Michael Feinstein to Feature Songbook Academy Alum at MCG Jazz

Five-time GRAMMY-nominated entertainer Michael Feinstein will feature local high school student and Songbook Academy Alum in performance at his upcoming engagement at MCG Jazz on September 23, 2016, at 9:30 PM.

Julia Cooper was selected from over 200 applicants to attend the 2016 Songbook Academy. Julia is a senior at Lincoln Park Performing Arts Charter School in Midland, PA, where she studies musical theatre. Recent roles and performances include; Fantine in Les Miserables at LPPACS, West Side Story (Rosalia, U/S Anita), Catch Me If You Can as Paula Abagnale, and Anything Goes as Erma with the CLO academy. Julia is also a member of the New Castle Playhouse Ministars, a member of the International Thespian Society, and a member of the National Honors Society.

Now in its seventh year, the Songbook Academy provides high school singers in grades 9-12 with the life-changing opportunity to work with music industry professionals and educators from top college arts programs to experience firsthand the uniquely American and culturally significant music known as the Great American Songbook.

"I created the Songbook Academy to foster young artists who have an interest in the American Songbook, which includes the music of classic Broadway, jazz standards, and popular music. Through this program, we are reaching a new generation to teach the music of the American Songbook and the history that inspired and influenced its composers," said Michael Feinstein, founder of the program and the organization called 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. Jeff McDermott serves as the Interim 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; and PERFECT Harmony, music therapy based program for individuals with Alzheimer's disease or dementia. To learn more, visit: www.TheSongbook.org.

Michael Feinstein has built a dazzling career over the last three decades bringing the music of the Great American songbook to the world. From recordings that have earned him five Grammy Award nominations to his Emmy nominated PBS-TV specials, his acclaimed NPR series and concerts spanning the globe - in addition to his appearances at iconic venues such as The White House, Buckingham Palace, Hollywood Bowl, Carnegie Hall and Sydney Opera House - his work as an educator and archivist define Feinstein as one of the most important musical forces of our time.

In 2007, he founded the Great American Songbook Foundation, dedicated to celebrating the art form and preserving it through educational programs, Master Classes, and the annual High School Songbook Academy. This summer intensive open to students from across the country has produced graduates who have gone on to record acclaimed albums and appear on television programs such as NBC's "America's Got Talent." Michael serves on the Library of Congress' National Recording Preservation Board; an organization dedicated to ensuring the survival, conservation and increased public availability of America's sound recording heritage.

Feinstein serves as Artistic Director of the Palladium Center for the Performing Arts, a $170 million, three-theatre venue in Carmel, Indiana, which opened in January 2011. The theater is home to diverse live programming and a museum for his rare memorabilia and manuscripts. Since 1999, he has served as Artistic Director for Carnegie Hall's "Standard Time with Michael Feinstein" in conjunction with ASCAP. In 2010 he became the director of the Jazz and Popular Song Series at New York's Jazz at Lincoln Center.

Feinstein's at the Nikko, Michael's nightclub at San Francisco's Nikko Hotel, has presented the top talents of pop and jazz since 2013. He debuted at Feinstein's/54 Below, his new club in New York, late in 2015. His first venue in New York, Feinstein's at the Regency, featured major entertainers such as Rosemary Clooney, Glen Campbell, Barbara Cook, Diahann Carroll, Jane Krakowski, Lea Michele, Cyndi Lauper, Jason Mraz and Alan Cumming from 1999 to 2012.