Holiday concerts to feature Songbook Academy alumni

Free program of seasonal classics offered in two shows Dec. 22

The Great American Songbook Foundation is presenting two free holiday concerts in December featuring talented local and regional alumni from its annual Songbook Academy summer music intensive.

Songbook Academy Sings the Songs of the Season is set for two performances, 1 and 4 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 22, in the Studio Theater at Allied Solutions Center for the Performing Arts in Carmel. Registration for free tickets (limit four per household) is available at TheSongbook.org/SAHoliday24, and seating is limited. The events are sponsored by the Hrisomalos and Urbanski families of Carmel.

The Songbook Academy, now entering its 16th season, selects 40 high school singers from across the nation each year to experience a week of mentoring from top university faculty, Broadway performers and other arts and entertainment professionals. Many participants have moved on to professional performing or studying the performing arts in prestigious university programs.

For the Dec. 22 performances, 27 singers will perform holiday classics accompanied by longtime Songbook Academy music director Mel Shore, sought-after performer, studio musician and award-winning composer and arranger known for her fluency on the piano and Hammond B3 organ. One song will feature a new acquisition from the Foundation’s Songbook Library & Archives: a Sohmer Studio Transposing Piano owned by the late Irving Berlin, writer of such seasonal classics as “White Christmas” and “Happy Holiday.”

The scheduled performers attended the Songbook Academy from 2018 through 2024. They will include:

• Ayaan Abbasi (2022), Carmel; Indiana University
• Ian Brooks (2022), Avon; University of Indianapolis
• Sadie Cohen (2024), Carmel; Carmel High School
• Emmaline Colvin (2022, 2024), Carmel; Eastman School of Music
• Keegan Connor (2024), Westfield; University of Alabama
• Peter Fulton (2018-2019), Fishers; Indiana University Indianapolis
• Mahesh Gupta (2020), Zionsville; University of Michigan
• Isaiah Henderson (2024), Carmel; Carmel High School
• Eve Hodges (2023), Zionsville; Liberty University
• Emma Hornbecker (2023), Lebanon; Indiana University
• Seth Jacobsen (2022-2023), Carmel; Indiana University
• Jilayne Kistner (2021), Zionsville; Ithaca College
• Ava Lee (2023-2024), Avon; Indiana University
• Emily Legg (2020), Fishers; Montclair State University
• Addie McMillan (2024), Noblesville; Ball State University
• Piper Murphy (2021), Carmel; Ball State University
• Craig Reynolds (2023-2024), Lebanon; Indiana State University
• Anna Shea Safran (2021-2022), Doylestown, Pa.; Indiana University
• Phoebe Sidebottom (2024), Zionsville; Zionsville Community High School
• Vivienne Smith (2023), Indianapolis; Howard University
• Leah Spurlock (2020), Noblesville; Belmont University
• J’lan Stewart (2023), Kokomo; Ivy Tech Community College
• Abigayle Kate Gatton Stokes (2023), Lexington, Ky.; College-Conservatory of Music at University of Cincinnati
• Sarah Warf (2022), Carmel; Indiana University
• Meghan Warmuth (2022), Indianapolis; Illinois State University
• Journee Woodley (2024), Westfield; Westfield High School
• Camden Zetty (2020-2021), Avon; Butler University

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 20th-century foundational era of American popular music. Headquartered at Allied Solutions Center for the Performing Arts in Carmel, the Foundation advances this rich legacy by curating physical artifacts of its creators, performers and publishers in the Songbook Library & Archives; 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 TheSongbook.org.