2009 Instructors
We're excited to announce the beginning of the faculty list for the 2009 Song School. Look for many more instructor additions over the coming months (check out the 2008 and 2007 faculty lists below for an idea). Song School are available now - online or 800-624-2422.
Songwriting Instructors
Pat Pattison | Steve Seskin | Vance Gilbert | Paul Reisler | more to be announced...
Elective Instructors
Ron Browning | Ellis | Terri Mazurek | many, many more to be announced...
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Vance Gilbert burst onto the singer/songwriter scene in the early 90 ’s when the buzz started spreading in the folk clubs of Boston about an ex-jazz singer who was knocking ‘em dead at open mikes. The word spread of this Philadelphia born and raised performer to New York; Shawn Colvin invited Vance to be a special guest on her Fat City tour. Gilbert took audiences by storm ( “With the voice of an angel, the wit of a devil, and the guitar of a god, it was enough to earn him a rarity: an encore for an opener ” wrote the Fort Worth Star-Telegram in its review of a show from that tour). Gilbert ’s five albums, with guests as varied as jazz greats, Tuck and Patti, Jonatha Brooke, Patty Larkin, Dee Carstensen, Vinx, and Issa (formerly Jane Siberry), are essential ingredients to the American singer-songwriter collection. His presence, both as performer and teacher, will renew your belief in the importance of songwriting. 
Pat Pattison is an author, clinician and Berklee Professor of Lyric Writing and Poetry whose students have composed for major artists and written number one songs. At Berklee, he developed the curriculum for the only songwriting major in the country. His books, including Songwriting: Essential Guide to Rhyming and Songwriting: Essential Guide to Lyric Form and Structure, are recognized as definitive in their genre, and have earned many ecstatic reviews. His clinics are attended by songwriters all over the country, and his articles appear regularly in a variety of industry publications.
PAUL REISLER has been performing and writing for over 30 years. He was the
founder of Trapezoid and performed close to 3,000 concerts worldwide. He has
been involved in over 35 recording projects in various roles as a musician,
engineer, producer and composer. He has just released a new album of
original songs with his new band, Paul Reisler and a Thousand Questions
featuring Angela Kaset and Howard Levy called At Night the Roses Tango.
He is the founder and director of Kid Pan Alley™ and has now written over
800 songs with over 18,000 children nationally. Their recent CD, Kid Pan
Alley Nashville, features many of that city’s best-known artists recording
the songs written with the children. That album received a Grammy nomination
and won both Parents’ Choice and NAPPA Gold Awards.
He has taught songwriting to adults at workshops and songwriting schools
throughout the country including the Rocky Mountain Song School, Utah Song
School, Swannanoa Gathering, Blue Ridge Songcamp, Augusta Workshop,
Hollyhock, Kerrville, NSAI, Songcamp in the Mountains and many others.
He’s currently working on a Kid Pan Alley musical, a full-length piece for
orchestra and narrator based on Aesop’s Fables, and a new Kid Pan Alley CD
in Charlottesville, VA.
Steve Seskin started out in the 70’s as a street musician in San Francisco, and has steadily built an exceptionally successful career both as a songwriter and as a performer. He has written seven number one songs, including Grammy-nominated “Grown Men Don’t Cry,” recorded by Tim McGraw, and “Don’t Laugh at Me,” winner of NSAI Song of the Year and Music Row Magazine Song of the Year as recorded by Mark Wills. While Steve is best known for writing hits, he is also a successful performer and recording artist. His latest recording is "Two Paper Town." He is also a sought after songwriting teacher participating in seminars for the NSAI, West coast Songwriters and at many folk festivals. He is often a guest lecturer at the Berklee School of Music, The JMC Academy and McNally Smith College.
“Don’t Laugh at Me” was also recorded by Peter, Paul and Mary and became the impetus for the Operation Respect/Don’t Laugh at Me project, a curriculum designed to teach tolerance that has been taught in more than 20,000 schools across the country. The song is now available as a children’s book, Don’t Laugh At Me, which was a featured book on PBS’s Reading Rainbow. His latest book is called "Sing My Song" (a kids guide to songwriting) It is a "how to" book for kids interested in writing songs. The goal of that program is to instill a love of creativity in kids at an early age and to put more songs into the world about love, kindness and respect.
A native of eastern Kentucky, Ron Browning has been immersed in both performing and fine arts since childhood. His educational background include a BME in voice and piano from the University of Kentucky, post-graduate studies and teaching credentials from University of California at Northridge, and a Professional Designation of Recording Arts and Sciences at UCLA. Ron currently resides in Nashville, TN where he teaches privately and is on staff at the Nashville Jazz Workshop. As a vocal coach, his students range from major recording artists, to star attractions on subscription series, to acts for Vegas showrooms. He also grooms singers for their very first public performance and works with all genres of music. His vocal method is based on the use of natural voice that one uses everyday -- at work, at home, and at play. He believes that if you can speak, you can sing. He is gifted at being able to quickly identify and remove the stumbling blocks that prevent clear and easy voice. One of his students, Patti LaBelle says of Ron: "he is a miracle worker. He is phenomenal and I thank him for my voice." As a songwriter, Ron's achievements include hits with RCA, special writing assignments for Paramount Television, a dance suite for the Royal Winnipeg Ballet, an original long-running musical in Los Angeles, and orchestrations and incidental music for Franklin Lacey, co-author of The Music Man. Ron is presently writing a vocal method text based on his work and the seminars that he does both locally and across the country.
Ellis is a nationally-known touring
singer, songwriter and guitarist known for her powerful vocals, charismatic
stage presence and playful sense of humor. She founded her own record
company at age 18 and has released six albums including the critically
acclaimed Break The Spell (2008). Though she keeps a full-time touring
schedule, she has maintained a loyal following in her home base of
Minneapolis, where she has been named "Best Musician" for the past five
consecutive years. This will be her third year teaching at Song School with
her partner in crime, Terri Mazurek. A past Song School attendee, she was
also a finalist in the Folks Festival Songwriter Showcase in 2005 and she
performed on the main stage in 2007.
Terri Mazurek is a Minneapolis-based social worker turned booking agent.
What started as a brief consulting gig for a local musician turned into a
full-time music career. Terri founded Peppermint Booking Agency in 2000
and currently represents eight nationally touring musicians on the college
circuit. She received the National Association of Campus Activities award
of "Agent of the Year" in 2005 and has helped six of her eight artists to
receive showcases at the regional and national college conferences. She
also collaborates with nationally touring folk/rock musician Ellis,
co-managing her record company Rubberneck Records. Terri applies her
social work training in her music career, and she is known for her
passionate commitment to helping artists reach their full potential. In
addition to coaching musicians and helping them to set goals and action
plans, Terri has taught workshops at several festivals and music
conferences throughout North America.
Past Instructors
2008 Song School Instructors
Josh Ritter, Melissa Ferrick, Pat Pattison, Susan Werner, Steve Seskin, Vance Gilbert, Paul Reisler, Carmen Allgood, "Chicago" Mike Beck, Michael Bowers, Ron Browning, Tim Burlingame, Ellis, Rebecca Folsom, Jagoda, Jennifer JJ Jones, Arthur Lee Land, Terri Mazurek, Bill Nash, Brendan Okrent, Julie Portman, Siobhan Quinn, Justin Roth, Alan Rowoth, Kathrin Shorr, Moira Smiley, Amy Speace, and Annie Wenz.
2007 Song School Instructors
Peter Himmelman, Darrell Scott, Mary Gauthier, Zoe Lewis, Catie Curtis, Steve Seskin, Vance Gilbert, Arthur Lee Land, Moira Smiley, Annie Wenz, Rebecca Folsom, Ellis, Terri Mazurek, Alan Rowoth, Amy Speace, Kathrin Shorr, Tim Burlingame, Jennifer "JJ" Jones, Siobhan Quinn, Michael Bowers, Anna Wolfe, Justin Roth, Ben Wisch, Carmen Allgood, and "Chicago" Mike Beck.
