34 | OCTOBER 1 • 2020 

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Arts&Life

by Thelonious Monk, and that 
kind of shifted me because I 
learned that I can improvise 
and express myself. Music can 
be this [way] of expressing 
myself at a whole other level.”
As Mintus explored jazz, he 
also studied classical music and 
went to an arts high school in 
Israel. After serving as a musi-
cian in the military, he earned 
a scholarship to the Manhattan 
School of Music. While 
enrolled, he entered the New 
York performance community 
and moved on to tour interna-
tionally, sometimes appearing 
with orchestras.
Among the honors he has 
received are the Leonard 
Bernstein Award presented 
by ASCAP (American Society 
of Composers, Authors and 
Publishers) and the Bernstein 
Family Foundation, the Prix du 
Public given at the Montreux 
Jazz Festival and two of 
ASCAP’
s Herb Alpert Young 
Jazz Composer Awards.
While performances have 
been limited during the pan-
demic, he has interacted with 
audiences by taking online 
requests and filling some by 
raffles.
“I played the requests as an 
artistic challenge to personalize 

songs from different worlds of 
music,” he said. “People who 
have experienced loss, sickness 
or tough things — or wanted 
to wish happy birthday to their 
father or something like that 
— reached out and asked for 
certain songs that are special.
“I made personal dedica-
tions, and the response was 
incredible. It was amazing to 
see how powerful music can be 
and the healing powers it can 
have on so many people’
s lives.”
The pianist-composer hopes 
his upcoming album, “The 
Gershwin Playground,” will 
also have those kinds of effects.
“‘
Do You Love Me?’
 is my 
favorite song from Fiddler,
” 
Mintus revealed. “It’
s some-
thing so real and charming. 
It gets me, and I’
m looking 
forward to sharing lots of spe-
cial music with the people of 
Detroit. 
“
Although we can’
t meet in 
person now, I’
d love to have as 
much interaction as possible 
through Facebook or my email. 
Communication is one of the 
most beautiful things. If we 
can’
t do it physically, digital 
means can be cool, too.
“To share this music is a 
blessing, and I’
d love to know 
where it took people.” 

“‘Do You Love 
Me?’ is my 
favorite song 
from Fiddler.”

— PIANIST GUY MINTUS

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