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Lisa DeSpain

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BIO

Composer/Jazz Pianist OPERA America Discovery Grant Recipient (2018) THAT HELLBOUND TRAIN with David Simpatico A GRACIOUS PLENTY with Stephen Scarpulla and Producer Hunter Chancellor STORYVILLE: Kristen Anderson-Lopez - lyricist, Julia Jordan - book Utah Opera - NO LADIES IN THE LADIES BOOK with Rachel Peters Choral Arranger: (Alfred and Hal Leonard Publications) HAMILTON, NEXT TO NORMAL, PIPPIN, ONCE, TOMMY, Awards: ASCAP Commission Honoring Duke Ellington NEA - National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Fellowship Copland House Fellowship Dramatist Guild Foundation Fellow Barlow Endowment (2006, 2018) Mary Flaggler Live Music for Dance American Composers Forum "Continental Harmony" Commission Concert works: Buglisi Foreman Dance Company, "Mean Ole' World," "Song," and "Rise & Fall" New Haven Symphony Orchestra - "American Nativity" "Jazz Toccata for Piano" Carnegie Hall premiere, 2018, Scott Holden

News


Theater Latté Da Commissions New Musical SHE'S COME UNDONE

Theater Latté Da has announced the commission and first workshop of the new musical She's Come Undone, with music and lyrics by Michael Holland and a book co-written by Darrah Cloud and David Simpatico.
On Site Opera Continues 10th Anniversary Season With Mainstage And Collaborative Productions

On Site Opera, New York's pioneering opera company rooted in site-specific storytelling and the immersive experience, announces their 2022-2023 lineup of mainstage and collaborative productions as they close out their tenth anniversary season.
David Simpatico & Lisa DeSpain Will Discuss THAT HELL-BOUND TRAIN at Rhinebeck Writers Retreat

Join playwright David Simpatico and composer Lisa DeSpain as they discuss their new work, That Hell-Bound Train, on Saturday, July 23rd at 5pm as part of the Rhinebeck Writers Retreat’s “Meet the Writers” series. This special event will take place at Clinton Community Library at historic Clinton Town Hall in Rhinebeck, NY (1215 Centre Road) and will include a meet and greet reception, followed by a discussion and Q&A with David and Lisa about That Hell-Bound Train. 
Rhinebeck Writers Retreat Hosts 16 Award-winning Musical Theatre Writers For Summer Residencies

Rhinebeck Writers Retreat will host 16 award-winning musical theatre writers of eight new musicals for eight consecutive weeklong residencies between July 3 and August 28.
Opera Kansas Announces World Premiere Of STAGGERWING At Kansas Aviation Museum

A female-led world premiere, Staggerwing brings to life the historical and dangerous flight of aviatrixes Louis Thaden and Blanche Noyes as they compete for and win the grueling transcontinental 1936 Bendix Trophy Race.
Photo Coverage: Inside The MAESTRA May Seminar, Featuring Bonnie Comley and More

Bonnie Comley, Founder of BroadwayHD, was the guest speaker at MAESTRA's May seminar at SongSpace. Composer/lyricist and music director Georgia Stitt founded the MAESTRA organization in 2017 to give support, visibility, and community to the women who make the music in the musical theater industry. The MAESTRA membership is made up of female-identifying, non-binary, and gender non-conforming composers, music directors, orchestrators, arrangers, copyists, rehearsal pianists and other musicians who are underrepresented minorities in musical theater. Songwriter and composer, Kathy Sommer, moderated the seminar.
Utah Symphony And Utah Opera Commemorate 150th Anniversary Of Transcontinental Railroad

Utah Symphony and Utah Opera (USUO) unveil a series of creative projects to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the Golden Spike, the ceremonial final spike that joined the rails of America's First Transcontinental Railroad at Promontory Summit, Utah in 1869. After a concert with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir on Friday, May 10 at 8:00 p.m.-exactly 150 years to the day since the railroad's completion-USUO presents performances throughout the month of May that feature works newly composed to mark this anniversary. These events and many others are highlighted as part of Spike 150 (spike150.org), a statewide effort to celebrate the Golden Spike.
150th Anniversary Of Transcontinental Railway Commemorated With Utah Symphony Orchestral Work And 10-Minute Operas

Utah Symphony and Utah Opera unveil a series of creative projects to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the Golden Spike, where the final railway spike north of the Great Salt Lake connected the rails of America's First Transcontinental Railway at Promontory Summit in May 1869. The projects are part of USUO's annual Cultural Festival which highlights a special theme each year that provides a new focus to connect our community through music and more. For more information visit https://utahopera.org/schedule/cultural-festival/
SheNYC Brings NOTEWORTHY: A Night Celebrating Women Songwriters to The Green Room 42

SheNYC announces their second annual benefit concert, NOTEWORTHY: A Night Celebrating Women Songwriters. The event will take place at The Green Room 42 on Saturday, April 7th at 7 PM.
Opera Grants For Female Composers Awarded To Eight Composers

OPERA America, the national service organization for opera and the nation's leading champion for American opera, is pleased to announce the latest recipients of Discovery Grants from the Opera Grants for Female Composers program, made possible through the generosity of the Virginia B. Toulmin Foundation.
Jackie Burns and Josh Page to Be Guests of Honor at MADAME'S SOIREE

Cabaret patroness Madame Mathieu has selected Broadway's Jackie Burns (If/Then, Wicked), and tenor Josh Page (America's Got Talent, Forte) as the guests of honor at the March edition of the Bistro Awards Critics' Pick Madame Mathieu's Soiree.
Jackie Burns and Josh Page to Be Guests of Honor at MADAME'S SOIREE

Cabaret patroness Madame Mathieu has selected Broadway's Jackie Burns (If/Then, Wicked), and tenor Josh Page (America's Got Talent, Forte) as the guests of honor at the March edition of the Bistro Awards Critics' Pick Madame Mathieu's Soiree.
WEBroadway to Celebrate Female Songwriters with 'NOTEWORTHY' at the D-Lounge

WEBroadway announces its first annual benefit concert, NOTEWORTHY: A Night Celebrating Female Songwriters.
Joe Kinosian to Host Second IN THE WORKS Concert at the Duplex This Month

Honeck-Moss Productions will present "In The Works,' an exciting new series conceived as an opportunity for composers to try out new work in front of an audience and see how it plays in a supportive environment.  
TUNE IN TIME to Return with Halloween Show at York Theatre Company

They're baaaaaaaaack! The York Theatre Company welcomes the return engagement of the game show for musical theater lovers, Tune in Time, presented by Amy Engelhardt and Heather Shields.
Celebrate Pride Month with York Theatre Company's June Installment of TUNE IN TIME

The York Theatre Company (James Morgan, Producing Artistic Director; Evans Haile, Interim Executive Director; David McCoy, Chairman of the Board), celebrates Pride Month with the June installment of the game show for musical theater lovers, TUNE IN TIME, presented by Amy Engelhardt and Heather Shields, hosted by Emily McNamara, with Musical Director Nate Buccieri and annoyingly insistent timekeeper Sheila Head, and featuring celebrity guest judges drag performers Marti Gould Cummings, Judy Darling and Brita Filter, on Monday evening, June 20, 2016 beginning at 7:30 p.m. at The York Theatre Company at Saint Peter's (Citicorp Building, entrance on East 54th Street, just east of Lexington Avenue).
Rebecca Naomi Jones to Host Musical Theatre Factory's April Salon

Musical Theatre Factory (MTF) will present its monthly Factory Salon with guest host Rebecca Naomi Jones, and featuring the work of Justin Levine (Pepper and Sam), Sukari Jones and Ben Krauss, and Julia Jordan and Lisa DeSpain (Storyville) and performances by Jason Gotay (Spiderman, Bring it On) and Sara Kapner (bare the musical).
TUNE IN TIME Returns to York Theatre Company in May

The York Theatre Company welcomes the May installment of the game show for musical theater lovers,  Tune in Time, presented by Amy Engelhardt and Heather Shields, hosted by Emily McNamara, with Musical Director Nate Buccieri and annoyingly insistent timekeeper Sheila Head, celebrates warmer weather and skimpier clothing with celebrity judges Nick Cearley and Lauren Molina (from the popular performance group The Skivvies) and Tony Award winnerDaisy Eagan (The Secret Garden), on Monday evening, May 9, 2016 beginning at 7:30 p.m. at The York Theatre Company at Saint Peter's(Citicorp Building, entrance on East 54th Street, just east of Lexington Avenue). 
TUNE IN TIME Returns to York Theatre Company Next Week

The York Theatre Company (James Morgan, Producing Artistic Director;  Evans Haile, Interim Executive Director) welcomes the return engagement of the game show for musical theater lovers called Tune in Time, presented by Amy Engelhardt and Heather Shields, with an evening celebrating Broadway's Online/Internet Showstopperson Monday, March 14, 2016 beginning at 7:30 p.m. at The York Theatre Company at Saint Peter's (Citicorp Building, entrance on East 54th Street, just east of Lexington Avenue). 
York Theatre Company's TUNE IN TIME Returning in March

The York Theatre Company welcomes the return engagement of the game show for musical theater lovers called Tune in Time,presented by Amy Engelhardt and Heather Shields, hosted by Emily McNamara, with Musical Director Nate Buccieri and annoyingly insistent timekeeper Sheila Head at The York Theatre Company at Saint Peter's (Citicorp Building, entrance on East 54thStreet, just east of Lexington Avenue).

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