Jessie Mueller, Lorna Courtney and More Join The Songbook Academy as Guest Mentors

 A celebrated group of award-winning stars from stage and screen will join The Songbook Academy 2025 as guest mentors during the Great American Songbook Foundation’s annual summer music intensive set to take place July 12-19 at Allied Solutions Center for the Performing Arts in Carmel, Indiana.
 
In addition to founder of the Great American Songbook Foundation, Michael Feinstein, an impressive group of performers and entertainment professionals have been assembled to help lead the 40 student participants at The Songbook Academy. This group includes Jessie Mueller and Nikki Renée Daniels, appearing during the week’s public events, as well as Kate Baldwin, Lorna Courtney, Catherine Russell and A.J. Shively, leading private masterclasses and workshops.
 

·         Michael Feinstein is the multi-platinum-selling, two-time Emmy and five-time GRAMMY® Award-nominated entertainer known as “The Ambassador of the Great American Songbook.” Feinstein founded the Great American Songbook Foundation in 2007 and serves as Artistic Director for Allied Solutions Center for the Performing Arts.

·         Jessie Mueller originated the role of Carole King in Beautiful: The Carole King Musical, earning a Tony Award, Drama Desk Award, and GRAMMY Award for her performance. She went on to originate the role of Jenna in Waitress (Tony, Drama Desk, and GRAMMY nominations) and starred as Julie Jordan in Carousel, winning the Drama Desk Award and receiving Tony and GRAMMY nominations. Most recently, she appeared on Broadway in Tracy Letts’ The Minutes.

·         Nikki Renée Daniels has appeared in 12 Broadway productions, including Once Upon a Mattress (Lady Larken), The Book of Mormon (Nabulungi), Les Misérables (Fantine), and the Tony Award-winning revivals of Company (Jenny) and The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess (Clara). She portrayed Angelica Schuyler in Hamilton at the CIBC Theater in Chicago. On screen, Nikki’s film and television credits include The Other Woman, Billions, The Equalizer, Chappelle’s Show, Madam Secretary, and The Sound of Music: Live.

·         Kate Baldwin is a two-time Tony and four-time Drama Desk Award nominee, celebrated for her roles in Hello, Dolly!, Big Fish, Finian’s Rainbow, and more. She has performed in concert with the American Pops Orchestra, New York Pops, Boston Pops, National Symphony, the American Songbook series at Lincoln Center, and the Kennedy Center. On television, her work includes a guest star on NBC’s Law & Order: SVU the Disney + series Just Beyond and The Gilded Age.

·         Lorna Courtney starred as Juliet in the hit Broadway musical & Juliet, for which she was nominated for a Tony Award and a Drama League Award for Distinguished Performance and won the Clive Barnes Award for Theatre. She is currently starring in the new Off-Broadway revival of Heathers at New World Stages. Her previous credits include the premiere episode of The Equalizer (guest lead opposite Queen Latifah) and Broadway’s Dear Evan Hansen and the revival of West Side Story directed by Ivo van Hove.

·         Catherine Russell is a GRAMMY award-winning Jazz/Blues vocalist. She has released nine solo albums since 2006 and three of her solo albums, Harlem On My Mind, Alone Together and My Ideal, earned GRAMMY nominations for Best Jazz Vocal Album.  As a solo artist, Catherine has performed at major festivals and venues in the US, Europe, South America and Africa. She has also recorded and toured with artists including David Bowie, Cyndi Lauper, Jackson Browne, Paul Simon and Steely Dan.

·         A.J. Shively is an acclaimed actor with Broadway credits including Paradise Square (Tony, OCC, Chita Rivera nominations), Bright Star (Drama Desk nomination), La Cage Aux Folles; Off-Broadway credits such as Philadelphia, Here I Come, A Man of No Importance, Titanic; and TV/Film credits including Julia (HBO Max), Bull (CBS), Hunters (Amazon Prime), Homeland (Showtime), Madam Secretary (CBS), The Blacklist (NBC), Other People’s Bodies (upcoming), Syrup, and HairBrained.

The students will work throughout the week with an esteemed faculty including music directors Caelan Cardello, Jeff Harris, Oscar Hernández, Daryl Kojak and Melanie Shore, and vocal coaches Shereen Ahmed, Kathleen Hacker, MaryAnn Hu, Melvin Brandon Logan and Mary Michael Patterson. Collectively, this accomplished team includes GRAMMY winners, Broadway stars, educators from top collegiate performing arts programs, and leading professionals across the music industry.
 
Other special guests assisting with this year’s Academy include Catherine Walker as Vocal Technique Coach and Songbook Choir Director, Kenny Shepard as Guest Choreographer, Russ Kassoff as Guest Music Director for The Songbook Academy in Concert, and 2016 Songbook Academy alumna Nina White, who made her Broadway debut in Kimberly Akimbo and recently finished her run in the new Broadway-bound musical The Queen of Versailles, opposite Kristin Chenoweth.
 
The Songbook Academy, now in its 16th year, is the flagship education program of the Great American Songbook Foundation. The program includes workshops, masterclasses, and performance opportunities that help participants hone their vocal and stage skills, particularly in song interpretation, while building friendships and professional connections that last a lifetime.
 
Songbook Academy Week features public performance events at the Payne & Mencias Palladium concert hall for both live audiences and livestream viewers worldwide, offering opportunities to witness the rising stars of tomorrow alongside today’s top performers.
 

Tickets for all three of the public performances are on sale now:

·         Public Masterclass
Tuesday, July 15 | 2 p.m. ET | Payne & Mencias Palladium or Livestream

Michael Feinstein and Tony and GRAMMY award-winning actress Jessie Mueller will offer insightful critiques and real-time guidance to 10 talented vocalists randomly selected from The Songbook Academy Class of 2025.