Songbook Academy Finals set for July 28
6/28/2018 12AM
Nation's top teen vocalists vie for prestigious opportunities
Tickets start at $25; on sale 10 a.m. Friday, June 15
Available online at TheCenterPresents.org or by phone at (317) 843-3800
CARMEL, IN – See tomorrow’s stage and screen stars in the making Saturday, July 28, when talented high school-age vocalists from across the nation perform and compete in the annual Songbook Academy® Finals at the Center for the Performing Arts.
The evening concert in the Center’s Palladium concert hall is the culmination of the Great American Songbook Foundation’s weeklong academy, the only high school intensive in the United States focused on the timeless jazz, pop, Broadway and Hollywood standards known as the Great American Songbook.
Forty finalists – hailing from New York, California, Indiana and 16 other states – have been selected from among hundreds of applicants to spend a rigorous, life-changing week this summer at the Center for the Performing Arts. From July 21 to 28, they will experience workshops, master classes and mentoring from performing arts professionals and respected university educators, led by five-time Grammy® nominee and Foundation founder Michael Feinstein. The Academy is sponsored nationally by the Efroymson Family Fund, a fund of the Central Indiana Community Foundation.
During the closing concert at 7 p.m. July 28, all 40 participants perform, and the Top 10 compete for awards before a panel of judges and a live audience. Only one is chosen Songbook Youth Ambassador for the coming year, a title that comes with career-boosting opportunities to perform at such venues as Carnegie Hall and the Kennedy Center. The Songbook Academy Finals concert is sponsored by Salon 01, Aquage haircare products and Current Publishing LLC, and is part of the Center’s 2018-19 Season sponsored by Allied Solutions.
Tickets starting at $25 go on sale at 10 a.m. Friday, June 15, available by phone at (317) 843-3800, online at TheCenterPresents.org and at the Palladium Box Office, 1 Center Green, Carmel.
Two other performance events during Songbook Academy week are open to the public free of charge, although tickets are required. Tickets can be reserved at (317) 843-3800 or obtained in person at the Box Office.
• Public Masterclass, 2-5 p.m. Wednesday, July 25, at the Palladium – Ten randomly selected participants undergo critiques from Michael Feinstein and guest mentors.
• Songbook Showcase, 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and 2-4:30 p.m. Thursday, July 26, at the Palladium – All 40 participants perform solo, with 10 chosen to compete in the Saturday finals.
The Indiana students selected to participate are:
Olivia Broadwater, Zionsville
Rising junior, Zionsville Community High School
Zach Connolly, Greentown
Rising senior, Eastern High School
Peter Fulton, Fishers
Rising senior, Colonial Christian High School
Tara Lacy, Carmel
Recent graduate, Carmel High School
Sophia Miller, Carmel
Recent graduate, Carmel High School
Griffin Scott, Carmel
Rising sophomore, Carmel High School
Marissa Tappy, Noblesville
Recent graduate, Noblesville High School
OTHER PARTICIPANTS:
Ian Berlin, Chevy Chase, MD
Maret School, Washington, D.C.
Logan Branch, East Greenwich, RI
East Greenwich High School
Lucy Breedlove, Vienna, VA
James Madison High School
Morgan Demetre, Portland, OR
Cleveland High School
Elena Flauto, Akron, OH
Hathaway Brown School
Sadie Fridley, Fayetteville, NY
Fayetteville Manlius High School
Reed Gnepper, Cincinnati, OH
School for Creative and Performing Arts
Emma Hackworth, Pittsburgh, PA
North Allegheny Senior High School
Aisley Wallace Harper, Napa, CA
Napa High School
Sean Hodges, Sterling Heights, MI
Troy High School
Kai Alivia Koren, Lake Worth, FL
Park Vista High School
Brooke Lambert, Seattle, WA
Roosevelt High School
Ella Marcus, New York, NY
Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts
Abigail Marotta, Ocoee, FL
West Orange High School
Alec Melosini, Trabuco Canyon, CA
Santa Margarita Catholic High School
Grace Mozitis, Linwood, NJ
Mainland Regional High School
Ryan Peter Murphy, Hamden, CT
ACES Educational Center for the Arts and Hamden High School
Shawn Naumann, Pleasant Grove, UT
Pleasant Grove High School
Eevie Perez, San Diego, CA
Canyon Crest Academy
Ariana Prappas, San Marino, CA
San Marino High School
Johnny Rabe, Naperville, IL
The Chicago Academy for the Arts
Lily Rasmussen, Lexington, KY
Lafayette Senior High School
Anais Reno, New York, NY
Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music and Art
Jennie Rupp, Ann Arbor, MI
Skyline High School
Gabriel Schonman, River Forest, IL
Oak Part and River Forest High School
Amia Shavaun, Wayne, PA
Home-schooled
Valentina Shelton, Los Angeles, CA
Windward School
Isabella Shiff, Glendale, CA
Lycée International de Los Angeles
Lili Shires, Florence, KY
School for Creative and Performing Arts (Cincinnati)
Emily Song, Sunnyvale, CA
Homestead High School
Coen Sosa, Burbank, CA
John Burroughs High School
Zoe Stewart, Mendon, MA
Home-schooled
Aggie Williams, Overland Park, KS
Shawnee Mission East High School
About the Great American Songbook Foundation
The mission of the Great American Songbook Foundation, founded in 2007 by five-time Grammy® Award nominee Michael Feinstein, is to inspire and educate by celebrating the Great American Songbook – the timeless standards of pop, jazz, Broadway and Hollywood. Headquartered at the Center for the Performing Arts in Carmel, Indiana, the Foundation advances this rich legacy by curating physical artifacts of its creators, performers and publishers; operating a multimedia exhibit gallery; overseeing the Songbook Hall of Fame; offering programs for the public and research opportunities for scholars and artists; and providing educational opportunities for student musicians, including the annual Songbook Academy® summer intensive. The Foundation is a Cultural Affiliate of the Los Angeles-based Grammy Museum®. More information is available at www.TheSongbook.org.
