to a free email subscription service. Clearfield organizes the evening to achieve a warm, engaging concert experience featuring original compositions, jazz, electronic, improvisation, folk, experimental, poetry, dance, world music, and time-honored classical chamber music and opera. As to the performers, Clearfield says, ‘People want to come to a place where they can be really free to express themselves from the heart’.
Watch some Salon performances:![AC-30thPoster-sm](http://www.andreaclearfield.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/AC-30thPoster-sm-240x300.jpeg)
Perseverence Jazz Band
Jocelyn E. Isaac, dancer
Nu Directions Chamber Brass
Svitanya Eastern European Women’s Ensemble
Caeli Smith, violin and Michael Poll, guitar
Sonata for Cello and Piano, Andrew Rudin, composer
Read in the Jerusalem Report
“Center City Salonista”
by Matt Nesvisky, October 3, 2006
Read in the Philadelphia City Paper
Artists in Residence: You never know what you’ll hear in Andrea Clearfield’s living room.
By Scott Robinson, October 15, 1998
Salon poster created by Joel Metzger
25 Year Salon Poster created by Antonia Cianfrani
![Salon Shoes Collage by Antonia Cianfrani Antonia Cianfrani](http://www.andreaclearfield.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/Salon-Shoes1-207x300.jpg)
Antonia Cianfrani
25 Year Salon Poster created by Antonia Cianfrani
25 Year Salon Collage created by John Gross
Photo by John Hayes
Salon Gallery
Photos by John Hayes
For more photos, go to Gallery Page