Stephen Schwartz Workshop for Australian Musical Theatre Writers

Calling all composers: Come play the Festival of Broadway.

The Festival is Australia’s only musical theatre festival in the southern hemisphere – held in Tasmania in June - where the actual composers, writers and stars of Broadway gather together for a week of concerts, masterclasses and forums to celebrate The American Stage Musical.

This year, Academy and Grammy Award winning composer Stephen Schwartz will perform live on-stage with the Festival of Broadway Band, musically directed by one of Australia’s finest conductors, Kevin Purcell.

“We want composers from all over Australia to attend the Festival and work with Stephen and other acclaimed musicians and teachers,” Professor Purcell, Head of the University of Tasmania’s Conservatorium of Music, said.

The Festival revolves around a training opportunity for Australian writers of musicals (composers, librettists and lyricists) in a two-day workshop of new work convened by a panel led by Stephen Schwartz and joined by leading Australian and American theatrical directors, composers and performers.

“Either side of the workshop we will stage two major concerts, featuring Stephen Schwartz’s Broadway Musicals in Hobart and Sydney. In Hobart only, there will also be an additional concert on June 15 of Stephen’s non-show catalogue songs, and his film music including songs from Pocahontas, Gepetto and Disney’s 2007 blockbuster fantasy film, Enchanted.

“The first concert, on June 12, will showcase songs from all Schwartz’s musical shows, performed by the Festival of Broadway Orchestra with Emmy Award winning vocalists, Liz Callaway, and the incomparable Michael Rose, both direct from New York City. The same concert will be performed on Sunday, June 20 in Sydney at City Recital Hall, Angel Place.”

Tickets to both these concerts go on sale on April 17, 2010. For more details, visit www.utas.edu.au/music.

Writers interested in applying for participation in the ASCAP Musical Theatre Workshop in Hobart should submit the following:

• A CD of four (4) songs with lyric sheets
• A brief description of each song as to its plot placement
• A brief synopsis of the musical
• Biographical information for each composer, lyricist & book writer
• Contact information for each collaborator.”

Send complete submission package to:
ASCAP Musical Theatre Workshop
C/- UTAS, Conservatorium of Music
Private Bag 63
Hobart TAS 7001