Johnny Mercer Foundation and AMTP Announces 14th Songwriters Project Lineup

Multi-platinum-selling and award-winning songwriter Lindy Robbins will join the roster of master teachers for the 14th annual Johnny Mercer Foundation Songwriters Project, a partnership between the Johnny Mercer Foundation and the American Music Theatre Project (AMTP) at Northwestern University. Hosted at the Virginia Wadsworth Wirtz Center for the Performing Arts, this one-of-a-kind mentorship program covers program costs, housing and travel for all participants.

Robbins will join returning master teachers Stephen Bray, Craig Carnelia and Andrew Lippa in mentoring a New Group of 15 songwriters for an intensive week of master classes and workshops June 23 to 29.

The residency will culminate with "Songwriters in Concert," a public showcase of the songwriters' new work at 8 p.m., June 29 at the Ethel M. Barber Theater, 30 Arts Circle Drive on the Evanston campus.

Songwriters Project producer Brannon Bowers said they look forward to the addition of Robbins to the current team of master teachers.

"Lindy has a wide breadth of experience, having success in nearly every genre," Bowers said. "Her songs have been recorded by many top artists in the music industry and have been streamed over 500 million times. Her versatility and recent success will greatly benefit the Project and the songwriters."

Among this year's participating songwriters are a Jonathan Larson Award-winner, a DJ-turned-songwriter, a jazz violinist, a Broadway actress, an alumnus of NBC "The Voice," a current college student and a winner of the Sondheim Remix contest.

The 15 participants include Julia Appleton (Kitchener, Ontario), Ben Bonnema (New York, N.Y.), Jane Bruce (Brooklyn, N.Y.), Kristen Iverson (Richmond, Va.), Reid Jenkins (New York, N.Y.), Brianna Nelson (Boston, Mass.), Cheeyang Ng (Singapore), Nick Parker (Philadelphia, Pa.), Sam Robbins (Portsmouth, N.H.), Ellysa Rose (Burbank, Calif.), Eva B. Ross (Los Angeles, Calif.), Eric Sorrels (New York, N.Y.), Christopher Staskel (New York, N.Y.), JJ Warshaw (Philadelphia, Pa.) and TUCKER (New York, N.Y,).

Single tickets for "Songwriters in Concert" are $30 general admission and $10 for students. Tickets are available on the Wirtz Center website, by phone at 847-491-7282 or in person at the box office at the Barber Theater lobby, 30 Arts Circle Drive on the Evanston campus.

Box office hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesdays through Fridays and noon to 4 p.m. Saturdays.

Since the project's launch in 2005 it has been a catalyst to the careers of many artists including Tony, Oscar and Golden Globe Award winners Benj Pasek and Justin Paul; Fred Ebb Award winners Adam Gwon, Sam Willmott and Shaina Taub; Latin Grammy Award winners Obed Bermudez and singer/actress Jennifer Peña; and 10 individual Jonathan Larson Award winners.

Past master teachers include songwriting luminaries such as Marcy Heisler, Jon Lind, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Amanda McBroom, Shelly Peiken, Lari White and David Zippel,

The mission of the Johnny Mercer Foundation (JMF) is to support the discipline of songwriting in the tradition of the Great American Songbook as exemplified by the life and work of the legendary Johnny Mercer: lyricist, composer, performer, collaborator and producer. The Foundation continues Johnny's legacy by partnering with individuals and organizations dedicated to celebrating and nourishing the disciplines he mastered and the causes he and his wife Ginger Mercer championed.

The American Music Theatre Project (AMTP) at Northwestern University brings together the nation's leading artists in music theater to work with Northwestern's faculty and students. AMTP's goal is to nourish and invigorate American music theater by developing and producing new musicals; increasing opportunities for education and training with Northwestern's theater, music theater and dance programs and creating new connections between professional and academic communities.

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