Looking for a show to work on!

The show I was supposed to be music directing this spring has been canceled due to poor turnout at auditions. This means that I now have a big gap in my schedule for March-May. (I am also looking for work for 2011-2012.)

Although I am most interested in DIRECTING, I am also a terrific music director (although I am not a conductor), a kick-ass stage manager, and a musical-theater accompanist (opera only if I have time to practice; can sight-read most musical scores).

Have your whole creative team, but need some other support? I also do arts marketing and publicity, and will work for either an hourly rate, or offer you a package for a set fee.

You can check out my resumes here:

Director (primarily Opera & Musical Theater)
Music Director/Pianist
Stage Manager
Arts Management

References available upon request.

Come see my directing work:

La Belle Helene - Feb. 25-27 and March 4-6
Victorian Lyric Opera Company, Rockville, MD

Any leads are gratefully appreciated!

Debbie Grossman
DCGrossmanARTS.com

Calling all Fans of Tap Dancing!

An amazing tap studio is in danger of closing. Grants and other funding sources are drying up everywhere.

Are you a tap dancer? Do you enjoy watching tap dancing in stage shows or movies? Do you just want to do the right thing, and help a worthwhile organization?

Please read the letter below, from the Board of Directors of Tappers with Attitude/Knock on Wood Tap Studio. Then, please consider making a donation. If you have connections or pull with any organizations that might be able to help, please send that information to the Board of Directors.

Thank you for your help!
Debbie Grossman
Tap Fan and mom to a fabulous young tapper

A Letter from the Board of Directors of Tappers With Attitude, Inc. to the Friends of Knock On Wood Tap Studio and Tappers With Attitude, Inc.

Website: http://www.tapperswithattitude.org/

January 2011

The members of the Board of Directors of TWA, Inc. wish all of our friends a happy and healthy new year. As you know, 2010 was a challenging one for TWA, Inc. As 2011 begins, it is with heavy hearts that we provide this update on the organization’s status.

Last summer, we launched a campaign to “Save our Studio” and you, the friends of KOW and TWA, came through big-time. We raised enough money to pay the rent that was past due and to continue to operate the Studio. Under Studio Manager Courtenay Swinton’s leadership, our Fall Session included 20 classes for tap dancers of all ages and skill levels, and our Winter Session with a similar number of classes is just beginning. Enrollment in classes has been solid if not spectacular. Courtenay has also held several additional events at the Studio, such as parties and tap-jams, to have fun and raise much-needed funds. Courtenay has also effectively identified individuals and organizations, including a new tap group named Capital Tap under the direction of Lisa Swenton-Eppard and Baakari Wilder, to rent the Studio when classes are not being held.

Unfortunately, despite these successes and promising developments, the current financial state of the Studio is not good. Other sources of funds critical to continuing to operate the Studio have not been forthcoming.

The Board developed what we thought was an excellent proposal to obtain additional funding from the Arts and Humanities Council of Montgomery County (AHCMC), an organization that has provided steady and significant financial support to TWA, Inc. over the years. To our dismay, we learned in late December that this funding was not granted. This outcome also puts in jeopardy other foundation funding explicitly contingent on obtaining the grant from AHCMC.

The Board was counting on the funds from AHCMC and other funders to kick-start our operations in 2011. Without these funds, we find ourselves once again in a crisis situation. We are actively talking to potential funders to see if we can find a way out of this crisis, but to be frank we are not optimistic that sufficient funding will be provided soon enough to keep the Studio open.

We are all heart-broken at this news and at its potential implications. We know that all of us hope we can find a way to keep Knock On Wood Tap Studio open for business and, more importantly, open to continue to create the magic that happens at KOW.

We invite all of you to contact one of us if you have any questions.

And, if you have ideas for possible funding sources that can help keep the Studio open, now is the time to bring them to the Board’s attention.

A million thanks to you all for your support of KOW and TWA over the years. Please understand how grateful the Board is for your support of the uniquely American art form of rhythm tap. No matter what happens over the next few months, it is important that we all keep dancing and that we all continue to have a song in our hearts.

With great fondness for you all,

The Board of Directors of Tappers With Attitude, Inc.

Tim Daniel, President (tpdaniel1955@gmail.com)
Ruth Silverstein, Vice-President
Penny Passikoff, Secretary
Dana Bynum, Co-Treasurer
Dr. Kindra Ingram, Co-Treasurer
Kisha Logan
Yvonne Edwards [Co-founder of Tappers With Attitude Youth Ensemble and Knock On Wood Tap Studio]

Website : http://www.tapperswithattitude.org/

WAMMIE Nominations for some of my favorite groups & individuals!

A number of my favorite groups and individuals have been nominated for WAMMIE awards. These awards are from WAMA – the Washington Area Music Association – and recognize “significant career achievements by area musicians.” It’s a real honor just to be nominated.

Congratulations to Doug Bowles & His SingCo Rhythm Orchestra, Washington Revels, Charlie Pilzer, Jennifer Cutting, Mary Cliff, and all the other nominees!

If you are already a WAMA member you should have received your online ballot. You, as a music lover, can join WAMA (just $35, and it supports a whole range of great local musical resources). Then cast your votes! (Make sure you really join, because WAMA will check, and if any voters turn out to be non-members, it will look bad for the group or person you are voting for.)

To become eligible to vote:

• Go to https://plus9.safe-order.net/crosstownarts/wama/apply_for_membership.html, an online membership form where you can sign up with your credit card.
• Then, go to: http://www.wamadc.com/wama/wammies/wbal25.htm which is an online clickable ballot.

And the nice part of it is, you can vote in as many categories as you want. If you follow classical, folk, or [name your genre] and have any favorite group or artist on the ballot, vote for them too!

Voting ends THIS FRIDAY, January 21, 2011 at 10pm.

I cast (some of) my votes for:

* BIG BAND/SWING VOCALIST -- Doug Bowles
* BIG BAND/SWING GROUP -- Doug Bowles & His SingCo Rhythm Orchestra
* BIG BAND/SWING RECORDING -- New Deal Rhythm CD (Doug Bowles, with Alex Hassan, piano --incorrectly called “New Deal Swing” on the ballot)

* FOLK - TRADITIONAL DUO/GROUP – Jennifer Cutting’s OCEAN ORCHESTRA

* MUSICAL THEATER ARTIST -- Washington Revels

* EXECUTIVE OF THE YEAR -- Greg Lewis, Washington Revels

* STUDIO ENGINEER -- Charlie Pilzer (producer for Washington Revel’s new CD, Le temps des Fêtes)

* RECORDING STUDIO -- Airshow Mastering (Charlie Pilzer’s studio)

* MOST SUPPORTIVE OF WASHINGTON MUSIC -- Mary Cliff (of WAMU Radio’s “Traditions”)

Deadline to vote is Friday, January 21^st – so vote early, and encourage your WAMA friends to vote too!

Winter 2011 - Beer, Jazz, and Funk!

CAPITAL CITY SYMPHONY

Happy Hour Fundraiser

Thursday, January 20^th
6pm-9pm

The Red & the Black Bar
1212 H St. NE, Washington, DC

$10 suggested donation at the door,
all proceeds benefit the Capital City Symphony.

Come support the orchestra, mingle with the players, and take advantage of great drink specials!

$3 Rail Drinks $3 Beers: PBR, Miller Lite, Yuengling, Abita

CapitalCitySymphony.org

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Doug Bowles & Alex Hassan
CD Release Concert

Sunday, Jan 23, 2011 - 2:00 PM

Jordan Kitts New Location
8500 Lee Highway
Fairfax, VA 22031

Ticket Prices : $13.00 Adults, $12.00 Seniors/Students
(Advance Reservations Are Required)

Doug Bowles (tenor) and Alex Hassan (piano), will perform a concert of songs from America's Great Depression era to celebrate the release of their new CD: New Deal Rhythm - Musical Cures For The Depression Blues

Details & Tickets: http://www.nvrs.org/events.php

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CAPITAL CITY SYMPHONY

A Night of Strings and Funk:

Capital City Symphony Meets New Retro

Saturday, February 26 at 7:00pm

Presented as part of INTERSECTIONS: A New America Arts Festival at the Atlas Performing Arts Center, Feb 25 - Mar 13, 2011

Details & Tickets at: http://intersectionsdc.org/

"New Deal Rhythm" CD Release Concert & Party - Sunday, January 9, 2011

DOUG BOWLES & ALEX HASSAN
New Deal Rhythm:
Songs to relieve those depression blues

CD Release Concert & Party!
at the Lyceum in Alexandria

Sunday, January 9, 2011
4:00-6:00pm
FREE!

"New Deal Rhythm: Songs to relieve those depression blues," a new CD by Alex Hassan, pianist extraordinaire and SingoCo Music's own crooner, Doug Bowles.

A fantastic selection of amazing music from and about the American Depression. PERFECT for these times. If you replace Depression with Recession, and Roosevelt with Obama, and Communism with Socialism, it's the same darn thing! This music is one bit of history we are not doomed, but blessed to repeat.

FREE event. Seating is first come first served.

Concert 4:00-5:30pm with intermission.

Post show light reception and CD signing from 5:30-6:00 pm.

CD Price 15 bucks. Bring cash or checks - not credit card capable yet.

Sponsored by the Alexandria Performing Arts Association
At The Lyceum, 201 South Washington St., Alexandria, VA

Excerpts on YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bZxl6ufoRXc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WJdLq0NuOiA

SingcoMusic.com