Key West The Newspaper

Composer / arranger/ songwriter and Grammy member Glenn Finnan currently divides his time between the Philadelphia area and Key West, with the hopes of soon calling Key West his permanent home.

Glenn first came to Key West in 2012 to play clarinet with the South Florida Symphony. He fell in love with the city at first sight, and within a year had purchased a home here, to get his foot in the door for a move. He spends about 3 or 4 months a year in Key West now, playing with the Symphony and enjoying all the great people, places, and things to do in the city.

Coincidentally, around the same time he was discovering Key West, he was working on a music project with fellow Grammy member Jack Warner, a guitarist in Los Angeles. The two created a CD of music for guitar with instrumental accompaniment. This 2014 independent commercial release, “Cityscapes”, was released last July. Since then, the music has been growing in exposure, thanks to airplay and coverage on local radio stations like WPIK, WWUS, and WIIS.

Collaborating completely over the Internet, Glenn took some of Jack’s best pre-existing solo guitar tracks and added a rich and varied set of instrumental arrangements to them, covering a wide variety of styles. The result is an album that takes the original guitar tracks and wraps them in new, unexpected settings. Ranging from large spectacular orchestras to intimate small ensembles, the new album has something for everybody. Some pieces are bold and brilliant, some are private and personal.

One track that is very special to Glenn (and relevant locally) is “Key West Breezes”. Having decided to name each track after a special city (hence the album title), the romantic, tropical vibe of this piece, combined with Glenn’s desire to honor his new favorite town, made it a natural fit. With the musical equivalent of rustling palm leaves and waves gently rolling onto the shore at night, the name came immediately to mind. Check out a few minutes of Key West Breezes and see if it becomes one of your favorites, as well.

Another “local” track is “Miami Beach Street Party”, an upbeat fiesta specially arranged for guitar and Latin percussion instruments. It’s impossible to sit still during that track. South Florida is well-represented on “Cityscapes”. Click here to listen to a few minutes of Miami Beach Street Party .

Please check out the romantic sounds of “Key West Breezes”, the driving rhythms of “Miami Beach Street Party”, and all the other great music on “Cityscapes”. The whole CD is available on

Amazon .com  and  iTunes.

Also, visit Glenn at www.GlennFinnanScores.com, and say hi when you see him around town!