'Petalbump' is ready to soar

Ten years ago, Air Supply recruited a new keyboardist — Jed Moss, who plays piano locally as part of the Paradigm Trio and the Sundance Trio.

Since Air Supply founder Graham Russell lives in Park City, it was convenient to have someone close with whom to practice new music.

But Russell had something else in mind: a ballet that will finally see its world premiere this week.

"Two years before we hired Jed, my wife had a dream," said Russell during a phone call from an airport in North Carolina, where Air Supply was on tour. "Her dream was about a fairy and the start of spring."

Russell thought the dream would make a good children's story and wrote up a little book that he calls "Petalbump."

"By the time I knew what I wanted to do with the story, we had hired Jed to play in the band," said Russell. "When I hired him, I wanted to hire someone who was trained classically to see what that could do to our pop songs.

"Well, I approached Jed about composing new original music for this story and make it into a children's ballet."

Moss was a little apprehensive about the project.

"My reason is because I am a classical pianist who is trained to play other people's music," Moss said with a laugh while on the phone at the same North Carolina airport. "I don't consider myself a composer by any means. And I was worried that I simply couldn't do it."

But, as Moss found out, Russell has a way of nurturing raw talent.

"He knows how to prod and push," said Moss. "And he believed in me. That made a huge difference. So, I started creating music with him for the ballet."

The composing process was casual and natural, Russell said.

"We'd come up with things during (Air Supply's) soundchecks, or Jed would come up to my home or the studio and play me some things," said Russell. "I, on the other hand, would work things out on guitar, and we'd get together and record what we had."

"Graham's method is to get us in a room, bring out a recorder, push play and say, 'Go!"' said Moss. "So what has been the most challenging aspect of this project for me is to go back and listen to all the music we recorded throughout the years and transcribe it."

The score will be played live with a full orchestra, said Russell. "It is exciting to see what we have accomplished."