Nick Blaemire to Lead Broadway Singers and Students From Duke Ellington School of The Arts In Online Showcase

High school theater students from the Duke Ellington School of the Arts in Washington, DC will perform their original songs alongside a slate of Broadway stars on Friday March 19 at 7pm. The concert, which is free and open to the public, is the culmination of a groundbreaking new ASCAP Foundation songwriting workshop for high school students.

The ASCAP Foundation Andrew A. Isen Musical Theater Songwriting Workshop provides a unique opportunity for high school theater students to learn the fundamentals and art and craft of musical theater songwriting. It is The ASCAP Foundation's first high school musical theater songwriting program with a Broadway mentor.

In the four-month intensive workshop under the direction of ASCAP songwriter and Broadway performer Nick Blaemire, 16 students have created their own original songs collaborating with their classmates as co-writers. As part of this initiative, students were introduced to the basics of copyright and intellectual property and given the opportunity to copyright the new, original material they will be performing in this virtual concert.

Blaemire wrote the music and lyrics to the Broadway musical Glory Days, which premiered in DC and has since had over 50 productions all over the world. His newest musical Space Dogs, with collaborator Van Hughes, was slated for a 12-week run at Off-Broadway's MCC Theatre, directed by Tina Landau (SpongeBob) before the pandemic hit. Blaemire recently released an EP of original songs entitled "Superstitious Drive," and as an actor, was most recently on the Netflix series "Dash & Lily."

Blaemire and his group of student songwriters will be joined by Broadway performers Chad Burris (Mean Girls, Frozen), Sara Kapner (Band's Visit), John-Michael Lyles (A Strange Loop, The OA), Vasthy Mompoint (SpongeBob, The Prom), Doron Mitchell (To Kill a Mockingbird), Ines Nassara (The Wiz, Ragtime), James Hayden Rodriguez (The Lightning Thief), Shea Renne (Here Lies Love) Vishal Vaidya (Groundhog Day), RJ Vaillancourt (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel) and Jason Veasey (A Strange Loop, The Lion King). Arrangements are by Wiley Deweese (The Lightning Thief). The band is Kevin Wunderlich, Yuka Tadana and Jeff Fernandes. Editing is by Jason H. Thompson.

Andrew A. Isen, who is funding this program, is an accomplished leader and business pioneer, and a long-time DC resident. In recent years, his philanthropic vision has been laser focused on supporting the next generation of talented musical theater performers and writers.

"By giving high school theater students the opportunity to explore and develop their talents, Andrew Isen is providing up-and-coming artists with the support and inspiration they need to fulfill their dreams. Some wonderful new material has come from this initiative, and we at The ASCAP Foundation are very proud of this program and grateful to Andrew Isen," commented The ASCAP Foundation Executive Director Colleen McDonough.

The show will be webcast live at https://tinyurl.com/rdnsse3m.