Our Welcome to Sanford Artist of the Week is Addison Horner. A Sanford native, Addison’s musical career has taken him to Orlando, Florida, where he stays very busy writing and performing songs, arranging a cappella music for performing groups across the country, and teaching dozens of students piano, guitar and voice. In December, Addison released a new single called Watercolors, as part of an Orlando-based music collective called Trap Cat. You can hear the song at Spotify and through all leading streaming sites and online retailers. Addison also released a self-produced solo piano album called Clarity in 2017 that is available through online retailers.
In addition to all that, a current highlight in Addison’s music career is his participation in a national performance competition to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the first landing on the moon. In fact, we all can help Addison advance through the Music From The Moon competition by simply liking the video performance of his original song, Shoot For The Moon. Click on the image to enjoy Addison’s video and click on the “Like” button. (We’ve circled it in red here to make it easier to find!)
It’s not surprising to learn that music is very personal for Addison. He comments, “It’s easiest for me to write about the things I understand on an emotional level. Out of the hundreds of songs I’ve written, most are about my faith, my relationships with other people, and my marriage. For example, Shoot for the Moon came naturally for me because of my experience at Space Camp as a child. I could channel the awe and inspiration of space travel and moon landings into an anthem for persevering through seemingly insurmountable obstacles.”
From his formative years, learning to play classical piano from the age of four, to his involvement as a Temple Youth performer, music has always played a defining role in Addison’s life. His plans to study international relations at Elon University got derailed in his first semester, when he took a music theory course. Soon Addison was playing in a pop-rock ensemble and the rest was history.
These days, much of Addison’s musical profile appears online. He has a very prolific and entertaining YouTube channel with dozens of songs. Addison’s playlists include original song demos, instrumental versions of popular songs, a relaxing music section, a Hashtag Music series of online music lessons, and a clever feature called 2 Minute Improv, where he composes brief 2 minute songs on the spot. Addison is also active on Instagram, where his piano instruction activities have led to presentations at national and international conferences, including the International Society for Music Education in Glasgow, UK.
However … not everything Addison does these days is limited to the internet. After Addison’s friend and fellow Sanford native Britton Buchanan finished as second place winner on NBC’s The Voice, he asked Addison to join him for a few shows last summer. They wound up doing 3 high-energy shows as a duo in Raleigh and in Norfolk, VA. It sounds like there may be more opportunities for them to collaborate again later this year!
Artist of the Week is a feature that is devoted to Sanford’s dynamic arts community and the hundreds of talented individuals who are a part of it. Painters — potters — performing artists — musicians and much more! If you, or someone you know, is deserving of recognition, please click here, or on the Artist of Week badge and fill out a nomination document.
