by John BushPopular instrumental pianist Lorie Line began working as a department-store performer, but later formed her own Time Line Productions to release her own albums; by the mid-'90s she became a popular new age/light classical pianist with sales of over one million albums. Born and raised in Reno, NV, Line began playing piano at the age of five. Gifted with the talent of playing by ear, she began taking lessons a year later; by the time of her high-school graduation, she had won two national classical piano competitions. Line studied piano performance at the University of Nevada in Reno and began working in Minneapolis in 1989.

Moonlighting at night, she played piano in bars and restaurants, but jumped at the chance to play for shoppers at nearby Dayton's. She recorded her first album Out of Line that same year, and sold cassettes while working. After several such releases, Line began to build a following around the Minnesota area and decided to make music a full-time occupation. She formed her Pop Chamber Orchestra and began touring around the country. The buzz helped, as Line's two 1995 albums -- Heart & Soul and Sharing the Season, Vol. 3 -- each made Top 15 on the New Age charts. Lorie Line produced her first public-television special in August 1996, and released Lorie Line Live! that same year as a document of the program. Simply Grand followed in 1999.