William Schermerhorn Wins 2nd Daytime Emmy for '(Won't You) Join Our Parade'

William Schermerhorn has won a Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Original Song that was perfomed in 85th Annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade on NBC, called (Won't You) Join Our Parade. The Emmy award winning song (Won't You) Join Our Parade was performed by Stage Door Manor and written by composer, Doug Katsaros and lyricist, William Schermerhorn.

This is William's second consecutive Emmy and fourth nomination. Elmo was the presenter at the awards that took place on Sunday, June 17, in Los Angeles, California.

Two-time Emmy Award-winning songwriter Bill Schermerhorn is no stranger to large-scale, theatrical events on a national level. As VP/Creative Director of Macy's Parade & Entertainment Group, Bill has the opportunity to promote the Macy's brand in a truly unique and exhilarating way: For nearly three decades, Bill has brought his vision to the world-famous Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade and America's largest Independence Day pyrotechnic display, the awe-inspiring Macy's 4th of July Fireworks. From the initial concept through the development and staging process, Bill leads the creative team responsible for producing these world-class events and numerous other Macy's productions.

Bill has written the book and lyrics for several musical endeavors and has created original material for performers as diverse as Julie Andrews, Harvey Fierstein, Deborah Voigt and the Clique Girlz. He won a 2011 Daytime Emmy Award in the "Outstanding Original Song" category for the song "Yes Virginia (There's A Santa Claus)" with composer Wesley Whatley and a second consecutive Daytime Emmy Award for "(Won't You) Join Our Parade" with composer Doug Katsaros in 2012. He received a 2009 "Outstanding Original Song" Daytime Emmy nomination (lyrics) with Wesley Whatley (music) for the Christmas song "I Believe," which was first performed by Kermit the Frog; and a Daytime Emmy nomination in 2012 for "Jolly Dream Pirates" with composer Michael Feinstein.

Recent projects include a new musical production of Miracle on 34th Street… at Macy's with music by Wesley Whatley and featuring the voices of an all-star Broadway cast led by Tony Award winners Brian Stokes Mitchell and Victoria Clark; and the premiere of American River Suite, a five piece musical tone poem, with music by Tony award-winning composer Stephen Flaherty, which debuted at Carnegie Hall with Broadway and recording artists Idina Menzel, Anika Noni Rose and The New York Pops. Other song-writing collaborators include Brian Besterman, Milton Delugg, Mary Ehlinger, Michael Feinstein, Lance Horne, Doug Katsaros and Andrew Lippa. He is currently working on a musical adaptation of the CBS animated special Yes, Virginia and the Greek myth-based musical Beyond the Dream.

Bill served as Artistic Director/Script Writer for the League of American Theatre & Producers' Broadway on Broadway (1996) and Stars in the Alley, and he produced a show for recording legend Darlene Love and the US Air Force Band of Liberty as part of the 32nd Annual Dorothy Curran Wednesday Evening Concert Series on Boston's City Hall Plaza. In August 2010, the Americana revue Free to Dream: The Songs of Katsaros & Schermerhorn premiered at Joe's Pub in New York City and was performed at the Kimball Theatre in Williamsburg, Virginia in 2011. Bill has been a member of the New York Pops spring gala committee for several years and served as gala co-chair in 2009 and 2010. He is a member of The Dramatists Guild, Inc. Bill is a proud graduate of the College of William & Mary with a BA in History and serves on the National Advisory Council of the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation. He was made an honorary U.S. National Park Ranger in 2011. Bill was born on the 4th of July.

Bill and his partner Dan Dutcher reside in New York City.

Composer, arranger, keyboardist and vocalist Doug Katsaros has worked on recordings with a variety of performers such as Elton John, Bon Jovi, Frank Sinatra, Kiss, and Cher. In musical theater, Katsaros has composed for numerous Broadway and Off-Broadway productions, including Rockabye Hamlet, The Life, Hair, The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Footloose, Laughing Room Only, Altar Boyz, A...My Name Is Alice, Hal Prince's Diamonds, Abie's Island Rose, Just So, and The Toxic Avenger among others. He is currently in pre-production for his opera Moby Dick, and his musical about the Orphan Train will soon tour under the direction of Patricia Birch.

Katsaros has provided original music for the feature films If Lucy Fell (Sarah Jessica Parker, Elle McPherson) Me And The Mob (Sandra Bullock, Steve Buscemi), and the science fiction classic Star Crystal, as well as TV programs "The Jim Henson Hour", "Mancuso FBI", and the animated series "The Tick". He's conducted "Great Performances" on PBS, and written special material for the Tony Awards. His latest score for HBO is entitled "The Collector".

Katsaros' many projects have garnered Emmy and Drama Desk nominations, and a Grammy Award. He has been commissioned to write music for Macy's 4th of July Fireworks® and the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade® on NBC, Universal Studios Orlando, the Ringling Brothers Circus, the Seville Worlds Fair, and much more. Among his jingles for numerous advertising campaigns, Katsaros wrote "By Mennen!" (www.themusicofyourdreams.com)

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