Ryan Scott Oliver Opens Lincoln Center's 2016 AMERICAN SONGBOOK Series Tonight

BroadwayWorld is excited to report that composer and lyricist Ryan Scott Oliver will open the 2016 season of Lincoln Center's acclaimed AMERICAN SONGBOOK series with a free concert tonight, January 19 at 7:30 pm in the David Rubenstein Atrium.

Oliver received the most votes in the "Invest in the Future of American Song" online contest, developed through a partnership between Prudential Investment Management and Lincoln Center.

For the third year, through Prudential Investment Management's "Invest in the Future of American Song," members of the public had the opportunity to select the artist to open the Songbook season with a free concert at the Atrium on January 19. The public chose from among three candidates nominated by Lincoln Center: Ryan Scott Oliver, Rana Santacruz, and Rick Barry. Voting began in November, and the winner was selected on December 14.

"We are proud to partner with Lincoln Center to expand the vibrant legacy of American Songbook and employ innovative approaches to promote promising new talent," said David Hunt, President and CEO of Prudential Investment Management. American Songbook celebrates a blend of legendary performers and emerging talent such as the artists profiled through Invest in the Future of American Song."

The Larson Grant Award-winning composer's work has been presented at the Kennedy Center and Joe's Pub, among other notable venues. Oliver created the music and lyrics for Jasper in Deadland premiered Off-Broadway and remounted at Seattle's 5th Avenue Theatre); 35mm: A Musical Exhibition (licensed by Samuel French, with original cast recording on Ghostlight Records); Darling, Mrs. Sharp, Out of My Head (licensed through Steele Spring Stage Rights) as well as the commission We Foxes (Broadway Across America). Additional career highlights include a commission for Disney Theatricals, projects for Rosie O'Donnell's Theater Kids and Theatreworks USA's We the People. Oliver is the Director of New Musicals at Pace University in New York City and the Artistic Director of the Pasadena Musical Theatre Program. He is currently at work on the new musical Rope, a commission for Grove Entertainment. Visit RyanScottOliver.com and follow him on Twitter @ryanscottoliver.

American Songbook continues with performances in The Appel Room at Jazz at Lincoln Center from January 20 through February 27, followed by American Songbook in the Stanley H. Kaplan Penthouse from March 16 through April 1.

Tickets to these performances can be purchased at AmericanSongbook.org, via CenterCharge at 212.721.6500, or at the Alice Tully Hall, David Geffen Hall, or Frederick P. Rose Hall Box Office.

Since its launch in 1998, American Songbook has been dedicated to celebrating the extraordinary achievements of the popular American songwriter from the turn of the 20th century to the present day. Spanning all styles and genres from Tin Pan Alley and Broadway to the eclecticism of today's songwriters working in pop, cabaret, rock, folk, and country, American Songbook traces the history and charts the course of the American song from its past and current forms to its future direction. For a list of artists that have performed in American Songbook over the years, as well as the composers that have been honored by evenings of their music, click here.