Music Director Archives • Maestra

Arts and Activism

Whether counting Americans for the census, participating in musical protest marches, composing songs to help get out the vote, or founding new musical organizations intended to champion a more diverse group of voices, these artist-activists are using their musicals skills and knowledge to empower others and to make the world a more equitable place.

Women Who Wow Us: Spotlight 18 (Carmel Dean)

Women Who Wow Us: Spotlight 18. We interviewed Carmel Dean, a Composer, Arranger, Music Director and Pianist. Her musical Renascence was produced Off-Broadway by the award-winning Transport Group, and was named Best New Musical at the 2018 Off-Broadway Alliance Awards.

Women Who Wow Us: Spotlight 16 (Lynne Shankel)

Women Who Wow Us: Spotlight 16. We interviewed Lynne Shankel, an award-winning orchestrator, arranger, music director, and composer. She was music supervisor/arranger/orchestrator for Allegiance on Broadway and was the first woman to solely orchestrate a new musical on Broadway.

Women Who Wow Us: Spotlight 12 (Kathy Sommer)

Women Who Wow Us: Spotlight 12. We interviewed Kathy Sommer, a Grammy nominated, multi-platinum songwriter and producer, and composer for television and film, as well as a highly accomplished Broadway conductor. Her songs have appeared on over 10 million records, and her Broadway credits as a conductor include Disney’s Beauty & The Beast, City of Angels, Cats, and the Tony Nominated Romance Romance.

Women Who Wow Us: Spotlight 10 (Rona Siddiqui)

Women Who Wow Us: Spotlight 10. We interviewed Rona Siddiqui, an award-winning composer/lyricist and music director based in NYC. Her show Salaam Medina: Tales of a Halfghan, an autobiographical comedy about growing up bi-ethnic in America, will be receiving a workshop in the fall of 2019, and she is the recipient of this year’s Billie Burke Ziegfeld Award.

Women Who Wow Us: Week Nine (Emily Grishman)

Women Who Wow Us: Week Nine. This week, we interviewed Emily Grishman, a music copyist who specializes in providing music for the theatre and has been the music preparation supervisor for over 125 Broadway productions. She has worked on countless not-for-profit and regional shows and also prepares music for film and television recording sessions.