Great American Songbook Winner to Perform National Anthem at Colts Game, 12/14

Maddie Baillio, the 2014 winner of the Great American Songbook Academy will perform the National Anthem at the Dec. 14 Colts game at Lucas Oil Stadium. The 18-year-old from League City, Texas was the winner in the 2014 competition, held at the Palladium concert hall in July. In addition to the Colts game performance, Baillio will debut at New York City's Birdland jazz club on December 16, performing alongside Michael Feinstein, founder of the Great American Songbook Foundation and artistic director at the Center for the Performing Arts. Baillio is the Great American Songbook Youth Ambassador, a one year title.

"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. 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.

Baillio is now a freshman at Marymount Manhattan College in New York City, where she studies theatre. She has sung tunes from the Songbook recorded by Etta James and Betty Hutton among others, and was drawn to the music because the lyrics and melodies were so genuine and truthful. She believes the music has staying power because there is so much heart and wit written into each lyric.

Baillio joined eleven other high school vocalists at the week-long academy, held in the Indiana city of Carmel. The annual event is sponsored by the Great American Songbook Foundation and is the only U.S. high school program dedicated solely to the music from Broadway, Hollywood musicals and the Tin Pan Alley era of the early to mid-twentieth century.

The December 16 performance in will mark the kick-off for the 2015 Songbook Academy. The application will be available online at www.TheSongbook.org until March 25, 2015. High school students grades 9-12 have the opportunity to participate. Forty students will be invited to the Songbook Foundation's headquarters in Carmel, IN, July 18-25, 2015, to participate in a seven-day academy on interpreting and performing the music of the Great American Songbook. Five-time Grammy nominee, Michael Feinstein, and other top music industry professionals will conduct workshops and master classes throughout the week. The final performance will be held in the 1,600 seat Palladium Concert Hall at the Center for the Performing Arts.

Students will be eligible for various awards and recognition opportunities. One student will be awarded the title of Great American Songbook Youth Ambassador and the chance of a lifetime: the opportunity to perform with two-time Emmy and five-time Grammy Award nominated entertainer and founder of the Songbook Foundation, Michael Feinstein. The Youth Ambassador will serve for one year and will have opportunities to perform throughout the year.

Participation in the Songbook Academy is open to high school students who are U.S. residents and live in the continental United States. For more information, visit www.TheSongbook.org.

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