Naz Edwards is an actor, singer and educator who has graced many stages throughout the U.S. and Canada, from Broadway to National Tours, Regional Theaters and Cabaret. Some of her favorite roles include: On Broadway, ZORBA as the Leader, opposite Anthony Quinn, and ANNA KARENINA (the musical) as Dunyasha; National Tour, ZORBA and Ken Hill's PHANTOM OF THE OPERA, as Madame Giry; Regional Theaters, Dennis DeYoung's THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME, as Mahiette, THE DROWSY CHAPERONE, as Drowsy, MAN OF LA MANCHA, as Aldonza, SHE LOVES ME, as Ilona, ONCE UPON MATTRESS, as The Queen, FIDDLER ON THE ROOF, as Yenta, FUNNY GIRL, as Mrs. Brice, THE BAKERS WIFE, as Denise, OTHER DESERT CITIES, as Polly, MY NAME IS ASHER LEV, as Mother, NOISES OFF, as Dotty, as THE CLEAN HOUSE, Woman/Ana, SOUVENIR, as Florence Foster Jenkins, and WOMAN BEFORE A GLASS, as Peggy Guggenheim. For anime' fans, Naz is the voice of the wicked Queen Beryl on SAILOR MOON!
For Naz, teaching has been a huge passion. Aside of her private studio where she prepares high school students for their university musical theater and acting programs, she also has recently launched her program, Acting Through Song: Rediscovering the Great American Songbook and her website ijustwannasing.com. Naz has a deep affection for the Great American Songbook and loves to see our next generation of performers discovering it's beauty. In her teaching, Naz believes that combining all aspects of performing, acting, singing, interpretation, presentation, and most importantly, storytelling, is key to a fully realized performance. "Connect-Create-Communicate" is the hallmark of her work. She has been teaching and mentoring students of all ages for 20 years. She has been called "the inside-out teacher", working at the core of her student and helping them express their true emotions through song; Naz has presented her masterclasses at many high school and musical theater programs. She was recently published in The Vocal Athlete, second edition, by Marci Rosenberg and Dr. Wendy D. LeBorgne.
Naz has studied with Joan Lader, Joan Kobin, Judith Blazer and Tom Burke. She is a proud member of both AEA and SAG/AFTRA.
Learn more about Naz's performing career and teaching at www.ijustwannasing.com.
Tex Arnold, a native of Texas, holds a master's degree in music composition from Michigan State University. He began his professional career in the late 1960's as a staff arranger for the United States Military Academy Band at West Point. After leaving the military, he moved to New York City, where he pursued a career as a pianist, arranger, music director and composer.
For over twenty five years he was musical director for the legendary Margaret Whiting, arranging and conducting for her performances on radio, television and recordings, and with major symphony orchestras. He has written orchestrations for the Linocln Center American Songbook series and for Carnegie Hall tributes to the song-writing teams of Alan and Marilyn Bergman, Betty Comden and Adolph Green. As a pianist, he has accompanied Broadway stars Melissa Errico at the Cafe Carlyle in New York City, and Barbara Cook in concerts throughout the country, including performances at the Los Angeles Music Center and Carnegie Hall.
His concert music has been commissioned and recorded, including performances of a trumpet concerto by the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl, and works for the New York Saxophone Quartet. In early 2005, his "Texas Our Texas" Variations was performed by the Dallas Symphony Orchestra in a series of concerts. Later that year, A Festival of Carols was premiered by the New Jersey
City University Symphony of Winds and Percussion. Two commissions, the Rhapsodies for Clarinet and Piano and Tax Dodge for Five Doctors, a saxophone quartet, garnered Mr. Arnold the ASCAP Plus Award for 2009 and 2010. In late, 2011 he was awarded a third consecutive ASCAP Plus Award.
More of his work can be heard on "Hallways" (LML Music), a CD of songs by composer/lyricist Carol Hall (The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas), for which he acted as producer/arranger. The album CD won the Bistro Award as Best Album of 2008. In 2010 , they collaborated to write the song cycle Olimic Peninsula Pilgrimage. Recent recordings feature his work as arranger and pianists for the vocalists Laurel Masse' ("Once in a Million Moons") and Maud Hixson ("Don't Let a Good Thing Get Away").
Learn more about Tex's career at www.texarnold.com.
*Our beloved Tex Arnold passed away from a stroke, August 24, 2019
Dr. James Eakin was born and raised in Shreveport, Louisiana. From an early age, he was drawn to his native blues and jazz as well as classical and film music, playing everything he heard by ear on the piano and experimenting with his own compositions. It wasn’t until years later that he began formal music studies.
He earned a Bachelor of Music from Centenary College (2000), a Master of Music from Southern Methodist University (2003), and in 2007, received a Doctorate of Musical Arts in Music Composition at the Conservatory of Music, University of Missouri-Kansas City. James has had the privilege of studying with some of music’s most prominent composers: John Corigliano, Jeff Rona, Jack Smalley, George Tsontakis, Bruce Broughton, Zhou Long, and Chen Yi.
Eakin's music catalog is prolific and spans genres from Concert Hall to Pop/Rock. He has composed works for Maya Angelou’s 80th Birthday celebration, the President’s Christmas Gala at the White House, and the Aspen Music Festival to name a few. James’ hour-long “Flowers over the Graves of War” for Chorus, Soloists, and Orchestra premiered to a sold-out audience at Carnegie Hall and most recently, his “#twitterlieder: 15 tweets in 3 acts,” premiered by the San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus at Davies Symphony Hall, has taken the choral world by storm.
On his philosophy of composing James says, “I don't draw lines in the sand; music is music, regardless of the genre. If it's got melody, harmony, or rhythm, I can write it.”
James composes with the speed of a film composer and the attention to detail of a concert composer. His grasp of today’s current music technology, his extensive knowledge of various musical styles, periods, instrumentation, and orchestration techniques makes him uniquely qualified for any project that comes his way.
Learn more about Dr. Eakin's career at www.jameseakin.com.
Rob Lowe is an accomplished musician in his own right. Rob began playing the piano at age 7 and was singing “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” for the Cincinnati Reds at Crosley Field by the age of 8. In Junior High, Rob picked up the trumpet and by age 17 began touring with famed trumpeter Maynard Ferguson. While touring with Maynard, Lowe had the distinct pleasure and opportunity to play with such greats as The Duke Ellington Big Band, Wild Bill Davis, Dizzy Gillespie and Dave Brubeck. Rob also toured the United States singing and playing in a variety of venues.
Over the years he has toured with many well known musicians and has promoted and booked many “A” list talent acts for a variety of events. In his 30 plus years in the entertainment business, Rob has produced and promoted events from large festivals to small lecture series.
Currently, Rob Lowe, is co owner of the talent management agency, Casting New Lives, along with his partner and wife, Brinka Rauh. Rob and Brinka have recently relocated their entertainment management company business from Southern California to the Dallas/Ft. Worth area of Midlothian, Texas.
Brinka Rauh has exceptional talents in large theater production, and her marketing and public relations skills along with social media promotions have shown to be more than beneficial to all Casting New Lives clients. Combining Rob and Brinka's unique talents, creates a synergy that will benefit clients as well as sponsors.
Casting New Lives has been reaching out to young musicians through their Entertainment Business workshops, educating them on marketing, contracts, managers/agents, etc.
Ross E. Smith is a retired Associate Professor of Piano at the Hurley School of Music of Centenary College of Louisiana. He received his bachelor’s degree in piano from Brigham Young University, and earned his Master of Music and Doctor of Musical Arts degrees in Piano Performance and Pedagogy from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.
While in graduate school he taught piano and music literature at the University of Michigan All-State Summer Camp at Interlochen for three summer terms. He has been an active soloist, giving recitals throughout the United States and in Italy. He traveled to Italy on a research grant from Centenary College to study the life and music of Alfredo Casella at the Santa Cecilia Conservatory in Rome, and has given lectures and recitals based on his findings there.
Dr. Smith is also an active clinician, offering lecture recitals that include a variety of topics including a dramatization of Chopin’s Ballade in F Minor, the transcendentalism of Beethoven’s Sonata Op.111, Rachmaninoff’s “Faust” Sonata, and advanced pedaling techniques. At Centenary College he has taught Film Music, Music Theory, Intro to Music History, Applied Piano, Senior Seminar, and has been a regular guest lecturer in a wide variety of Centenary’s religion courses. In the Fall 2009 semester he co-taught the course “Joseph Smith and Early Mormonism” with Dr. Peter Huff in the Religious Studies department. Dr. Smith also sat for many years on the Advisory Board for the Christian Leadership Center at Centenary and during the summer of 2012 he taught a five week seminar sponsored by CLC titled, "The Mormon Moment: a Look at What Sets the Latter-day Saints Apart."
In 2018 he was called to serve a 10-year term as the Shreveport Louisiana Stake President (ordained ecclesiastical leader over 11 churches throughout the Ark-La-Tex) in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He and his wife Luisa have been married since 1990 and have two children, Kayla and Nathan. Ross is now a Licensed Insurance Agent and Financial Services Professional with New York Life Insurance and Annuity Company and continues to serve on the Songbook South Board of Directors.
Daryl Kojak has performed On- and Off-Broadway and in clubs with Vicki Sue Robinson, Catherine Russell, Laurie Krauz, Warren Vaché, Sandra Bernhard, Carmel Quinn, Sheri Rene Scott, Robin Williams, Billy Crystal, Tiny Tim, Annie Hughes, Amy Beth Williams, Leslie Orofino, Seth Allen, and has worked with George Coleman, Randy Brecker, Christopher Walken, Rita Rudner, Marni Nixon and Chapman Roberts.
Producing and Arranging credits include recordings of artists Laurie Krauz, Randa McNamara, Brian King, Mary Testa, Jackie Hoffman, Marieann Meringolo, Nancy Lamott, Portia Nelson, Scot Albertson, Heather MacRae, Stephanie Pope, Bruce Brown, and The Genesius Guild, for whom Daryl produced “Our Hearts Sing”, featuring twenty-one Broadway and Cabaret artists, including Kristin Chenoweth, Alison Fraser, Emily Skinner, Paige Price, Mark Nadler and Phillip Officer. Daryl has recorded performance tracks for many artists including Varla Jean Merman and Miss Coco Peru.
Daryl has been honored with The Bistro Award for Outstanding Musical Director, The Caribbean Gospel Music Award for Top Gospel Arranger, The MAC Award for Best Jazz Group, and with Laurie Krauz, The Bistro Award for Oustanding Theme Show for Tapestry Rewoven.
Daryl has worked on the New York music scene for more than thirty years as a pianist, producer, composer, songwriter, arranger and musical director. The musical genres and styles of his extensive recording experience include jazz, blues, gospel, rock, R&B, pop, classical, new age and musical theatre. He has been a staple music director/mentor at a national, prestigious vocal competition centered around the study of the Great American Songbook for many years.
Learn more about Daryl's career at www.DarylKojak.com
Russ Kassoff is a jazz pianist, conductor, music director, composer, orchestrator and arranger who toured for many years with Frank Sinatra and Liza Minnelli. Since 2004 Russ has been MD/Pianist to the legendary Rita Moreno. Mr. Kassoff is one of the most highly regarded musicians in New York and was praised by the New York Times in 2004 as possessing a "precision and enthusiasm that is riveting."
His eclectic and varied recording career includes albums with John Pizzarelli, Rod Stewart and Carly Simon. In addition to his work with Sinatra and Minnelli, Russ has accompanied performers including Steve Allen, Paul Anka, Tony Bennett, Sammy Cahn, Liz Callaway, Vic Damone, Gregory Hines, Carol Lawrence, Ute Lemper, Monica Mancini, Barry Manilow, Maureen McGovern, Vincent Minnelli, Partrice Munsel, Faith Prince, Ginger Rogers, and Luciano Pavarotti, among a long list of others.
On Broadway he served as music director and conductor for Twyla Tharp's Come Fly Away and as conductor-pianist for Charles Aznavour in concert. He acted as pianist/arranger/conductor for Liza Minnelli’s Minnelli On Minnelli at the Palace Theater. Mr. Kassoff has also played legions of additional shows on Broadway, including Miss Saigon, Cats, Will Rogers Follies, Buttons on Broadway, Jane Eyre, The Life, Seussical, Victor Victoria , Sunset Boulevard, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Kiss Me Kate.
Other current highlights include regular jazz duo performances at the Knickerbocker in NYC, and annual concerts with the Russ Kassoff Big Band.
Mr. Kassoff was a featured guest on Marian McPartland’s Piano Jazz on NPR in 2006.
Russ Kassoff holds a B.M. in performance from the Crane School of Music, SUNY-Potsdam. Read more of his biography and find out more about his music at www.russkassoff.com.
Michael Garvin is a world class songwriter, guitarist and trumpeter, hailing from Shreveport, Louisiana. Garvin's first success came as a songwriter. He is widely known penning the global #1 hit, "Waiting for Tonight", recorded by Jennifer Lopez, and the worldwide, multi-platinum "Never Give Up on a Good Thing" for George Benson.
At 18, Michael moved to Nashville, TN, and lived his first year there as a ‘starving artist’ with his wife, Liv, before landing his first songwriting deal with Blake Melvis at ABC Dunhill. Michael credits Blake with not only being the first to see his potential as a songwriter, but also as a lead guitarist. At the age of 19, he wrote his first Top 5 record there, “If the World Ran Out of Love Tonight”, recorded by Jim Ed Brown and Helen Cornelius, also recorded by England Dan and John Ford Coley to become a Top 40 U S Pop Hit. You might think it was easy sailing from there on out. “Absolutely not,” Michael laughs,”It’s been a roller coaster ride, but looking back, I’ve enjoyed every moment of the struggle, it’s made me who I am”.
Another defining moment for the arc of Michael’s career, was landing a UK publishing deal with Torquil Creevy and Miles Copeland, who’s work with Sting and The Police, opened doors to Europe and the rest of the world to him. Ever since then, the world has been Michael’s territory.
Working in multiple countries and genres, Garvin’s MO is to bring elements from one music style to another, always keeping what he delivers fresh and exciting. Its earned him a total of 33 top ten hits so far, of which 23 hit Number One on the charts.
Garvin now brings the same hit making skills and passion that make him a star songwriter to being an instrumental recording artist, bringing all his skills together, as a composer, a player, and a producer. He has already released five singles with significant chart activity in Smooth Jazz and Groove Jazz, including “Vibe Taxi” and his holiday special, “Do You Hear What I Hear?”. His latest release, “Just in Time”, is available now.
Learn more about Michael Garvin's career at www.michaelgarvinmusic.com.
Photo courtesy of Craig Collins
Melanie Shore Melanie Shore’s dynamic musical fluency on the piano and Hammond B3 has established her as an accomplished performer, sought-after studio musician, music director, and award-winning composer and arranger.
Over her career, she has performed with an array of artists, including Chuck Berry, Il Divo, Lea Salonga, David Archuleta, Debby Boone, Restless Heart, and Teddy Gentry from the Grammy Award-winning group Alabama, among many others. Melanie recently completed her stay as associate music director/conductor for the first U.S. national tour of Roald Dahl and Tim Minchin’s Matilda The Musical.
She has served as musical director and arranger, as well as played keyboard/Hammond B3 organ alongside pop and country multi-platinum artist Collin Raye. She has been featured in and is a regular contributor to Joseph Gordon-Leavitt’s collaborative musical community, hitRECord. In addition, she has played for many national Broadway tours and also tours with the soul/funk/fusion group led by Kris Johnson of the Count Basie Big Band. Melanie is also experienced in hand doubling for film and was in all three installments of Disney’s High School Musical movies.
As a composer and arranger, Melanie has been commissioned by various organizations across the United States for her choral, orchestral, and jazz works. She is also the arranger for the Homecoming Spectacular series, where she has written for renowned artists Gladys Knight, Kristen Chenoweth, Ben Rector, Colbie Callait, and Peter Hollens. Melanie regularly arranges for the world’s largest choral-orchestral organization, Millennial Choirs and Orchestras, as well as for jazz group, “Downbeat Award” winner, The Crescent Super Band.
As a studio musician, she is known for her authentic stylistic versatility and can be found recording everything from pop to funk, gospel, soul, musical theatre, and jazz. She has recorded for many independent artists, and also arranged and recorded Collin Raye’s album, His Love Remains.
Melanie holds a masters degree in jazz studies and is a sought-after clinician and mentor for jazz bands and combos, and has been a university jazz faculty member for over 15 years. She is currently a presenter and clinician for the 2020 international Jazz Education Network Conference (JEN) in New Orleans.
When not performing, arranging, or touring, she gives back to the community by visiting rest homes and schools with her therapy dog, Scotty. She is also a podcast host/creator/editor and hosts a program helping to educate others about grief management.
Visit Mel's website at www.melanieshore.com.
Karmyn Tyler a native of Texarkana, Texas, is a graduate of Texas High School She attended Centenary College and Texarkana College where she received degrees in music and theater in addtion to earning a degree in Administrative Leadership from Texas A & M University.
In 1995 Miss Tyler was crowned Miss Louisiana, and in Atlantic City she was Awarded the Bert Parks Talent Scholarship for her performance at the Miss America Pageant. she is active as a teacher of acting and vocal performance and is a member of Actors Equity, the Screen Actors Guild and the National Association of Teachers of Singing. After several years working in television and movie production, Karmyn left Hollywood to pursue teaching and performing in New York City. Recently she appeared at the Triad Theater in Mack - The Cabaret Musical.
Tyler's 2004 rendition of "Summertime" by George Gershwin received a Grammy nomination and the following year a second nomination followed for her original song entitled "Drifting".
Tyler serves on the Board of Songbook South, a mentoring program that offers high school-aged singers the opportunity to learn about and experience the Great American Songbook. A student of notable vocal coaches such as Dave Stroud, Tanya Travers and Stephanie Samaras, Tyler developed her own unique style of "cross training" a voice to meet the demands of today's modern singer. Tyler's dynamic and insightful teaching can be witnessed on her YouTube Channel: KT Vocal Studio.
She is also a proud SAG, AEA, AFTRA, BMI and NARAS member.
Learn more about Karmyn Tyler's career at www.karmyntyler.com.
Songwriting
Jennifer Graham is a professional singer and member of SAG – AFTRA, and lived in Los Angeles for 20 years. She has worked on over 100 movies, including AVATAR, TANGLED, GANGSTER SQUAD, and LA LA LAND, also lending her voice to the DEADPOOL 2 and AMUSEMENT PARK movie soundtracks, working with Academy Award winning composer Steven Price on the latter. Her voice is also currently on the Dreamworks opening credit.
She has also sung on many Academy Awards shows and TV shows such as GLEE, The Simpsons, Family Guy, Boston Legal, and Desperate Housewives. She has recorded with Josh Groban, Michael Buble, Kristen Chenoweth, Dolly Parton, Weezer, and many more.
Jenny is from Oklahoma originally, but lived in London for 12 years where she was 1st Soprano in the highly acclaimed vocal group THE SWINGLE SINGERS, and has also sung on many cruise ships including the Royal Odyssey, Cunard’s QE 2, and Princess, and theme parks including Opryland, Six Flags, and Silver Dollar City.
While Jenny loves singing in the studio, and performing , she has been Musical Director for many musicals in the Southern California area, including The Addams Family, Cinderella, Oklahoma, Drowsy Chaperone, Crazy For You, The Wiz and many more. Jenny loves cultivating new talent in a positive, nurturing and healthy way. She currently serves on the Voice faculty of Oklahoma City University.
Voice
Piano
Christopher Walters, born in New Orleans, moved from New York to Nashville in 1989. When not touring with his own band, Chris performs and records as the keyboardist with various artists, including The Jeff Coffin Mu’tet, JD Souther, and The Peter Mayer Group. He has performed with the Nashville Symphony Orchestra and recorded the soundtrack for a documentary film scored by Bela Fleck.
At the age of 18, he was a finalist in the Chattanooga Symphony Orchestra’s Gershwin competition. Chris attended the Jazz Studies Program at Webster University in St. Louis, and was listed by them as a notable alumnus in a recent Downbeat magazine article. His debut album, “Strange Fruit,” was featured on National Public Radio’s Jazz South program, and his 2003 release, “Cool Blue Swing,” garnered praise for 11 tracks of original music.
Two of his recent recordings, “Yay! Everybody, Yay!” (2012) and "Boneyard Thieves" (2018) feature new original songs as well as works by Alberto Ginastera and Cole Porter, with orchestrations around his small group performances. His Grammy-nominated recording, "Whisper & Howl" (2019), is an instrumental album inspired by the 1950s and 60s Exotica of Les Baxter and Esquivel.
Chris is also an award-winning animator. Two of his animated shorts won first place at the 2005 Key West IndieFest Film Festival.
Instagram @c_dubzzz_
Facebook Chris Walters Official
Music Business
Sanborn McGraw is a young, multi-talented music industry veteran who entered the music business at age 16 when he took over the social media promotion for the catalog and legacy of legendary songwriter Richard Whiting (“Too Marvelous for Words,” “Hooray For Holllywood,” “Ain’t We Got Fun?”, “On the Good Ship Lollipop”). At the same time, he began working as a professional archivist for My Ideal Music Inc., run by CEO Debbi Whiting (Richard’s granddaughter), assisting in actively promoting the usage of the Whiting family catalog.
McGraw entered the next phase of his career via his association with Woodward Avenue Records CEO, Mark Nordman. McGraw spearheaded the 2014 Woodward Avenue Records project ”Timeless: Wendy Moten Sings Richard Whiting”, serving as an Executive Producer and Production Assistant on the project, which was produced by two time GRAMMY®️ winner Paul Brown. Assuming a full-time position with Woodward Avenue Records, McGraw led the promotion campaign for Timeless and also served as an Executive Producer for other label releases, including Brown’s solo project “Truth B Told”. McGraw subsequently began working as Assistant VP of Woodward Avenue Records’ sister company, Nordman Sports & Entertainment. In his capacity, he promoted and marketed the careers of top musical performers, including Paul Brown, Bob Baldwin, Carol Woods, and Nate Harasim. He also recruited and signed talent, including famed contemporary jazz guitarist Nils.
From there McGraw was asked to join the team of legendary Great American Songbook recording artist, Michael Feinstein which prompted a move to Los Angeles, where he worked as Tour Manager and Executive Assistant for Feinstein and often times, Liza Minnelli, while spearheading recording projects and media campaigns for the latter two performers. As Tour Manager and Executive Assistant, McGraw handled day-today operations of every aspect of Feinstein’s career, touring the US and abroad, spearheading recording and television projects, liaising for Feinstein’s Great American Songbook Foundation / Museum, as well as taking an active role in the show operations of Feinstein’s chain of successful Supper-Clubs in New York City, Los Angeles, and San Francisco.
Late in 2019 McGraw made the move to Nashville to devote more time to the publishing and artist management profession, where he currently owns and operates Upper Mgt. LLC with business partner Tony Gottlieb as well as working as label staff for indie startup, Melody Place headed by famed producer, Fred Mollin.