Lori grew up in Houston, Texas and began singing at age 5.  She nurtured her love for music by singing in church and school choirs, then moved to Nashville, Tennessee to attend Belmont University as a music major.  While a student there, she not only landed her first recording contract, but secured a spot as a background vocalist for Gospel Music Artist, Michael W. Smith.  She spent the next 4 years touring as part of Smith’s band, writing songs, and recording.  Additionally, as a session singer, Lori sang background vocals on numerous albums from Country, to Pop, to Gospel.

Later, Lori became a one half of the pop duo “Wilshire” and the band relocated from Nashville to Los Angeles.  The band’s unique sound quickly caught on, landing them a record deal with Columbia Records and Warner-Chappell Publishing.  The duo wrote their hit single, “Special,” which climbed the Billboard Top 20 chart.  They toured with artists like “Train” and “Seal,” as well as performing live on Late Night, The Sharon Osbourne Show, Wayne Brady, and Pepsi Smash.

Today, Lori’s voice can be heard on national commercials for brands such as Mercedes-Benz and Claritin.  She has most recently performed with symphonies in Houston, Philadelphia, Jacksonville, Detroit, Toronto, and Vancouver.

Valerie Simpson is half of the songwriting-performing-producing entity formerly known as Ashford and Simpson. Their award winning collaborations began 4 decades ago and she along with her late husband Nick Ashford have penned classic hits such as, “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough,” “You’re All I Need to Get By,” “Reach Out and Touch Somebody’s Hand,” “I’m Every Woman,” “Ain’t Nothing Like the Real Thing,” “Solid,” “Your Precious Love,” “I Don’t Need No Doctor,” and “Let’s Go Get Stoned” among others.

She serves on the board of the ASCAP Foundation where an award has been established to aid struggling songwriters called the REACH OUT AND TOUCH Award which honors Nick Ashford. Valerie owns and runs a popular New York Westside Music Club and Restaurant called The Sugar Bar where young writers-singers-musicians have a platform to perform. Valerie has toured with Dave Koz and a special guest this year with Paul Shaffer & the Worlds Most Dangerous Band. Her Music is in constant demand and four Ashford & Simpson songs are now featured in the Broadway hit MOTOWN-The Musical, which is touring the country. “IM EVERY WOMAN” is featured in THE BODYGUARD the play which is currently on tour. Most recently, Valerie, as performer, was also featured in New York’s CHICAGO, The Musical on Broadway for a limited engagement in the role of Mama Morton–adding yet a new, exciting dimension to a diversified career.

Gary Mauer was seen on Broadway as the Phantom in the Hal Prince production of The Phantom of the Opera, a role he previously performed on the National tour. Previously he starred in the Broadway production of The Phantom of the Opera, performing the romantic leading role of Raoul. In addition, Mr. Mauer performed in the Broadway production of Les Miserables in the role of Enjolras, the revolutionary leader, a role he also performed with the National Tour in the US and Singapore. In addition, he performed the leading role of Gaylord Ravenal in the National Tour of Show Boat, opposite his wife, Elizabeth Southard. Mr. Mauer was also a featured soloist in the world tour of “The Music of Andrew Lloyd Webber,” with Michael Crawford, bringing him to Japan, Australia, England, Scotland and culminating back in the US, where he performed for two weeks at the famous Radio City Music Hall in New York City. Regionally, his numerous credits include Jesus in Jesus Christ Superstar, Frederick in The Pirates of Penzance, Anthony in Sweeney Todd, Tony in West Side Story, Whizzer in March of the  Falsettos and Danny in Baby.

A graduate of the University of Arizona, Mr. Mauer has performed with symphony orchestras all over the world including the Brazil Symphony Orchestra in Rio de Janeiro the Cleveland Orchestra, Chicago Symphony (with Marvin Hamlisch), Hong Kong Philharmonic, Colorado Symphony, Utah Symphony and Opera, Buffalo Philharmonic, Phoenix Symphony, San Diego Symphony, among many others. Mr. Mauer has performed numerous times with Peter Nero and the Philly Pops and toured with Mr. Nero in Spain. Gary was the guest soloist in many concerts with the late Marvin Hamlisch. He is the tenor soloist in the popular BRAVO Broadway!

GINAI, a Black Pearl of the Pacific

A three times Hawaiian Music Awards winner and the winner of three Na Hoku Hanohano Awards for “Endless Christmas, 2014, Hot Club of Hulaville, “Django Would Go”, 2009, also Hula Joe & The Hutjumpers, 2000, Ginai has proven to win your heart with her charismatic, hypnotic voice and welcoming stage presence. When you hear her voice and see her perform, you can’t help but be captivated. She is an exciting and riveting internationally acclaimed singer/ songwriter who has worked many years to become one of the worlds most accomplished performers with over ten CD releases to her name here and abroad! (See her discography below)

Her performance career is still in high gear, paying tribute to Ella Fitzgerald, Amy Winehouse, and Chuck Mangione, with appearances at the Blue Note Waikiki, and as herself at the former Blue Note clubs in Fukuoka and Nagoya, Japan. A longtime Whitney Houston impersonator on international road shows for Legends in Concert, Ginai can sometimes be found filling in over at the Rock-A-Hula Showroom in Waikiki. She is often asked to do fundraisers for March of Dimes, American Cancer Society, Alzheimer’s Association, and more. With a voice well suited for the stage, Ginai proved her mojo with the part of Michelle Robinson in the 20th anniversary performance of Dreamgirls in the legendary Fox Theater, Atlanta in 2002.

Her website www.ginai.com is constantly updating her calendar and her blog talks about her many musical escapades. On Facebook, she is active and kind, and on Instagram as Dginai, she is engaging and fun! She also performs regularly with the Mike Lewis Big Band, filling her YouTube channel with lots of fun. You can subscribe @ginaimusic. Ginai can be found mentoring young bands, vocalists, and performers, sharing in the spirit of aloha wherever she goes.

At home in Hawaii, Ginai enjoys time with her husband Ted, a rock vocalist himself along with their three children. She is a Lion’s Club member, and actively volunteers for Make ‘Em Smile, visiting hospitals (Shriners, Kapiolani Cancer Center) and rehab centers to bring them musical cheer. She is an avid surfer with a first place trophy in the longboard division of the Gold’s Gym Surf Meet, held in Waikiki. Her favorite wave is Makaha Surfing Beach, crystal blue ocean in her beloved home turf of the Waianae Coastline. Ginai enjoys her four dogs Brownie, Django, Pepper, and Dobby. Her two cats are named Juma and Mowmow, with horses too, Shadow, Dakota, and Keka.

DISCOGRAPHY
2017 – Swanky at Abbey Road, Patrick Von Wiegandt featuring Ginai
2016 – Swanky, appearing with Patrick Von Wiegandt
2015 – Mr. Swanky, appearing with Patrick Von Wiegandt
2014 – Endless Christmas, on Black Hawaiian Music
2009 – Django Would Go, Hot Club of Hulaville, producer, singer, songwriter
2008 – Midnight Smooth, listed as Ginar (court battle ongoing)
2007 – Come Together, a collection of Beatles classics, with Pierre Grill
2006 – Jazz Island, her first solo CD, Black Hawaiian Music
2000 – Hula Joe & The Hutjumpers, Hawaiian swing, Black & Tan Records
1995 – 2005 as Genai, Japan, for Video Arts Music

Lori grew up in Houston, Texas and began singing at the age of 5. She nurtured her love for music by singing in church and school choirs, then moved to Nashville, Tennessee to attend Belmont University as a music major. During her second year at Belmont, she was offered a recording contract and began recording professionally and also touring as a back-up singer for Gospel artist, Michael W. Smith. Lori also worked as a session singer in Nashville, lending her voice to numerous artists’ albums.

Later on,  Lori became a one half of the pop duo “Wilshire” and the band moved to Los Angeles. Wilshire’s unique sound quickly caught on, landing them a record deal with Columbia Records and Warner-Chappell Publishing. The duo wrote their hit single, “Special,” which climbed the Billboard Top 20 chart. They toured with artists like Train and Seal, as well as performing live on Late Night, The Sharon Osbourne Show, the Wayne Brady Show, and Pepsi Smash.

Today, Lori continues to write, record, and perform. She has written and recorded songs for CBS and other Networks, as well as films. Her voice can be heard on national commercials for brands such as Mercedes-Benz and Claritin.

Hailing from Roanoke Virginia, Micah Wilshire began playing in his family’s band by the age of 3. Under his father’s eye, Micah then focused on playing and crafting his knowledge of a variety of instruments throughout his childhood. Once finishing high school, Micah relocated to Nashville with the intent of becoming a session guitarist and singer.

In under two years, Micah became a first call session vocalist and guitarist appearing on countless recordings and jingles leading him to be featured on multiple Gold and Platinum albums.

While in Nashville, and as a member of the band “Wilshire”, Micah again relocated to Los Angeles and signed with Columbia Records and Warner-Chappell Publishing. Wilshire then went on to have their hit single “Special” shoot up the U.S. Top 20 Billboard chart leading to tours with Seal (nationally and internationally) and Train. During that time “Wilshire” performed on Late Night, the Sharon Osbourne Show, the Wayne Brady Show, and Pepsi Smash.

Recently, Micah has taken the position of VP of TV/Film for Young Guns Publishing where he is focused on songwriting and production.

Exciting things ahead as Young Guns Publishing is now partnered with the incredibly innovative, world-renowned Kobalt Music Publishing.

Symphony & Opera

Shem made his professional opera debut in Germany with the Döbeln-Freiberg Mittelsächsisches Theatre as Spoletta in Puccini’s Tosca. His operatic repertoire includes Parsifal, Siegmund, Florestan, Peter Grimes, and Canio. He is a regular tenor soloist with the Atlanta Symphony, the Cleveland Orchestra, the Houston Symphony Orchestra, the Philly Pops, and the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra. He has also conducted several pops concerts with The Columbus Symphony, The Oklahoma Symphony, The Dallas Symphony, The Little Rock Symphony, The Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, and The Boston Pops Orchestra.

Rock & Pop

Shem von Schroeck has been entertaining audiences since he was 3 years old. A veteran of the stage and recording studio, he has performed in all 50 United States and 55 countries around the world as a singer, multi-instrumentalist, and music director in a diverse range of genres. Currently the bassist and principal backing vocalist for the legendary band  TOTO, Shem has additionally toured and recorded with several international and Grammy Award-winning artists, including Kenny Loggins, Michael McDonald, David Foster, Christopher Cross, Richard Marx, Don Felder (The Eagles), Al Stewart, Patti Austin, Stephen Stills, Tom Jones, Loggins & Messina, Gary Wright, Spooky Tooth, and many others.

Scarlett Strallen has starred in productions on Broadway, London’s West End, and is a frequent soloist on the concert stage. She is currently starring on Broadway as Gwendolyn in Travesties and has appeared in the title role of Mary Poppins, a role she also played in the West End and as Sibella Hallward in A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder.

Additional theater credits include Mabel in Pirates of Penzance at Barrington Stage Company, Lady Macduff in Macbeth at the Armory in New York, Cunegonde in Candide at the Menier Chocolate Factory, Cassie in A Chorus Line at The London Palladium, Kathy Selden in Singin’ in the Rain at Chichester Festival Theatre and The Palace Theatre London (Olivier Award Nomination for Best Actress in a Musical), Amalia in She Loves Me at the Chocolate Factory, and Clara in Passion at Donmar Warehouse. Prior to this, she played Marian in The Music Man at Chichester Festival Theatre and at the Royal Shakespeare Company playing Anne Page in Merry Wives of Windsor. Her performance of Josephine at Regents Park Open Air Theatre in HMS Pinafore won her an Olivier nomination. Other productions at Regents Park include Cymbeline and Twelfth Night, Truly Scrumptious in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (London Palladium), and original casts of Mamma Mia! (Prince Edward), The Witches of Eastwick (Theatre Royal, Drury Lane) and Peggy Sue Got Married (Shaftesbury). In 2014, Scarlett received the ‘Whatsonstage’ awards for best actress in a musical for A Chorus Line at the London Palladium and Candide at the Menier.

A frequent soloist with orchestras around the world, Scarlett made her German debut at the Philharmonie in Berlin with the John Wilson Orchestra in “A Celebration of the MGM Film Musicals”. Recent concerts include “Disney on Broadway” at the Royal Albert Hall, “I Love Musicals” arena tour of Sweden with Peter Joback, “Cole Porter in Hollywood” UK tour with the John Wilson Orchestra, a broadcast on Sky television from the Royal Albert Hall in London and “Bernstein Stage and Screen” at the BBC Proms with the John Wilson Orchestra which was broadcast on BBC television.

Scarlett has recorded with Simon Keenleyside “Something’s Gotta Give” for Chandos conducted by David Charles Abel. Film and television credits include Beyond The Sea, the title role in the BBC production of Mary Poppins celebrating HM Queen Elizabeth’s 80th birthday.

One of Broadway’s biggest personalities, Debbie Gravitte has found herself in demand from the Broadway Stage to the concert stage and beyond. She won the prestigious Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical for her performance in Jerome Robbins’ Broadway, along with a Drama Desk Award Nomination and New York Showstopper Award. After making her Broadway debut in the original cast of They’re Playing Our Song, she went on to appear in: Perfectly Frank (Drama Desk Nomination), Blues In The Night, Ain’t Broadway Grand, Zorba, Chicago, and Les Miserables. Debbie has appeared in the Encore’s series productions of The Boys From Syracuse, Tenderloin, and Carnival at New York’s City Center.

Debbie has performed her nightclub act worldwide, from New York’s Rainbow and Stars, 54 Below, to London’s Pizza on the Park, and back home again to Atlantic City, where she’s had the honor of performing with Jay Leno, Harry Anderson, and the legendary George Burns. A favorite with Symphony audiences, she has sung with over 100 Orchestras around the world. She has toured with Keith Lockhart and the Boston Pops, appeared with Lang Lang and the Chinese Philharmonic in Beijing, along with Peter Nero and the Philly Pops, National Symphony (with Marvin Hamlisch), The New York Pops with the legendary Skitch Henderson, Atlanta Symphony, Cleveland Orchestra, Pittsburgh Symphony, Utah Symphony and Opera, St. Louis Symphony, Houston Symphony, Dallas Symphony, and San Diego Symphony.

Overseas, Debbie has sung with the London, Aalborg, and Birmingham Symphony Orchestras, Stockholm Philharmonic, the Gotesborg and Jerusalem Symphonies, Munich Philharmonic, the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Orchestra Massimo del Palermo, and Symphonica of Brazil.

On television, Debbie co-starred on the CBS series Trial and Error, was seen on NBC’s Pursuit of Happiness, and has starred in several specials for PBS, including Live from the Kennedy Center, The Boston Pops Celebrate Bernstein, Podgers and Hart for Great Performances, and Ira Gershwin’s 100th Birthday Celebration.

Debbie has 4 solo CD’s to her credit, including her latest release: Big Band Broadway, along with Defying Gravity, The MGM Album, and Part of Your World: The Music of Alan Menken. Her other recordings include Calamity Jane, Unsung Sondheim, Lucky Stiff, Miss Spectacular, Louisiana Purchase, A Broadway Christmas, as well as Mack and Mable in Concert: Live from the Drury Lane Theatre among others. Debbie has sung with the New York City Ballet in Peter Martin’s “Thou Swell” at Lincoln Center, appeared with Bette Midler in the Universal Feature, Isn’t She Great?, and can be heard as one of the voices in Disney’s The Little Mermaid. Debbie is the proud mother of three beautiful children.

For more info, please visit www.debbiegravitte.com or buy music at www.debbietunes.com

Leading man Hugh Panaro has made his mark as both the title character and his rival Raoul in Broadway’s The Phantom of the Opera. Panaro has also played dual roles in Les Miserables on Broadway (Marius) and in Philadelphia (Jean Valjean). His Broadway credits include the title role in Lestat and Buddy in Side Show, plus the title role in the American premiere of Martin Guerre and Ravenal in a London revival of Show Boat.