Lotte Aagaard (Ålborg Area, Denmark): She has been in the music business since 1982, first in Music Service and then in TG Management. She was co-manager for Aqua (sold more than 14 million), Dr. Bombay (sold more than 3.5 million), Me & My (sold more than 3 million), Smile.dk (sold more than 2 million), Chipz, Flying Superkids, Razz, Caroline, Mirah, etc. She has written songs for a lot of famous Danish artists, movies in the U.S., and artists in Germany. She is a creative manager, with 17 writers and 8 producers. They were the first to find and develop famous producers such as Cutfather and JayJay, Soulshock and DeeKay. They are still developing artists and producers/writers. They work closely with record labels and booking companies. She has worked with writers such as Narada Michael Walden (Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey, Aretha Franklin, etc.) Billy Lawrie (Tina Turner, Paul McCartney, etc.), James Slater, Michele Vice, Ahmad Darwich, etc. She is a Platinum and Gold awarded songwriter, with songs on local artists and U.S. TV/movies such as Creamy (sold 250,000 units+), Worlds Biggest Kids Choir (sold 100,000 units+), Caroline (sold 50,000 units+), Zynergy, Gudrun (sold 25,000 units+), Tessa (from Holland), Giada Valenti (USA), Smølferne (sold 50,000 units+), Mirah, R'n'B (sold 150,000 units+), etc. TV/movies include Queen Latifa’s "The Perfect Holiday" and several songs in The Guiding Light, Legoland, etc. She has arranged D'Pop co-writing week 20 times. She has arranged/handled the kids from MGP touring, etc. The first 8 years she was part of the famous DMC (disco mix club) with a 1000 DJ's and they were the first in Denmark who connected electronic producers with live artists.
Noel Adams (Melbourne, Australia): He began his adult life as a sales assistant in a music shop in Launceston, Tasmania (Australia). After a few years in the music industry, he entered into university studies and graduated as a Chemical Physicist. From there, he pursued post-graduate studies in physics. It was at this time that he began reading books on Harmony and Counterpoint and, as a consequence, began developing his skills as an arranger. These days, he is a Senior High School teacher of chemistry and physics. He says that, "As long as I can remember, music has always been there. It's been a valuable asset and a pleasurable pastime for my whole life. I cannot imagine what it would be like not to have learned piano when I was young." In his spare time, Noel enjoys composing songs and arranging music for piano, electronic organ, orchestra and choir. He firmly believes that the value of learning music enhances and extends into all aspects of life.
Bruce Adamson (Greensburg, PA): He is a popular children's performer and puppeteer, as well as the owner of Spellbinders, a creative advertising agency specializing in radio commercials. Working with his wife, Paula Purnell, Bruce has written and produced two award-winning children's albums. It's Halloween won the Parent's Choice Gold Award and Pajama Jammin' won the Parent's Choice Silver Award. Bruce is also the author of The Best Things Ever Said in the Dark, a compilation of wise and witty quotations from the movies.
Nancy Kelly Allen (Hazard, KY): She has two Masters Degrees, one in Elementary Education and the other in Library Information and Science. She is a retired elementary school teacher and librarian. Her publishing credits include Once Upon a Dime (Charlesbridge Publishing), The Wireless (The Brookfield Reader) , Whose Noise Is This?, Whose Food Is This?, and Whose House Is This? (Picture Window Books), Trailblazer: The Life of Daniel Boone (Pelican Press), and On the Banks of the Mississippi (Raven Tree Press). In February 2002, she received a $1,500 grant for writing picture books from the Kentucky Foundation of Women. She has had articles published in Book Links, Good Apple, Back Home in Kentucky, M Magazine, Kudzu, and Children's Book Insider.
Robert Allen (Deceased): To learn more about the composer of the Christmas classic “There’s No Place Like Home for the Holidays,” visit http://www.dancingfingers.net/biography.html
Gary Alt (Wantage, NJ): Gary Alt is a songwriter and musician from Long Island now living in northern New Jersey. He has written children's songs, as well as blues, rock, folk, pop, reggae, and jazz. His song Half Way to Two is also featured on his first solo CD Alien's Heart, an album of mostly biblical songs, which includes the vocal talents of his three children. A self-taught musician, he is currently the lead guitarist and keyboard player for 10:58, a rock band that performs in the northeastern United States. He is soon to release his second CD of children's songs called It's About the Kids.
Roberta Annicks (Peotone, IL): Her poems have appeared in five different literary magazines, including Profiles, Talisman, Welcome Home, Poetry Forum, and Context South.
Elizabeth C. Axford (Del Mar, CA): Owner, Piano Press. She received her MA in Musicology from SDSU in 1995. A studio piano instructor since 1984, she is the author of Song Sheets to Software—A Guide to Print Music, Software, Instructional Media, and Web Sites for Musicians, 3rd ed. Book/CD-ROM and Traditional World Music Influences in Contemporary Solo Piano Literature, the multicultural repertoire guide for pianists. Other publications include Merry Christmas Happy Hanukkah—A Multilingual Songbook and CD, I Practiced! I'm Proud!, and Pieces for Piano. She is a songwriter/publisher member of ASCAP, as well as a voting member of NARAS and CMA, MTNA, MTAC, TI:ME, TAXI, and NSAI, for which she served as the Miami, FL (1990-1992) and San Diego, CA (1992-2010) regional workshop coordinator. She is a published author, poet, producer, songwriter, and arranger of piano music.
Marc-Alan Barnette (Nashville, TN): He is an original. A self-proclaimed “square peg in a round hole,” he has emerged with a unique musical sound that is in his own words, “not totally country and not totally blues…too blues for country and too country for blues!” Aptly classified as “In-Your-Face-Country-Soul,” his music and Marc-Alan himself have created a huge buzz in the music scene. He is the king of reinventing himself - a dichotomy of heartfelt and hilarious, crazy and down-to-earth. Because of the variety of hats he dons for each of his shows, he certainly keeps every audience on its toes, thoroughly entertained and wanting more. He was born and raised in Birmingham. As part of a musical family (great cousin was Jimmie Rogers, one of the founders of country music, and father, Grady, was a gospel quartet singer), he grew up singing in church and in various bands and taught himself how to play the guitar. Since his first moment on stage, he knew that getting people fired up and performing was his natural calling. His band, 24 Karat, was chosen as the top band in the country in the 1984 Miller High Life Battle of the Bands out of 30,000 applicants. After a move to Nashville in 1988, he scored a cut with Shelby Lynne his first night in town. He has had success in Nashville as a writer, several publishing deals, and cuts by John Berry and David Ball, including the single “Too Much Blood in My Alcohol Level” on the “Freewheeler” album. He has co-written with the best and along with his former back-up singers The Kinleys, he has opened shows for Charlie Daniels, Garth Brooks, Ricochet, and Patty Loveless. Besides writing and performing, he also has a passion for mentoring and coaching writers through workshops and seminar programs that he has created all over the US. Through his efforts with NSAI, SGA, and other organizations, he has helped further the goals of many writers, leading to publishing and representation deals, and greater awareness of the intricacies of the music business. His smoky whiskey voice has brought comparisons to Delbert McClinton, Otis Redding, and Travis Tritt. From his warm, haunting ballad of lost love, “Old Memories,” to the driving rocker, “When Love Does the Driving,” the hilarious “Too Much Blood in My Alcohol Level” to his signature tune, “Can’t Blame Nobody,” he has proven himself to be a prolific writer and a fantastic performer. Music critic Robert Orreman has said of him, “If you see this guy’s name listed on a club, run, don’t walk to get there.” http://www.marcalanbarnette.com/fr_home.cfm
T. D. Bayless (Deceased): The late Theodore Debs “T. D.” Bayless, was born on Sept. 11, 1908 in Oklahoma. Early on, he and his family moved to Northwest Arkansas by covered wagon, which doubled as their home for the early part of his life. Being the youngest of six kids, hand-me-downs were a way of life. Although he had only an eighth grade education, he had a keen sense of observation. After several years of hard life, he turned to writing, first poems, then songs. Words came fairly easy to him, but melodies were not so readily available. He found Don McHan to help him. Out of that collaboration came several songs including the #1 country hit “The Pill” sung by Loretta Lynn. He wrote or co-wrote with various collaborators over 130 songs in his lifetime, many of which are southern gospel or country humor. He is remembered fondly by his family as a very good man, a talented writer, and most of all, a great “Pop.”
Richard H. Behm (Stevens Point, WI): He has published poems in The Southern Review, The Kenyon Review, Southern Poetry Review, Poem, Michigan Quarterly Review, California Quarterly, and Yankee, among others. He has four new poems forthcoming in The Sewanee Review, wherein he has appeared several times since the late 1980's, and two poems coming out in an anthology of poems about baseball from Southern Illinois University Press. He is a professor of English at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, and a three-time winner of fellowships from the Wisconsin Arts Board, twice in poetry and once in fiction.
Brad Belt (Marion, IL): He is a published songwriter with ten songs on Golf is a Cussin' Game available at www.bradbelt.com, and two songs on Reflections by Carl Sanders, available at www.outbackrecords.com. He is an experienced singer and guitarist, and is putting final touches on two additional albums. As regional workshop coordinator for the NSAI Marion, IL chapter, he is active in the coffee house and club network in Southern Illinois, and makes occasional trips to Nashville where he gives acoustical renditions of his works. He is completely devoted to his family and his music. “I write about things that have an emotional impact on me personally. Things that make me cry, things that make me happy or mad, things that make me laugh, even things that drive me crazy - these are the things that end up in my songs.”
Karen Benedetto (New York, NY): She has been a poet as far back as she can remember, when, at an early age, she taught herself guitar and put her poems to music. Her work has been recognized in a number of international songwriting competitions and professional showcases. Her debut songwriter CD, “Right From the Start…the Songs of She Benedetto” is a various-artists recording that includes a range of musical styles from cabaret, pop ballads, and novelty material, through folk, country, and inspirational/gospel selections. Singers from the NYC Cabaret, Broadway, and Concert stages interpret the seventeen songs in the collection, with two selections on the CD performed by Karen herself. “The Call,” written in response to 9/11, received radio airplay both across the U.S. and abroad. This powerful and timeless anthem of healing and unity has had a part in numerous live commemorative events in churches, spiritual centers, and civic gatherings, and has been heard on several occasions at the United Nations. “The Perfect Gift,” a unique way of looking at Christmas with love as the perfect offering, is part of “A Holiday Sampler” CD as well as of “Holiday Heart,” a Hospice benefit recording. “Southern Rains,” written in response to Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, is part of a Red Cross benefit recording produced and performed by vocalist Pamela Palmieri. A member of the performing rights organization ASCAP, she presently has thirteen songs out with publishers in Nashville, Philadelphia, and Michigan. She is honored to be recognized for “A Pencil and A Pad” (“The Songwriter Song”) in Piano Press's 6th Annual Art of Music Writing Contest. Thank you, Liz, for all of your wonderful and inspiring work! She can be reached at www.KarenBenedettoSongs.com
Toni La Ree Bennett (Seattle, WA): After receiving a Ph.D. from the University of Washington and teaching English for five years, she now divides her time between financial management, traveling, learning Italian, breeding finches, and writing poetry. Recently published works include Inside/Outside in Fox Cry Review (2001), Thermal Pools in Bogg #70 (2000), Mezza Ragna and No Pastel Princess in The Muse Strikes Back (1997), A Floating Face in Hawaii Pacific Review, Vol. 10 (1996), and Bennett Island, New Zealand in Puerto del Sol, Vol. 30, #1 (1995).
Judith Berson (West Orange, NJ): She was born and raised in Newark NJ and went on to become a French and Spanish teacher in the public schools. Her interest in music started when she was very young and was enhanced by her French teacher in high school who taught the class the opera “Carmen” and parts of some other French operas as well. They went to see the opera more than once. When she started teaching, she too, taught her classes the opera “Carmen” and she took many classes to see the opera. In later years, when she would encounter a former student, they almost always mentioned how they remembered learning the opera and going to see it and what an impact it had had on them. Eventually, she retired from teaching and started to work with Jerome Hines' opera group, teaching the singers French diction for the operas or arias that they would be singing. This was one of the most thrilling things she ever did and it changed her life forever. Her knowledge of and interest in opera grew immensely. Combined with her love for children and her desire to impart something of interest to children, she decided to write a story about a young child who hears an aria and becomes thoroughly transfixed by it. It changes her life. She has found that that is how many people come to classical music, opera, or anything else that becomes a life-changing experience. Her story is actually based on the story of one of the singers in Jerome Hines' group. Jerome Hines was a famous basso-profundo, whose work took him all over the world and who was with the Metropolitan Opera, in NY, for a period of about forty years.
The Beu Sisters (New Smyrna Beach, FL): The Beu Sisters are a pop-rock girl group from Florida. The members of the group are sisters Candice (born 1975), Christie (born 1978), Jiliane (born 1983), and Danielle (born 1987). The sisters were born in New York to parents who performed on Broadway, and from an early age the girls were singing together. The four moved with their family to Florida, and by the end of the nineties, they had formed an a cappella act. Desmond Child, a noted songwriter, took notice of the sisters and helped them ink a contract with S-Curve Records. http://www.beusisters.com/
Linne Black (Winston-Salem, NC): She performed in country-rock bands all over North Carolina for years, then began writing for Excellorec Music in Nashville, headed up by well-known writer/publisher Bob Tubert. During the years she wrote for Excellorec, she had songs recorded by some major artists and a host of independent artists. In the late-70's, she was signed to RCA as an artist/writer and was produced by the famous Chet Atkins. Her songs made it to the charts and got great reviews in Billboard. Today, she has her own publishing company, Seeing Stars Music (BMI) and has entered into several co-publishing agreements with larger companies. She co-operates NextNumberOne Music Group that includes Pitchy Women (ASCAP), Target Top Ten (BMI), and Seeing Stars (BMI), with addresses in Nashville, Alabama, and North Carolina. Mickey Gilley, Alabama, Barbi Benton, Melanie Ayers, Tommy Overstreet, Linda Darrell, Mary Lou Turner, Brenda Pepper, Susan Lea, Mike Wells, Billy Crash Craddock, and a host of independent artists have recorded her songs. She was recently selected as the NSAI workshop coordinator for the Winston-Salem, NC chapter. She wrote Sing A Love Song, Porter Wagoner, one of the featured songs for Porter Wagoner's recent TNN special Company's Coming. She is now co-writing regularly with established Nashville staff writers, as well as other prolific songwriters in and outside of Nashville. She is happily married to Bill. Her day job is as a Registered Nurse (to support her songwriting habit), and she has spent eighteen years as EMT-D on the volunteer rescue squad/fire department.
Bob & Mary Blinn (River Grove, IL): They met in grammar school in the late 1960s. Both are graduates of Columbia College, Chicago, IL. Bob worked for several years in film post-production, and Mary worked as a graphic designer. Of their many shared interests in art and music, writing songs for children is their newest endeavor. Mary is also a published poet, and has been nominated for the Pushcart Award. Her work has appeared in Skylark Magazine. She has won recognition for her poetry in the literary annual Ariel three times. Bob is a published songwriter. He wrote the words and music to I Still Can't Say Goodbye recorded by Chet Atkins. British singer Charlie Landsborough also cut the song, which remained in the British Top 20 for forty-three weeks.
Tom Bohn (Decatur, GA): He is a fireman/paramedic in the Atlanta area, as well as a guitarist and singer with a passion for writing contemporary country and Christian songs that move the spirit.
Jeanie B! Bonansinga (Evanston, IL): www.jeaniebmusic.com Her latest CD “Mommy Knows Best” is a 2006 Parents' Choice Recommended Award winner, a 2006 Parent to Parent Adding Wisdom Award Winner, was a finalist in the Unisong International Songwriting contest and two tracks, “Mommy's in Menopause” and “Colorblind” won songwriting awards from Billboard. Formed in 2003 in Chicago, and made up of former Americana, rockabilly and folk music veterans (most of them parents themselves), Jeanie B! and The Jelly Beans have been raising the roofs off schools, children's museums, and concert halls. The secret is the sound Combining irresistible rootsy rhythms with sometimes hilarious, sometimes poignant, sometimes educational lyrics, the Jelly Beans rock the ages, all ages, with the most finger-snappin', hand-clappin', toe-tappin' tunes this side of Sun Records. Mommy Knows Best is Jeanie B!'s contribution to “help reshape the children's music market by offering songs that are complex in both musicality and meaning while also making people laugh.” This CD offers a variety of songs and musical genres for grade school children and younger, but also features cuts that older children (as well as hipster parents) will truly dig. “Colorblind,” for instance, lays down a Bangles-like power-pop riff about tolerance and peace, and “Mommy's in Menopause” recalls the Ramones and their hard-driving wall of sound while honoring a growing segment of the parenting population. “The World is a Wonderful Place” is reminiscent of R.E.M in their austere, acoustic period, and the anatomically correct, dentist-approved “Tooth Fairy Rap” creates an unlikely hybrid of surf and hip-hop (surf-hop?) from which kids will certainly learn as much groove! Offering further musical diversity, Jeanie B! collaborates with Chicago blues legend Chainsaw Dupont on “The Red Pants People” and brings home a James Brown funk rhythm on “Clap The Beats.” The live shows of Jeanie B ! and The Jelly Beans are something to behold: Jeanie B! jams, jokes and cajoles kids on stage to strut their stuff with the band. And even the shyest audience member loses all inhibitions when the bubble machine kicks on! Meanwhile, parents, probably expecting “Mary Had a Little Lamb,” are blown away by the tight-as-a-drum rhythm section of percussionist Teresa Drda and bassist Lisa Crowe, or the soaring guitar solos of axe-man Andon T. Davis, or the gut-bucket bluesy harmonica fills of Jeanie's husband, Jay Bonansinga. It all adds up to a rollicking great time! Jeanie B! and The Jelly Beans “I'm a Kid” 14 song CD and “Mommy Knows Best” 17 song CD are available for streaming and are getting airplay on XM Kids Radio.
Lessia Bonn (Sonoma, CA): She was named after a Russian fairytale. Think Goldilocks. Born with perfect pitch, she was a musical prodigy, receiving her entire musical education on full scholarship. She won a state-wide talent contest at eleven, soloed with her first symphony orchestra at twelve (as a little pianist), and she was whipping through Rachmaninoff concertos by the time she hit sixteen. Also a gifted writer, she won a citywide essay contest at the end of fifth grade. Her lyric-based poetry was chosen for publication in a national magazine when she'd just reached "tween." She penned her first song at twelve. Since her family was packed with highbrow classical folk, it was assumed she'd tow the family boat and be heading straight for Julliard. But destiny have it, there was a cute boy at another school, Curtis Institute of Music, whose name was Dicky. She had her eye on Dicky...and this deep thinking motivated her more towards the much harder-to-get-into school. Although there were only three openings at Curtis that year, she was accepted on full scholarship. She was also given her own grand piano to make sure that she would practice. But she didn't. She stopped practicing piano the day she left home. Meanwhile her songs became so popular at Curtis, she soon became the only musician to this day ever asked to perform contemporary music on the school's renowned classical stage. Next year found her back on the West Coast selling a song to the Carpenters. Another tune of hers, “For Becky,” was used as the backdrop for an international prize winning film. Not much later, an agent from The Larry Thompson Organization was attending a singer's showcase. When a showcasing singer happened to perform a song penned by her, story goes the audience was mesmerized. After the show, the agent walked up to the singer and asked, "Can I please have the number of whoever wrote that song?!!” http://www.vocalsbylocals.com/index.html
Daniel Brewer (Smyrna, TN): He is a songwriter and the writer of "A Mother's Heart" in My Mother's Day and Father's Day Fun Book.
Bridget Brigitte (Rancho Santa Fe, CA): She runs her own record label and performs her music on guitar, piano, and harp. She has been compared to Joni Mitchell and her style can be called alternative folk pop rock with splashes of blues and jazz. Alongside her life of writing and languages, she pursues her lifelong passion for composing, and presents some of her work in her independently released debut CD Where Birds Meet in the Rain and accompanying DVD of videos (2007). Among other venues, she has performed at Lava Lounge, Cat Club, First Night, Virgin, Humphrey's, and Hard Rock Café LA (US), The Anchor (Canada), Slattery’s, The Chancery Pub (Ireland), Le Duplex, and Blues Etc. (France), Latitude 22 (Mexico), and was featured in the World Fusion Divas Concert Series in Hollywood as well as in GIRL and Tsunami (ABC). The night that Bridget performed at a historic Reduce Global Warming fundraiser at Rancho Valencia, more than $1 million was raised. Matching her talents with those of producer/engineer David Chenoweth (Jewel, Body Count), engineer Joe Marlett (Blink 182), drummer Paul Kimbarow (Shanana), bassist Dave Curtis (AJ Croce), percussionist Allan Phillips (Patti Labelle) among others, Bridget offers a unique collection of original songs. Her music videos challenge contemporary clichés and have been shown in the Payne County Film Festival (TV 33, Cable 3), Access Central TV (Time Warner), and on Songsalive. She is a regular TV guest on the Shemm Show (Adelphia, Comcast) and has aired her own Bridget Brigitte TV Special on Cox Cable networks. She was also a 2003 Call to Arts/Artists Helping Artists Creative Vision Song Contest winner for her song "I've Got my Rendezvous Too," a 2004 Los Angeles Music Awards Adult Contemporary Artist of the Year nominee (alongside actress turned jazz singer Minnie Driver), a 2005 Women's International Center Spirit Award winner, and 2006 Living Legacy Award Honoree alongside Wonder Woman Lynda Carter and many other luminaries. Having performed for years in Paris, Bridget has garnered critical acclaim: L'Arc describes her as "a messenger of the new millennium..." The Folk Connection writes, "She combines the energy of Alanis Morrissette with the force of Sheryl Crow, the originality of Paula Cole with the tenderness of Sarah MacLachlan..." She has lent her musical talents to help these organizations among others: The Grammy’s MusiCares, GoGirlsMusic, Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, Vietnamese American Women Artists, National Breast Cancer Foundation, Artivist Independent Film Collective, and Artists Helping Artists. She is past President of the San Diego Songwriter's Guild, CEO of Women's International Center, Creative Director for 2 Life 18 Help and Rescue continuing Katrina and Disaster Relief, and Advisor for the Asian American Repertory Theater. In addition to her work as a musician, Bridget is a poet and writer whose work has been published widely. She holds a Ph.D. in French and Comparative Humanities. http://www.bridgetmusic.com/
Beverly Swerdlow Brown (Los Angeles, CA): A member of SCBWI, she has numerous children's books published, including The Adventures of Kraken, Erica, the Ecologist, The Traveling Pillow, Mouse's Baby Blanket, Panda's Birthday Surprise, Smile Soup, Brothers and the Broom, The Foolproof Tool Kit, The Secret at Morgan Manor, The Springtime Ghost, The House on Winchester Lane, Tricky Train Ride Mystery, Oliver's High Five, The Lunch Bunch, and How Seven Days Became a Knight. She has many articles published in magazines, including Tiger Beat, Ranger Rick, Highlights for Children, The Instructor, and Hopscotch, to name a few. She is the author of Story for ESL (Transparent Language) software, and has had many book signings in the Los Angeles area.
Elizabeth Brown (Los Angeles, CA): Elizabeth Brown was born in Los Angeles, California and is the older of two children. She has written several piano compositions for children as well as had her poems published in various poetry journals and magazines. She earned an Associates Degree in Music Theory and Composition and is presently employed as a legal assistant to a sole practitioner in Santa Monica. She is contemplating a career change in the social services area.
Dr. Ronald K. Burke (Sherman Oaks, CA): He is professor emeritus of Speech Communication at Syracuse University and a free lance writer residing in southern California. His three published books include Samuel Ringgold Ward: Christian Abolitionist, Frederick Douglass: Crusading Orator for Human Rights, and American Public Address: A Multicultural Perspective. Other publications include articles for academic journals and poetry. His poems have appeared in New Mirage Quarterly, Poet's Corner, Blue Collar Review, Timbooktu Online Journal, Mayhem Publishing Online, Tucumcari Literary Review, Raskolnikov's Cellar, Melting Trees Review, Clark Street Review, Nomad's Choir, AIM, Thorny Locust, among others. “In Jazz There is Unity” appeared in the Haight Ashbury Literary Journal, Vol. 19, #1, 2000.
Marianna Busching (Walkersville, MD): She has been a compulsive writer since age seven. She is a serious professional classical singer who is winding down a career after having appeared in such places as Carnegie Hall and the Kennedy Center. She is on the faculty of The Peabody Conservatory. She won a Poet's Award at Converse College and has been invited to read her poems at Border's. The latest of her poems to be accepted for publication include “Supper” by Living Church, and “Songs from the Couch I and II” by Mausoleum. A Washington composer set five of her poems to music especially for her voice. She premiered them at the Renwick Gallery in Washington, D.C., and they have been performed frequently since.
Stephen Butterman (Ypsilanti, MI): He is currently pursuing a Masters degree in creative writing at Eastern Michigan University. He has published two nonfiction books on bicycle touring, one with Wildreness Press, the other with Anacus Press. He has published poetry, essays, and fiction in several dozen publications including Immaculate Cauldron and Cornfield Review (two literary journals of Ohio State University), Inland, Baja Times, Wyoming Rural News, American Gardening, Hartford Woman, Paperback Parade, Atrocity, and Catholic Forester.
Tommy Byrd (Austin, TX): A very young Tommy Byrd began his musical career in El Dorado, Arkansas, after seeing the Beatles play on the Ed Sullivan Show in 1964. Inspired by their remarkable harmonies and catchy lyrics, Tommy purchased his first guitar and began teaching himself to play. In 1986, Byrd wrote the winning song in the Official Song of Austin Contest sponsored by the Austin Chamber of Commerce. He was a top finalist in a national songwriting contest sponsored by TNN in 1998. Byrd's songs have been recorded by Austin band Stop the Truck and Austin singer Mady Kaye. In 2001, Kids Acting used three of his songs in the production The Emperor's New Shoes . Piano Press has recorded a song that he co-wrote called “All of Us Together” for a CD called Kidtunes . Tommy has sung in various bands in Arkansas and Texas since 1967 and has been under contract with STAX Records in Memphis. He sang with the Geezinslaws and did harmony vocals with Willie Nelson on “Amazing Grace” on the LP The Sound in Your Mind . He was a major label-recording artist in the 1970s. He has co-owned a recording studio, and plays guitar and keyboards. He is a BMI-affiliated writer and has written many award-winning songs. He and his singing partner Kathy Street are about to release their CD "Stories of Life, Songs of Love."
Loraine Campbell (Seattle, WA): Her poems and short stories have appeared in Grit, The Sun, Chrysalis Reaer, Aim, Writing for our Lives, Works and Conversation, Potato Eyes, Sweet Pea Review, Papyrus, Pulse, Chiron Review, Circle Magazine, Struggle, Dana Literary Society, Hard Row to Hoe, Bellowing Ark, The Awakenings Review, and The California Quarterly. “Silent Way” is from a self-published chapbook titled Marooned.
Paul Candide (USA): He is the songwriter of "It's a Magical Time of the Year" in My Christmas Fun Book Level One.
Jeff Canter (Asheboro, NC): He is the co-writer with Pat Norman of "Giddy Up Reindeer" in My Christmas Fun Book Level Two.
Carolyn Carmody (Lawrence, KS): She has written Hector Mouse/Troubles with Candy, an easy reader, Willow, The Helpful Reindeer, a picture book, and a soon to be finished chapter book The Nantucket Lightship Basket Mystery set on Natucket Island, MA. She has also written a country western song for children Santa's Gone Adrift and greeting card verse.
Fern G. Z. Carr (Kelowna, BC, Canada): She is a musician, lawyer, language teacher, and past president and director of the local Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. Music is an integral part of her life. She has given private piano lessons, served as an accompanist, and taught choir at the high school level. She plays the piano every day and enjoys singing and performing with a university choir. Her poetry has been published in Canada, the USA, England, Wales, and Australia. Her publication credits include: Canadian Writer's Journal, Thalia: Studies in Literary Humor, Green's Magazine, Writer's Guidelines and News Magazine, John Milton Magazine, Jewish Women's Literary Annual, Once Upon A Time, FreeXpresSion, Time for Rhyme, SPCA Connection, Dream International Quarterly, VQ Online, Gentle Reader, Krax, and Candelabrum.
Todd Cecil (Nashville, TN): He is a UNC Chapel Hill Graduate. He is currently a musician and songwriter in Nashville, TN working on original music featuring slide collage guitar with emphasis on lyrical content and performance. Song clips and further information can be found at www.toddcecil.com His publication credits include “Buick s “ in Penmanship: A Creative Arts Calendar 2001, “Raising Perfect” and “Kiosk” in Way Station Magazine 2001, and “Next” and “When She Writes” published in Offerings 2002.
Shannon Casey Celia (Thousand Oaks, CA): She has a degree in journalism from Pepperdine University. She has been writing for children for four years, and is a member of SCBWI. She is the author of “ABCs of the Sea” and is a mother and a painter.
Marshall Cetlin (Fairfield, CT): He works at the crossroads of art, photography, and digital imaging. He finds his inspiration from the natural world and captures it through photography. He often begins with organic pictures taken from natural settings that he finds compelling. His artwork is created using the computer as a tool and then transformed into a play of space, light, and nature. He collects "pieces of the world" and composes them to tell a story. In his artwork, he imitates the way that a flower grows organized and purposeful. He won the 2007 First Place Award for Montage from Photoshop User magazine for his Bronx Zoo Montage. He also received honorable mention at the Pacific Art League in 2007 for Lily Mandala. He grew up in Brooklyn, New York, and went to the High School of Art and Design and the College of Visual Arts. He has worked for many international advertising agencies as a Creative Director and has supervised Creative Departments. He is happily married with two daughters and is currently living in Fairfield CT. http://www.marshallc.com/index.html
Dave Chrenko (Ventura, CA): He is the co-writer with Quint Randle of "Snowbound in Our Town" in My Christmas Fun Book Level Four. http://www.reelradio.com/dc/index.html
Kelly Clark (Glenview, IL): She is a teacher and a writer of poetry. She is the fourth of seven children.
Nan Clark (Bronx, NY): She received her M.A. in Musicology and B.A. in English from Hunter College in New York City. She has taken additional courses in music, the arts, education, and environmental studies at Hunter, NYU, SUNY, the Manhattan School of Music, New York College of Music, and the Metropolitan Opera Guild. Her published works include ten songs for “Step Out in Faith” by His Notes, Inc., including all piano arrangements in the accompanying songbook, and “Jesus as Messiah,” by Dove Publications. Her live performance programs include “Discovering the World of Opera,” “The Opera Scene,” “An Introduction to Dance,” and “The Dramatic Experience,” which she co-authored. She co-translated one-hour, updated English adaptations of “Carmen” and “La Bohème.” She wrote the words and music to “Msgr. Scanian School Song,” as well as many sacred and secular songs. She is the author of “The World's Greatest StarTrek Quiz,” now a collector's item. A college instructor, she was an avid Star Trek fan.
Laura Cobrinik (Boonton Township, NJ): She graduated from Caldwell College (magna cum laude) in May of 1988. She is a former member of Women Who Write in New Jersey, and is now a graduate student at The Palmer School of Library and Information Sciences, Brookville, NY. Her other works of poetry have appeared in Interface, The Delta Epsilon Sigma Journal, The Storyteller, Library Mosaics, The Jewish Woman's Literary Annual, The Quarterly of The National Writing Project & The Center For The Study of Writing and Literacy, Manna, Haiku Headlines, and The Aurorean: A Poetic Quarterly. Her poem, “If Emily Dickinson Was Jewish,” won third prize in the National College Poetry Contest, 1996. She has also been published in the “Chatter, New Jersey” column of the New Jersey section of the Sunday New York Times on numerous occasions. Her poems have also appeared in the Spring 2002 issue of the ALA/ASCAL journal, Interface, and the December, 2002 issue of TheAurorean: A Poetic Quarterly.
Sharon Conway (Winter Park, FL): She is the co-writer of "Christmas Lights" with Penny Roberts in My Christmas Fun Book Level One, and the writer of "Catalog Christmas" in My Christmas Fun Book Level Two. Sharon and Liz Axford were both active members of the songwriting community in Miami, FL in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
Robert Cooperman (Denver, CO): He is the author of three collections of poetry, most recently The Widow's Burden (Western Reflections). His second collection, In the Colorado Gold Fever Mountains (Western Reflections) won the Colorado Book Award for Poetry for 2000. His first book, In the Household of Percy Bysshe Shelley, was published by the University of Central Florida Contemporary Poetry Series and was nominated for several national awards. The Emigrants' Buffalo Hunt is forthcoming from Conundrum Press. His work has appeared in The American Poetry Review, Mississippi Review, California Quarterly, and many other prestigious literary journals. He lives in Denver with his wife Beth. Previously published poems included here are A Member of the Orchestra (Plainsongs), Gregorian Chants (Willow Springs), Impetus (Purple Monkey Review), and Attempted Music (Potomac Review).
Jennifer Olson Crook (Hot Springs, AR): She is a kindergarten teacher and mother of two. With a degree in Early Childhood Education, she draws from her classroom teaching experience for her writing ideas. “After having taught young children, I know what kind of teaching materials are available and what things teachers really need to teach a dynamic classroom.”
Jamie Cutler (Nashville, TN): Born in Philadelphia, PA, this singer of country songs hasn't always been just country. Over a twenty-year period, she has sung with the rock, pop, and country bands Andalusia, Mystery, Mother Goose, Southern Fire, Fox Fire, and Rich Country. She has been accompanied by musicians who have also played with Garth Brooks, Clint Black, KT Oslin, The Mandrell Sisters, The Forester Sisters, and at Opryland, and to name a few. Most recently, she toured Europe and is about to go back with Western Heart Productions. With Florida sunshine, Nashville savvy, and New York rhythm, she has a dramatic flair to her personality that will win your heart. She has had twenty-one Independent #1 singles on Cashbox, and Nashville Tracker. She has been named songwriter of the year with the Country Music Associations of America for over eight years, and is very involved with the Nashville Songwriters Association International. She is a finalist in the 2001 John Lennon Songwriting Contest, and was in the Grammy nomination listings for Best Female Pop Vocalist. http://www.jamiecutlerharper.net/
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