California Teen Wins Top Honor at National Songbook Academy

Brighton Thomas is the 2016 winner of the Great American Songbook Youth Ambassador Award. The 17-year-old is from Burbank, CA. During the final concert on July 23, 2016, she sang American standards: "It Had to be You" and "Happy Days Are Here Again."

As the Great American Songbook Youth Ambassador, Thomas gets the chance of a lifetime: the opportunity to perform with two-time Emmy and five-time Grammy Award nominated entertainer and founder of The Great American Songbook Foundation, Michael Feinstein. She will serve as the Songbook Youth Ambassador for one year and will have opportunities to perform throughout the year. Past Youth Ambassador performance opportunities have included: Multiple appearances with Michael Feinstein - including Jazz at Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall; Kennedy Center; Great American Songbook Hall of Fame Gala - with Barry Manilow, Liza Minnelli, Johnny Mathis, Jimmy Webb; the National Anthem at NFL games; and an appearance with Pasadena Pops.

Thomas is a senior at John Burroughs High School in Burbank, CA. She was introduced to the music of the American Songbook at a young age by her grandfather, who produced a Songbook-themed show on the radio. Thomas claims Ella Fitzgerald and Judy Garland as her musical inspirations. She is active in the show choir and musical theatre programs at her high school. Thomas plans to study musical theatre in college.

Samual Mulligan of Mt. Zion, IL, was named Songbook Inspiration Award winner, and Matt Hoffman of Stony Brook, NY, was named Songbook Celebration Award winner, each receiving the opportunity to perform with Michael Feinstein.

The Great American Songbook Foundation selected 40 students from across the country to participate in the 2016 Songbook Academy® from July 16-23, 2016 on the campus of the Center for the Performing Arts in Carmel, IN. High school vocalists representing 17 states worked with mentors that included Michael Feinstein, Tony nominee and Broadway star Jarrod Spector, nine-time Grammy winner Janis Siegel, Grammy winner Sylvia McNair, and Golden Globe winner Marc Cherry.

The 2016 national sponsor of The Songbook Academy® is The Efroymson Family Fund, a fund of Central Indiana Community Foundation (CICF). Program Sponsors are Betty and Irwin Helford and Jeff and Britt McDermott. The final performance is part of the Stratford Songbook Series, presented by Allied Solutions, and is sponsored by Salon 01 and Aquage.

ABOUT THE GREAT AMERICAN SONGBOOK FOUNDATION

Five-time Grammy nominee Michael Feinstein founded the Great American Songbook Foundation in 2007 with a mission to inspire and educate by celebrating the Great American Songbook. The Center for the Performing Arts in Carmel, Ind., is the home of the Songbook Foundation. Tania Castroverde Moskalenko serves as the President/CEO of the organization. The work of the Foundation includes:

· The Songbook Academy®

· Library, Archives, and Gallery Exhibits

· Great American Songbook Hall of Fame

· Educational and outreach programs

· PERFECT Harmony, music therapy based program for individuals with Alzheimer's disease or dementia

To learn more, visit: TheSongbook.org

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