Dixon Place's Free Concert Series Features New Musical Theatre Works

Dixon Place is pleased to present Tin Pan Alley 2, a free concert series featuring new musical theatre works on Friday, June 21, 2019 at 7:30pm. After a successful inaugural concert in April, this time it will be showcasing new works by writers Enzo Veiga, Ernie Bird, Josh Ben-Ami & James Salem, curated and hosted by Durra Leung. The event is free. For more information and RSVP, please go to http://dixonplace.org/performances/tin-pan-alley-2-6-21-2019/

The idea of Tin Pan Alley 2 is from the legendary birthplace of numerous American Standards in the early 20th century. The concert series' mission is to provide a platform for emerging musical theatre writers, and free entertainment for the audience.

The June 2019 lineup will be featuring a diverse roster of talents from Graduate Musical Theatre Writing Program at New York University, a community of collaborators engaged in the ever-evolving process of creating new musical theatre. All the featured writers (Enzo Veiga, Ernie Bird, Josh Ben-Ami & James Salem) and the host Durra Leung will be presenting their collaborations with other lyricists in the program, in addition to the songs with their own lyrics. Participating lyricists include Matt Stolfi, Alex Higgin-Houser, Jessie Field, and Taz Stahlnecker.

Enzo Veiga was born in Brazil in 1994, and earned a BM in Composition before starting the Graduate Musical Theatre Writing Program at NYU in 2018. Besides composing and songwriting, Enzo also has experience as a teacher, music director, singer, and vocal coach. A few of his theatre writing credits are: Joy, Terrível Incrivel Aventura, Primavera Leste, and Uma Surpresa Encantada.

Ernie Bird (born Ernest Deriabin) is a musical theatre composer, audio/live sound engineer, singer, producer, songwriter, arranger, actor. He's a finalist of the Curtain Up Musical Theatre Writing Competition 2017, winner of the International Songwriting Competition 2012 and semi-finalist of 2013 and 2017, and finalist of International Folk Festival 2015 (Boston, MA) Having majored in Music Production & Engineering, Music Management, and Musical Theatre Writing at Berklee College of Music, Ernie was nominated by Berklee for the Audio Engineering Society Recording Competition 2016 award. He acted in "Legally Blonde", "Cabaret", "Midsummer Night's Dream" and other musicals, written a musical with his partner Steph Carlin - "The Show Must Go On", and recorded & mixed 17-piece Berklee Musical Theatre orchestras at BPC, Boston. Currently, Ernie Bird is pursuing an MFA in Musical Theatre Writing at NYU Tisch. He is a librettist and composer of "Dotted Line" musical based on Ukraine's history of communist oppression.

Josh Ben-Ami is a musical theater composer living in Manhattan. Originally from Scarsdale, NY, Josh received a BA from NYU Gallatin School of Individualized Study, and is now an MFA candidate at NYU Tisch's Graduate Musical Theatre Writing Program. Josh has written dozens of songs with a variety of collaborators, and has had his work performed at Dixon Place and The Duplex. Most recently, he composed the score for MAYA'S MOTHER, a short-form musical, with book and lyrics by James Salem. He and James are currently pursuing several full-length musical concepts. Follow him on Instagram @JoshNotGroban

Durra Leung was born and raised in China and now calls NYC home. He is the writer of multiple Chinese pop music radio hits and the 2010 ShineWorld Songwriting Contest Best Composer recipient. He began writing music after being inspired by heartbreak. Since his United States debut as a composer at Feinstein's/54 Below in January 2018, Durra has also presented his works at Joe's Pub, The Duplex, The Laurie Beechman Theatre, Wild Project, The PIT, and etc. Follow on Instagram @alldurra