Emily Drennan was most recently seen in the New York Spectacular starring The Rockettes this past summer at Radio City Music Hall after playing Tanya in Mamma Mia! in the Caribbean and Europe. She was also recently seen as a guest soloist at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, the John F. Kennedy Center and as Mezzo in Voca People Off-Broadway and its Dubai, Israel and Japan tours. With Voca People, she was also seen on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, The MDA Telethon and as a special guest with Sting. She has also been a guest on NBC’s Celebrity Apprentice singing along side Cyndi Lauper. Emily has been the guest soloist with numerous symphonies including: Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra (u/s both Ann & Liz Callaway); Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra with Sandi Patty; OKC Philharmonic; Winston-Salem Symphony; Hendersonville Symphony; Tulsa Signature Symphony; Colorado Springs Philharmonic and Muncie Symphony.

In New York, she has been seen on Broadway and Off-Broadway in the 75th Radio City Christmas Spectacular for which she was a soloist and also featured in the NBC and PBS Specials and Anniversary DVD; Toxic Audio which won The Drama Desk Award for Unique Theatrical Experience and Hunka Hunka Burnin’ Love. She was also in the Las Vegas company of Toxic Audio at Planet Hollywood and The Luxor Resort and Casino. Some of her favorite roles include: the Narrator in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat; Ann in Swing!; Amneris in AIDA; Sheila in Hair; Pattie in Smokey Joe’s Café; and Lily in Frog Kiss.

Originally from Oklahoma, Emily was a National Presidential Scholar in the Arts saluted at the White House and was a guest soloist at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. Emily is a published ASCAP lyricist, composer, studio singer and recording artist for TV, Film and distribution with 2 Degrees (Economics, Spanish) and 4 minors (Finance, Marketing, International Business and Latin American Studies), summa cum laude, from Oklahoma State University. While there, she was named the Outstanding Senior in Business, Outstanding Senior in Economics and Outstanding Overall Senior and was recently named an OSU Hall of Fame Outstanding Young Alumni. Additionally, she is a music producer for various albums, projects and symphony shows and she can be heard on many TV toy commercials and her double-disc debut album, Two-Way Street, as well as her Mother/Daughter album, A Mother Daughter Christmas, which are both available on iTunes and on her official website.

There’s no need to sugar coat it since her impressive credits speak for themselves. Her colleagues praise her ability, her dedication and drive to perfecting her craft as a professional singer and knockout performer. With a voice that the London Jazz News says “unleashes enough voltage to light up the West End”, Shayna Steele has made her mark as an in-demand vocalist in the studio and on the stage.

At the age of 15, Broadway (Rent, Jesus Christ Superstar, Hairspray) and international vocalist Shayna Steele’s appearance on Ed McMahon’s Star Search was her first experience performing in front of a nationally televised audience. After losing by a 1/2 star, Shayna returned to her hometown of Biloxi, Mississippi to finish high school and pursue a music degree before exposing herself to the cutthroat “reality” of the business. “I was embarrassed and defeated. I wanted nothing more than to go home and crawl in a hole.”

A completely unexpected call in 2005 would drop her squarely in the middle of a genre she had absolutely no experience with: Electronica. Hearing that Moby “needed a screamer” for a track off his new album Hotel, a mutual friend recommended Steele, resulting in the disc’s second single “Raining Again”. Two years later, she was back, laying down vocals for “Extreme Ways (2007)” – Moby’s theme song to The Bourne Ultimatum, The Bourne Legacy and Jason Bourne – and in early 2008, “Disco Lies“, the first single off of Moby’s 2008 release Last Night. The song reached #1 on the US Billboard Dance charts and went on to be featured in J.J. Abram’s summer blockbuster Cloverfield and the movie The Backup Plan starring Jennifer Lopez. Her voice has remained highly in demand with vocals on Hairspray (movie soundtrack), Sex and the City 2, NBC’s Smash, 2008 Summer Olympic highlights on BBC and the 2021 release of  In the Heights (Motion Picture Soundtrack). Shayna has made television guest appearances on  HBO’s The Sopranos and she reprised her Broadway role with the “Dynamites” in NBC’s Hairspray Live.

After spending 8 years as a Broadway ensemble member in shows such as Rent and Hairspray and 6 years in the background supporting artists like Bette Midler, Rihanna, and Kelly Clarkson, Shayna stepped out on her own with the release of her 3rd studio album Watch Me Fly following the huge success of her album Rise (Ropeadope Records) in 2015 which reached #3 on the U.S. iTunes jazz charts. Her self-penned song “Gone Under” from that same album was personally selected by Michael League of Snarky Puppy to be arranged for their Family Dinner, Volume 1(Ropeadope Records). The song and Shayna’s performance was the first single to be released on the Grammy Award-winning band’s album, which has now reached over 1.8 million views on YouTube to date.

Shayna has appeared as a soloist and guest artist with over 40 symphony orchestras throughout North America. Her most recent solo concert Nothin’ But the Blues, written and conducted by Maestro Jeff Tyzik, is one of many highlights in her symphonic solo career. A Portland Press review of Shayna’s performance with the Portland Symphony Orchestra (Portland, ME) said her “…blues program ranked among the PSO’s best.” – Steve Feeney (May 24, 2021)

Shayna recently returned to school 25 years later to finish what she started. She is currently working on her Bachelor’s degree in Interdisciplinary Music Studies at Berklee College of Music where she is currently on the Dean’s List.  She continues to tour all over the world with her band playing her original music, is a regular guest artist with Grammy-award winning trumpeter Chris Botti and is recording her 3rd studio album, set for release in Spring of 2022.

Eric Rigler’s legendary 40-year career on the bagpipes is world-famous. From performing Amazing Grace at President Reagan’s funeral to hundreds of appearances, films and recordings such as Braveheart, Titanic, Austin Powers to CD’s for Phil Collins, Josh Groban, Faith Hill to TV’s The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, The Simpsons, and South Park, Eric has been called “the most recorded piper in history”. A native of Los Angeles, Eric has devoted his life to the Scottish bagpipes and the Irish uilleann pipes, the hauntingly beautiful bagpipe he played for the solos on Braveheart and Titanic.

With a list of credits unparalleled in the genre of Celtic music, Eric’s sounds have touched people worldwide. Unforgettable are his solos on one of the best-selling original motion picture soundtracks of all time, Titanic, or the musical spirit of William Wallace in Mel Gibson’s Braveheart. Movie-goers saw Eric pipe Clint Eastwood and Hilary Swank into the boxing ring in Million Dollar Baby, and laughed at the bagpipe sounds of Mike Myers’ “Fat Bastard” in Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me. The lyrical sounds of Eric’s uilleann pipes still grace the radio waves on the mega-hits You Raise Me Up by Josh Groban and True Colors by Phil Collins.

Eric’s diverse range of gigs spans the globe: from playing a private family party for Steven Spielberg to performing in Tokyo with Japan’s most famous guitarist, Kazumi Watanabe, to Scotland for a concert with Paul McCartney, a GRAMMY-winning album and touring the Americas with Salsa legend & Hollywood actor, Rubén Blades, to New York City for an appearance on The View with Josh Groban, and back home to Los Angeles for everything “Hollywood” and playing for the LAPD and LA County Sheriff’s Department police funerals.

For more than three decades as both a leader and a sideman, conguero Poncho Sanchez has stirred up a fiery stew of straight-ahead jazz, gritty soul music, and infectious melodies and rhythms from a variety of Latin American and South American sources. His influences are numerous, but among the more prominent figures that inform his music are two of the primary architects of Latin jazz – conga drummer and composer Chano Pozo and trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie. Sanchez pays tribute to these two titans on his new album, Chano y Dizzy!, his 25th recording as a bandleader on Concord Picante, set for release on September 27, 2011. For the first time, Sanchez and Francisco Torres, long time band member (trombone/vocals), join forces to produce the new album.

Joining Sanchez on the 11-song set is multi-GRAMMY winning trumpeter Terence Blanchard. It makes sense that, for this project, Sanchez recruited fellow label mate Blanchard, a New Orleans native who literally grew up amid the Cuban and Latin jazz scene and a longtime fan of the music’s multicultural underpinnings. Blanchard has established himself as one of the most innovative and influential jazz musicians and film score masters of his generation. As a film composer, Blanchard has more than 50 feature film scores to his credit. Currently at work on the score for George Lucas’s long-awaited upcoming movie, Red Tails, the Golden Globe nominee and four-time GRAMMY winner’s music was recently featured on Broadway in Chris Rock’s Tony-nominated play, The Mother****** With Hat. Blanchard is currently at work on the music for the Broadway remake of A Streetcar Named Desire and has also been commissioned by the Opera St. Louis for a project that will premiere in 2012. His latest CD, Choices, was released by Concord Jazz in 2009 to widespread critical acclaim.

“These two musicians were the pioneers of what is now known as Latin jazz,” says Sanchez. “Chano Pozo was a genius. He’s considered the godfather of conga drummers, and he’s someone whom I respect a great deal. And of course, Dizzy Gillespie was an iconic artist in American jazz. I had the honor and pleasure of working with him on several occasions. These guys were the first musicians to bring elements of Latin music to American jazz – which has resulted in some of the greatest music of the last 50 or 60 years. I felt that it was time to pay tribute to them and their accomplishments.”

While the album includes songs originally written and performed by the two legends, it also showcases compositions crafted by other writers that capture the flavor of traditional Latin jazz. Sanchez’s touring band assists with the songwriting and arranging. The studio ranks include: pianist David Torres, saxophonist Rob Hardt, trumpeter Ron Blake, trombonist/vocalist Francisco Torres, bassist Tony Banda, timbalist George Ortiz, and percussionist Joey De Leon, Jr.

“The great thing about this band is that they take a very traditional approach to Latin music,’ says Blanchard. “They pay a lot of attention to the detail of the specific rhythms they’re playing, and they understand the historical significance of keeping that heritage alive.”

Although born in Laredo, Texas, in 1951 to a large Mexican-American family, Sanchez grew up in a suburb of Los Angeles, where he was raised on an unusual cross section of sounds that included straight-ahead jazz, Latin jazz and American soul. By his teen years, his musical consciousness had been solidified by the likes of John Coltrane, Miles Davis, Cal Tjader, Mongo Santamaria, Wilson Pickett and James Brown. Along the way, he taught himself to play guitar, flute, drums and timbales, but eventually settled on the congas.

At 24, after working his way around the local club scene for several years, he landed a permanent spot in Cal Tjader’s band in 1975. “I learned a great deal from Cal,” says Sanchez, “but it wasn’t as though he sat me down and taught me lessons like a schoolteacher. Mostly it was just a matter of being around such a great guy. It was the way he conducted himself, the way he talked to people, the way he presented himself onstage. He was very elegant, very dignified, and when he played, he played beautifully. The touch that he had on the vibes – nobody has that sound. To me, he was – and is, and always will be – the world’s greatest vibe player.”

Sanchez remained with Tjader until the bandleader’s death in 1982. That same year, he signed with Concord for the release of Sonando, an album that marked the beginning of a musical partnership that has spanned more than 25 years and has yielded more than two dozen recordings. Chano y Dizzy! is the latest installment in that ongoing partnership.

Sanchez, Blanchard and company set the tone early with an opening medley of lively Pozo tunes: Tin Tin Deo, Manteca and Guachi Guaro. Blanchard delivers down some sultry trumpet lines over Sanchez’s percussion and vocals, while the rest of the band lays down a solid and spicy rhythmic bed throughout.

The follow-up track is a simmering rendition of Dizzy’s Con Alma, with numerous tempo changes that give Blanchard room to flex his muscles in varying rhythmic contexts within a single song.

Further in, Siboney is an old Cuban song by Ernesto Lecuona that’s consistent enough with the overall vibe of the record to make the cut. “Ron Bake called me and said, ‘Poncho, I’ve always liked this tune, but Chano didn’t write it and neither did Dizzy.’ I said, ‘It’s alright. It fits. It’ll be fine.’ I’ve always liked the tune myself, so I was glad that we finally got a chance to record it. I think it complements the artists and the period we’re paying tribute to.”

The light-hearted “Groovin’ High” is a Gillespie composition originally conceived as a swing tune, but Sanchez and company rearranged it here to fit more of a mambo vibe. The funky Harris’s Walk, another song penned by Blake, was written in the style of Eddie Harris, “but I liked it so much at rehearsal that I said, ‘We gotta put this on the record,'” says Sanchez.

Jack’s Dilemma, written by Francisco Torres, came together on the fly with a stripped-down rhythm section consisting of Sanchez on conga and Joey De Leon on trap drums. “There are no timbales, no bongos,” says Sanchez. “The engineers in the studio sort of slapped together a drum set. Joey tuned them the way he wanted, and man, ten minutes later we were recording. In the end, I think it sounded great.”

The album ends just as it starts, with a staccato and highly rhythmic Pozo tune called Ariñañara. Recorded by several artists through the years, the song is what Sanchez calls “straight-up hardcore salsa music.” It serves close to a recording that celebrates some of the most innovative music to emerge from the 20th century.

“To me, Latin jazz is the world’s greatest music,” says Sanchez. “It has the melodic and harmonic sophistication of jazz and American standards, and the flavor and energy of Latin American music. What I’m most proud of is that this music – while it may sound exotic at times – is from America. It was born in New York City, when Chano Pozo met Dizzy Gillespie for the first time in the mid-1940s. They created something that didn’t exist before in this country. I’m very proud to take this music all over the world all the time.”

This biography is property of Concord Music Group, Inc. Principal Pops Conductor

Fiddler Eileen Ivers will change the way you think about the violin.

She’s been hailed as “a sensation” by Billboard magazine, “a virtuoso” by The Irish Times, “the Jimi Hendrix of the violin” by The New York Times and “the future of the Celtic fiddle” by The Washington Post. Eileen Ivers has firmly established herself as the pre-eminent exponent of the Irish fiddle in the world today. Her long list of accomplishments includes a GRAMMY award, Emmy nomination and headline performances with the London Symphony Orchestra, Boston Pops and over 40 orchestras across the world. Eileen is the original musical star of Riverdance, a founding member of Cherish the Ladies and a Nine Time All-Ireland Fiddle Champion. Ivers has guest starred with Sting, Hall and Oates, The Chieftains, ‘Fiddlers 3’ with Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg and Regina Carter, Patti Smith, Al Di Meola and Steve Gadd, performed on the soundtrack for Gangs of New York and played for Presidents and Royalty around the world.

It is a rare and select grade of spectacular artists whose work is so boldly imaginative and clearly virtuosic that it alters the medium. It has been said that the task of respectfully exploring the traditions and progression of the Celtic fiddle is quite literally on Eileen Ivers’ shoulders. The Washington Post states, “She suggests the future of the Celtic fiddle.” “She electrifies the crowd with a dazzling show of virtuoso playing,” says The Irish Times. Ivers’ recording credits include over 80 contemporary and traditional albums and numerous movie scores. Eileen is hailed as one of the great innovators and pioneers in the Celtic and World music genres.

The daughter of Irish immigrants, Eileen Ivers grew up in the culturally diverse neighborhood of the Bronx, New York. Rooted in Irish traditional music since the age of eight, Eileen proceeded to win nine All-Ireland fiddle championships, a tenth on tenor banjo and over 30 championship medals, making her one of the most awarded persons ever to compete in these prestigious competitions.

Being an Irish-American, the intrigue of learning more about the multicultural sounds of her childhood took hold. After graduating magna cum laude in Mathematics from Iona College and while continuing her post-graduate work in Mathematics, Eileen fully immersed herself in the different genres of music which she experienced growing up in New York. Perhaps it was the mathematical mind coupled with her passion for seeking parallels in certain traditional music styles which contributed to what has become the signature sound featured in much of Eileen’s recordings. Eileen currently has focused on highlighting the Celtic foundation of American roots music, from Bluegrass and Country to French Canadian and Cajun music.

Eileen and her ensemble headline prestigious performing arts centers, a guest star with numerous symphonies, performs at major festivals worldwide and has appeared on national and international television. The L.A. Times proclaims, “Ivers’ presentation was music with the kind of life and spirit that come together when talented artists from different backgrounds find the linkages that connect all forms of music…no wonder the audience loved every minute.”

“Eileen Ivers is a consummate artist, and one of the most innovative of today’s Celtic musicians. Her obvious joy and sincerity in performing make her an audience favorite, and her skill and collegiality should make her a favorite with any orchestra fortunate enough to engage her.” – Keith Lockhart, Conductor, The Boston Pops Orchestra

“Eileen Ivers gave one of the most exciting Pops concerts for the Portland Symphony Orchestra. The audience, the orchestra players and I were glued to her breathless virtuoso fiddle performance. The audience refused to let the musicians go off the stage. The message to other symphony orchestras: You must bring Eileen Ivers to your community!” – Toshiyuki Shimada, Music Director and Conductor, Portland Symphony Orchestra

“Having her on your Pops series is a guaranteed grand slam! Don’t miss out!” – Dennis Alves, Director of Artistic Programming, Boston Pops “Nobody does it better than Eileen Ivers. Not only does the orchestra savor her musicianship and professionalism, but, she never misses to bring a pops audience to its feet with thunderous ovations.” – Marvin Hamlisch, National Symphony, and Pittsburgh Symphony Principal Pops Conductor

Golden Globe nominated composer Brian Byrne moved to Los Angeles from Ireland in July 2003 to expand his career as a film and television composer. Since then, Brian has consistently worked as a composer, conductor, songwriter, arranger and pianist in the US and in Europe. Brian recently won two World Soundtrack Awards and a Satellite Award for his music to the song and score for the movie Albert Nobbs and received his third World Soundtrack Award nomination for Best Original Song in 2016.

From huge orchestral scores to minimal ensemble compositions, Brian has written music for films in many genres. He won his first Irish Film and Television Award for his original score for the Irish Sci-Fi comedy Zonad, directed by John Carney (Once). He then scored an indie drama called The Good Doctor, starring Orlando Bloom and went on to compose the score and song to the Oscar nominated movie Albert Nobbs starring Glenn Close. Brian just completed the score to Jim Sheridan’s new movie The Secret Scripture, starring Rooney Mara and wrote and produced the end title song for Kelly Clarkson.

Brian has composed and conducted original songs for Barbra Stresiand, Josh Groban, Alanis Morrisette, Kelly Clarkson, Sinead O’ Connor, Kurt Elling and many more high profile recording artists.

As well as an in-demand film composer, Brian is a much sought after arranger and producer. He recently worked on Sarah McLachlan’s 2016 album.

In 2014, Brian completed composing the music to Heartbeat of Home a new show from the producers of Riverdance featuring Paddy Moloney, Carlos Nunez, The RTE Concert Orchestra, Jessica Sanchez and guests. It toured North America and China to critical acclaim.

Brian has collaborated with such international luminaries as Katy Perry, Bono, Barbra Streisand, Kelly Clarkson, Pink, Josh Groban, Lisa Stansfield, Van Morrison, Alanis Morissette, The Corrs, Sinead O’Connor, Alan Bergman, Ronan Tynan, Luis Miguel, Vince Gill, Gladys Knight, to name a few. He arranged a song for the movie Sex and the City 2 and played piano on Liza Minnelli’s cover of Beyonce’s Single Ladies (Put a Ring on it).

Brian’s American conducting debut came in 2004 at Carnegie Hall. He was commissioned to write all the arrangements and conduct the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra for the release of Ronan Tynan’s first solo album for Decca. Brian also released a Classical album called Tales From the Walled City on the Decca label and is working on a large scale project based on poems by James Joyce.

Brian was educated at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama. He graduated in 1997 with first-class honors in music and was awarded The Peter Knox Memorial Award for overall performance. Later that year he received the Outstanding Musicianship Award from Berklee College’s touring faculty in Scotland as well as winning the PRS Sir Arthur Bliss Prize Scholarship for composition that enabled him to study film composition at London’s Royal College of Music.

Although living in Los Angeles, Brian has been Artist in Residence with the RTE Concert Orchestra in Ireland since 2012 and has conducted and arranged many Pops Concerts and TV shows for both RTE and the BBC Ulster Orchestra since 2003.

David Burnham is now on the West Coast filming a new reality television show between his concert performances throughout North America. Your audience will remember David who played Fiyero in the Broadway production of Wicked for three years, and created the role in the original Los Angeles workshop and productions.

David was a member of the original Broadway cast of the 6-time Tony Award winning musical The Light in the Piazza, performing on both the Tony Awards on CBS and was featured on the PBS telecast Live From Lincoln Center.

David tours with five thrilling theatrical concert events including Mostly Broadway, Broadway Love Songs, Holiday shows and more! On film, David was the voice of the Prince in the Warner Bros. animated feature The King & I, and can also be heard as “Willy” in Disney’s Home On The Range. Recordings include the soundtracks to Ghepetto, The King & I, and Home on the Range. Also, the recordings Strouse, Schwartz, & Schwartz and Lerner, Loewe, and Lane. His voice was also recently featured on South Park.

David was the 2007 recipient of the prestigious “Helen Hayes Award” for best actor as well as the 2007 best actor “Garland Award” for his portrayal of Fabrizio Nacarelli in the national tour of The Light In The Piazza.

David first gained critical acclaim when, after a two-year search, he was chosen to replace Donny Osmond in the national tour of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (Dramalogue Award) a role which he has subsequently played four more times in productions all over the country.

At Boston’s North Shore Music Theatre, he created the role of Tom in the new musical Tom Jones as well as the role of Billy (opposite Maureen McGovern) in the new musical Letters from ‘Nam, a role which he reprised at The Kennedy Center and Seattle’s Village Theatre. In Chicago, he originated the role of Charlie in the world premiere of Peggy Sue Got Married, after touring the country as Peter in the national tour of Jesus Christ Superstar (opposite Ted Neeley).

Other stage productions include the Los Angeles premiere of The Road Theatre production of The Woman In Black (the Actor) directed by Ken Sawyer, Assassins (John Hinckley) at Reprise – with members of the original Broadway cast, Children of Eden (Caine – Robby Award) at Musical Theatre West, Godspell (Jesus) at the St. Louis MUNY, and Pirates of Penzance (Fredrick) at The Sacramento Music Circus.

Susan Egan has traversed all four corners of the entertainment industry, making powerful impressions in theatre, film, television and music. She was last seen on Broadway in the title role of Thoroughly Modern Millie; she won critical acclaim as Broadway’s (longest-running) “Sally Bowles” in Cabaret; originated the starring roles in Triumph of Love and State Fair; and most notably, received both Tony Award and Drama Desk nominations for “Best Actress” as Broadway’s original “Belle” in Disney’s Beauty and the Beast. Among her regional credits, Egan starred alongside Carol Burnett in Sondheim’s Putting It Together, Tommy Tune in the national tour of Bye, Bye Birdie, reprised her role of “Belle” for the Los Angeles premiere of Beauty and the Beast, and developed works at Yale Rep, Baltimore Center Stage, South Coast Rep, and the Mark Taper Forum.

Susan’s film credits include 13 Going on 30, Gotta Kick It Up for the Disney Channel, and many award-winning independent films such as: Meet Market (Sarasota Film Festival), Death and Texas (Seattle Film Festival and Slamdance Film Festival), The Almost Guys (HBO Comedy Festival), The Disappearing Girl Trick, Falling. In Love, Extreme Close Up, and Man of the Century (Audience Award, Slamdance).

In animation, Egan gave the sultry voice to ‘Meg’ in Disney’s Hercules, sang the role of ‘Angel’ in Lady and the Tramp II, translated two Japanese blockbusters into English for famed animation director Hayao Miyazaki: ‘Gina’ in Porco Rosso, and ‘Lin’ in Spirited Away, which won an Academy Award for Best Animated Feature. She spent 6 years as the voice of ‘Belle’ for myriad Disney Princess CDs and toys, and most recently voiced the character of ‘Ginny’ in Achmed Saves America, starring comic Jeff Dunham, and currently recurs as ‘Rose Quartz’ on Cartoon Network’s Steven Universe.

On television, Egan spent two seasons on the WB’s Nikki, and has guest-starred on House, Numb3rs, NYPD Blue, Arliss, Party of Five, Drew Carey, Almost Perfect, Partners, All My Children, Loving, and Great Performances: Rodgers and Hart, as well as pilots, movies of the week and specials for ABC, CBS, and the Disney Channel.

As a solo artist, Susan has taken her critically-acclaimed, concert to over 400 cities coast to coast and on the high seas with the Disney Cruise Line. She has headlined with over 50 world-renowned symphonies, including the Long Beach Symphony, National Symphony Orchestra, Hong Kong Symphony, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Chicago Symphony, Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, Cleveland Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony, Seattle Symphony, the Philly Pops, and others, taking the concert stage at Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center and the Hollywood Bowl just to name a few.

Egan is a Southern California native and attended the Orange County School of the Arts and UCLA, where she received a Carol Burnett Award in Musical Theatre. In 2002-2003, she devoted a year away from her career to assume the position of interim Artistic Director of the Orange County School of the Arts, and now splits her time as concert performer, master teacher in music performance, obsessive gardener, happy wife, and leader to her daughters’ two Girl Scout troops. www.SusanEgan.net, @IAmSusanEgan, Facebook.com/OfficialSusanEgan.

With a contagious smile and captivating charm, trumpet virtuoso, Byron Stripling, has ignited audiences internationally. As soloist with the Boston Pops Orchestra, Stripling has performed frequently under the baton of Keith Lockhart, as well as being featured soloist on the PBS television special, Evening at Pops, with conductors John Williams and Mr. Lockhart. Currently, Stripling serves as artistic director and Conductor of the highly acclaimed Columbus Jazz Orchestra. Since his Carnegie Hall debut with Skitch Henderson and the New York Pops, Stripling has become a pops orchestra favorite throughout the country, soloing with Boston Pops, National Symphony, Pittsburgh Symphony, Cincinnati Pops, Seattle Symphony, Baltimore Symphony, Dallas Symphony, Minnesota Orchestra, Detroit Symphony, Vancouver Symphony, Toronto Symphony, and Dallas Symphony, to name a few. He has been a featured soloist at the Hollywood Bowl and performs at jazz festivals throughout the world.

An accomplished actor and singer, Mr. Stripling was chosen, following a worldwide search, to star in the lead role of the Broadway bound musical, Satchmo. Many will remember his featured cameo performance in the television movie, The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles, and his critically acclaimed virtuoso trumpet and riotous comedic performance in the 42nd Street production of From Second Avenue to Broadway. Television viewers have enjoyed his work as soloist on the worldwide telecast of The GRAMMY Awards. Millions have heard his trumpet and voice on television commercials, TV theme songs including 20/20, CNN, and soundtracks of favorite movies.

Mr. Stripling earned his stripes as lead trumpeter and soloist with the Count Basie Orchestra under the direction of Thad Jones and Frank Foster. He has also played and recorded extensively with the bands of Dizzy Gillespie, Woody Herman, Dave Brubeck, Lionel Hampton, Clark Terry, Louis Bellson, and Buck Clayton in addition to The Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra, The Carnegie Hall Jazz Band, and The GRP All Star Big Band. Mr. Stripling enjoys conducting seminars and master classes at colleges, universities, conservatories, and high schools. His informative talks, combined with his incomparable wit and charm, make him a favorite guest speaker to groups of all ages. Mr. Stripling was educated at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York and the Interlochen Arts Academy in Interlochen, Michigan. One of his greatest joys is to periodically return to Eastman and Interlochen as a special guest lecturer.

A resident of Ohio, Mr. Stripling lives in the country with his wife, former dancer, writer and poet, Alexis and their two beautiful daughters.

Ted Louis Levy made his Broadway debut in the smash hit Black & Blue. He collaborated with George C. Wolfe and Gregory Hines on the choreography of Jelly’s Last Jam, for which he received a Tony Nomination, Drama Desk Nomination, and the 1993 Outer Critics Circle Award. Levy was awarded an Emmy Award for his television debut performance in the PBS Special Precious Memories and appeared in Spike Lee’s Malcolm X for his film debut. His production of Ted Levy and Friends, directed by Gregory Hines, celebrated Levy as one of America’s premier tap dance artists. Influenced by Hines, Levy acquired his directorial debut as director of Savion Glover’s Dancing Under The Stars at the New York Shakespeare Festival’s Delacorte Theater. He also assisted in the choreography of Broadway’s Tony Award-winning Hit Bring In ‘Da Noise!  Bring In ‘Da Funk!  Levy appeared in the movie Bojangles with Gregory Hines, returning to Broadway as Papa Jack in Susan Stroman and Harry Connick Jr.’s Thou Shalt Not, and as The Mikado in The Ford Theater’s production of The Hot Mikado, for which he won a Helen Hayes Award.