It is no secret Stardust Melodies supports the Great American Songbook. For a couple of years we've been keeping an eye on a wonderful project called the Songbook Academy (in the past known as the Great American Songbook High School Vocal Academy & Competition) that brings young talented artists together to sing and celebrate the great music of the past.
This year marks the sixth year, the Songbook Academy provides high school singers in
grades 9-12 with the life-changing opportunity to work with music
industry professionals and educators from top college arts programs to
experience firsthand the uniquely American and culturally significant
music known as the Great American Songbook.
Forty students were invited to attend the Songbook Academy at the
Songbook Foundation’s headquarters in Carmel, IN, July 18-25, 2015, to
participate in a seven-day Academy on interpreting and performing the
music of the Great American Songbook. This year's mentors included Michael Feinstein, Tony nominee and Broadway star Laura Osnes and Grammy winner Sylvia McNair.
2015 winner Lucas Debard
Lucas Debard is the 2015 winner of the Great American
Songbook Youth Ambassador Award. The 18-year-old is from Lebanon, Indiana.
During the final concert on July 25, 2015, he sang American standards: “I'm
Going to Sit Right Down and Write Myself a Letter” and a mash-up of “I'll See
You in My Dreams” & "I Have Dreamed." As the first place winner,
Debard gets the chance of a lifetime: the opportunity to perform with two-time
Emmy and five-time Grammy Award nominated entertainer and founder of The Great
American Songbook Foundation, Michael Feinstein. The winner will serve as the
Great American Songbook Youth Ambassador for one year and will have
opportunities to perform throughout the year.
Cate Hayman of Mill Valley, California, was named Songbook Inspiration Award winner, and Hannah Vogelsang of Haslett, Michigan, was named Songbook Celebration Award winner, each receiving the opportunity to perform with Michael Feinstein.
The past Youth Ambassadors included Nick Ziobro, Julia Goodwin and last year's winner Maddie Baillio.
Songbook Academy Promo Reel
Finalists
for the 2015 competition include:
Lucas DeBard: Senior at Lebanon
High School (Lebanon, Indiana)
Cate Hayman: Junior at Tamalpais High School (Mill Valley, California)
Hannah
Vogelsang: Junior at Haslett High School (Haslett,
Michigan)
DeMar Jackson: Senior at Eisenhower
High School (Decatur, Illinois)
Adam Kruschwitz: Senior at Brighton High School (Rochester, New York)
Drew
Mabusth: Freshman at Dubuque Stephen Hempstead
(Dubuque, Iowa)
Deirdre Pedersen: Sophmore at Westborough High School (Westborough, Massachusetts)
Joshua Reinier:
Sophomore at the Nueva Upper School (San
Francisco, California)
Madelyn Steurer: Junior at Assumption High School (Jeffersonville, Indiana)
Katie
Swaney:: Junior at Center Grove High School
(Greenwood, Indiana)
Songbook Choir
The Songbook Academy is a celebration of the Golden Age of American Popular music. This program is the only high school music intensive in the U.S. dedicated solely to the music from Broadway, Hollywood musicals and the Tin Pan Alley era of the early to mid-twentieth century.
You will find more interesting info about Archives & Library, Songbook Academy, Songbook Hall of Fame and other projects on The Great American Songbook Foundation website www.thecenterfortheperformingarts.org/Great-American-Songbook-Inititative
