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Michael Pinnella
Pinnella performing in Novara, 2007
Background information
Birth name	Michael Pinnella
Born	(1969-08-29) August 29, 1969 (age 55) Point Pleasant Beach, New Jersey, U.S.
Genres	Progressive metal, neoclassical metal, power metal
Occupation(s)	Musician, songwriter
Instrument(s)	Keyboards, piano, backing vocals
Years active	1994–present

Michael Pinnella (born August 29, 1969) is an American keyboard player, most notably for the band Symphony X. Michael is one of two Symphony X members to appear on all nine of the band's albums (the other being Michael Romeo).

He has released two solo albums, titled Enter By the Twelfth Gate (2004) and Ascension (2014), mostly composed of instrumental, classical-styled progressive metal.

In 2016, Pinnella ranked #11 in Loudwire's Top 25 Rock + Metal Keyboardists of All Time, praised for being an "essential component of Symphony X’s overarching epic nature".

Biography

Pinnella was born in Point Pleasant Beach, New Jersey and was encouraged since childhood to follow music. When he was four years old, he started taking piano lessons. He was heavily influenced by classic composers like Mozart, Beethoven, Chopin, and Bach.

When he was about 11 years old, he started to practice more seriously. Later in his youth, he was impressed by Yngwie Malmsteen and asked his parents to buy him a keyboard. When he got into college, he studied piano performance, theory and composition, and other musical courses. Other influences came from progressive/metal bands from the 1970s (Emerson, Lake & Palmer, Deep Purple, Black Sabbath) and from the 1980s (DIO, Ozzy Osbourne).

When Pinnella finished college, he started teaching piano in a music store. One of the fellow teachers at the store was friends with Michael Romeo from Symphony X. In 1994, he was hired by the band as a keyboardist.

Pinnella's nephew, Chris Pinnella, is a vocalist who worked with Trans-Siberian Orchestra.

Equipment

Pinnella uses the following equipment:

• Yamaha Motif ES7
• Roland V-Synth GT

Discography

With Symphony X

With Michael Romeo

• The Dark Chapter (1994)

Solo

• Enter by the Twelfth Gate (2004)
• Ascension (2014)

With Mike LePond's Silent Assassins

• Mike LePond's Silent Assassins (2014)
• Pawn And Prophecy (2018)
• Whore of Babylon (2020)

As a guest

• Various (Cult of One) – Whiplash (1996)
• "Strike Me Blind" (Thrashback) – Whiplash (1998)
• Various (Gone Forever) – God Forbid (2004)
• "We Will Fly" (Atomic Soul) – Russell Allen (2005)
• Various (Earthsblood) – God Forbid (2009)
• "A Vision of You" (Sonic Stomp II) – Mike Orlando (2010)
• "Sirius" (A Spoonful of Time) – Nektar (2012)

See also

• Symphony X

References

1. ^ "-=Symphony X-Official Website=-". July 21, 2011. Archived from the original on July 21, 2011. Retrieved February 5, 2023.
2. Michael Pinnella - Ascension, December 16, 2014, retrieved February 5, 2023
3. DiVita, Joe (November 2, 2016). "Top 25 Rock + Metal Keyboardists of All Time". Loudwire. Retrieved February 5, 2023.
4. "Michael Romeo Interview – A Perfect Symphony Part One: 1970's to 2000. | All Out Guitar | Magazine Archive". March 19, 2016. Archived from the original on March 19, 2016. Retrieved February 5, 2023.
5. Rabinowitz, Chloe. "Chris Pinnella, Chloe Lowery and 8-Piece Orchestra Set for Save Our Stages Concert". BroadwayWorld.com. Retrieved February 5, 2023.

External links

• Symphony X Official Website

This article about a United States keyboardist is a stub. You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it.

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• 1969 births
• American heavy metal keyboardists
• Symphony X members
• Living people
• People from Point Pleasant Beach, New Jersey
• 21st-century American keyboardists
• American people of Italian descent
• 20th-century American keyboardists
• American keyboardist stubs