Lippa, Etc. Set for Northwestern AMTP 'Mercer' Program

The American Music Theatre Project (AMTP) at Northwestern University, in association with the Johnny Mercer Foundation, has announced the participants selected to take part in the second Johnny Mercer/Power of the American Popular Song, running from Aug. 12 to 18, on Northwestern's Evanston Campus. Sponsors are planning to make this an annual event.

After reviewing applications from young singer/songwriters from across the country, 14 student artists and three observers were selected to take part in a weeklong series of writing workshops and master classes with some of America's most celebrated songwriter, including Amanda McBroom ("The Rose"), Craig Carnelia (Sweet Smell of Success), Andrew Lippa (The Wild Party), and performers Lari White (Ring of Fire) and Brian D'Arcy James (Titanic). The program for the student artists will culminate in a showcase concert of their own material on Aug. 17, and they will also take part in a special Johnny Mercer Tribute Concert on Aug. 18, with the guest artists.

"With a career that spanned, Broadway, Hollywood, and every avenue of popular music, Johnny Mercer is hailed by many as the quintessential American songwriter, and the students selected, while maintaining a standard of excellence in songwriting, also embrace a wide range of styles including music theatre, pop, country, bluegrass and jazz," state press notes.

Geographically, the students hail from all over the United States including Illinois, New York, California, Maryland, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Virginia and Washington.

The participants are: Christy Altomare (Yardley, Pa.), who just completed her junior year at the University of Cincinnati's College Conservatory of Music (CCM); Jeffrey A. Bouthiette (Upton, Mass.) a Chicago-based actor, composer/lyricist, musical director, and cabaret artist, Denver Casado (Clovis, Calif.), who graduated Suma Cum Laude from New York University, Will Heermance (Palo Alto, Calif.), a composer, actor and singer residing in Los Angeles, Keith Dworkin (Springfield, N.J.), who is finishing a B.M. (bachelor of music) in a self-designed major of Music Direction and Conducting), with a Certificate in Music Theatre, from Northwestern University, Paul Fujimoto (Seattle, Wash.), who attended the University of Washington, Dan Green (Lexington, Mass.), who is a senior Music Composition major at Northwestern University, Betina Hershey (Forest Hills, N.Y.), who is a summa cum laude Acting Major graduate of Marymount Manhattan College, and a Tamaris Dance Award grad of LaGuardia High School of the Performing Arts, and Maura M Knowles (Sacramento, Calif.), who is an actor and singer,

Other participants include: Peter Lerman (Vienna, Va.), who is a songwriter whose music has been performed at such diverse places as The Bitter End, The Kennedy Center and Caroline's on Broadway, Natalie Lovejoy (Annapolis, Md.), who has enjoyed being a performer and composer for most of her life, Eric March (Bedford, N.Y.), a 2007 graduate of Yale University and an accomplished musical theater composer/lyricist, Brian Mazzaferri (Glenview, Ill.). who attended the University of Michigan, earning both a BFA in Musical Theatre and a BA in Philosophy, and Adam Wagner (Chesterton, Ind.), a graduate of the University of Cincinnati's College-Conservatory of Music.

In addition two Northwestern students -- the School of Music's Willis Buck (Lake Bluff, Ill.) and the School of Communication's Drew Bowen (Durham, N.C.), and recent Interlochen Center for the Arts graduate Olivia Lilley (Winfield, Ill.), have been selected to participate in the program as student observers.

The American Music Theatre Project is a new initiative at Northwestern University dedicated to the development of new musicals and the creation of exciting educational opportunities in the field of musical theatre.

The Johnny Mercer Foundation is dedicated to the preservation of the American Popular Song, and continuing the tradition of Johnny
Mercer's lifetime of artistry and generosity. 

For more information visit www.amtp.northwestern.edu or www.johnnymercerfoundation.com.

Photo of Andrew Lippa by Ben Strothmann

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