Vivian Nesbitt - host and moderator

Each session will be focused by our excellent moderator Vivian Nesbitt, who has years of experience interviewing and drawing information out of guests as co-host of the nationally syndicated Art of the Song Creativity Radio. Vivian will pose the questions you want asked and keep each hour focused and truly useful.

[visit Vivian’s Creativity Coaching website]

James Lee Stanley - JUST ADDED!

JAMES LEE STANLEY, the true renaissance man, was born in Philadelphia, PA, and has been recording and performing since he was fourteen. He has toured consistently since he returned from the USAF (as a Chinese linguist) and has performed up to three hundred dates a year since then, with such diverse acts as BONNIE RAITT, ROBIN WILLIAMS, NICOLETTE LARSON and even BILL COSBY. STEVEN WRIGHT chose James Lee as his opening act for three years in a row; a testament to his professionalism and talent.

[visit James’s website]

Gretchen Peters - Romancing the Muse

The balance between art and craft is a delicate one; to write a great song requires an understanding and cultivation of both. While craft is widely discussed and dissected in songwriting workshops, art is not – possibly because it’s a much more elusive and difficult subject. During this hour we’ll explore our delicate relationship with the Muse, how to welcome her into the writing space, remain open to the illogical, recognize and honor our songwriting instincts, and keep “the Editor” away (for awhile!) while allowing creative play to happen.

[visit Gretchen’s website]

Mary Gauthier - Find Your Voice, Speak Your Truth

I’ll focus on finding your voice and speaking your truth, because what you have to say is important and you never know who you might help in the process. I like to explore WHY we write and discuss our motives behind the impulse to write songs. Understanding why we write makes us better writers. In the arts, and particularly in songwriting, the WHY is every bit as important as the HOW. I’ll use my experiences as a writer and recording artist to highlight the lessons I hope to teach.

[visit Mary’s website]

Susan Raeburn - Self Care for Musicians: staying supported and sane

Susan has had a lifelong interest in the emotional and practical issues of musicians, in part because of her parents, the Big Band era professional musicians Boyd Raeburn and Ginnie Powell. She wrote her dissertation on self-care for musicians, works as a psychologist specializing in artists’ care, and is a member of the Editorial Board of the journal, Medical Problems of Performing Artists. Susan has presented widely at music industry conferences like South by Southwest, North by Northwest, NARAS, the Future of Music Coalition, and The Experience Music Project and as an expert on E! Entertainment TV.

Eric Maisel - Performance Anxiety: techniques to unleash your best performance

Don’t let performance anxiety slow you down. Learn a dozen powerful stage fright management techniques from America’s foremost creativity coach—who’s also written the book on performance anxiety (Performance Anxiety, Back Stage Books). Eric’s other books include The Van Gogh Blues, Fearless Creating, Coaching the Artist Within, Creative Recovery, The Creativity Book, and Creativity for Life. Learn how to stop performance anxiety in its tracks with an arsenal of proven techniques.

[visit Eric’s website]

Michael Shorr - Getting Your Music in Film and on TV

Michael Shorr is the Creative Director of Chocolate Strawberry Studios, a company that creates innovative music for new paradigm marketing. A UNM-Taos professor and graduate of the Berklee College of Music, he appears weekly as the Song Analyst on the nationally-syndicated radio program Art of the Song. Michael will teach you how to get your music into films and onto television. Who and where are the people who choose music for the media? How can you get them to actually listen to your music? What resources are there to help you? What are the legal issues involved in music scores? How do you get paid? Learn how composers and songwriters have successfully gotten their music into film and on TV and get the tools you need for doing it yourself.

[visit Michael’s website]

Andrew McKnight - How to Make a Viable Tour from the Resources in Reach

Award-winning folk and Americana artist Andrew McKnight’s musical journey has traced nearly half a million miles of blue highways nationwide and earned him a wealth of critical acclaim and enthusiastic fans for his captivating performances and five CDs on the independent Falling Mountain Music label; Learn from the Shenandoah Valley-based performer how to find and use the many available resources to create a viable tour for yourself so that you can get your music heard all over the country. Whether or not you have a label, these touring tips will help you get out on the road, performing your music.

[visit Andrew’s website]

Rebecca Folsom - How to Make Money: using your gifts to support you

Rebecca Folsom has been teaching the Art of Creative Freedom for over 15 years. She brings a unique approach as musical artist, fine artist, healing artist, and teacher. She and has taught performance, writing, and artist sustainability workshops at the Rocky Mountain Song School, Music in the Mountains, and the Kerrville Folk Festival. She loves helping artists deepen their personal presence, expand their creative mastery, and drop into the enjoyment of the process. Rebecca will explore what gifts you bring to the table and how you can realistically plug into the revenue streams available to you. Looking deeply into what it is you really want to do and what talents you have, she’ll walk you through the process of opening doors to financial compensation as a musician.

[visit Rebecca’s website]

Celeste Krenz - Booking Gigs that Pay – What are you really willing to do?

The highly praised singer Celeste Krenz’s latest venture is co-owner of a new kind of record company, High Horse Records, with partner and Nashville veteran Wyatt Easterling. She’s going to talk about the the Arts Consortium Conferences all around the country. Every where from North Dakota and Kansas to the small towns in Idaho. These communities block book so you go out for 7 to 10 days and do a show every night and workshops in the schools during the day. She will talk about: What it takes to get these shows, How to approach the workshops, Career Gigs vs Money Gigs, The 15 minute showcase – Making an impact, The booth and The follow through

[visit Celeste’s website]

Michael Bowers - Personal to Universal: from journal writing to a song all can relate to

Songwriters struggle to find their unique voice as a writer—and sometimes to find any voice at all! Michael’s session will focus on methods that will help you bring your unique perspective and voice to your writing. You will take away tools and resources that will allow you to discover, focus, and present your ideas, your way, within the structure and form of modern acoustically based music. By the end you’ll not only be able to look back at your body of work and see how your voice has emerged, you’ll be empowered to make choices about how you wish to reflect your unique voice in the songs you have yet to write!

[visit Michael’s website]

Siobhán Quinn - Interpreting and personalizing a song in performance

Siobhán Quinn is one of the best vocal instructors on the market. Her careful attention to each individual is renowned, and students often return to her workshops learning new tools each time. Siobhan also writes and performs songs in folk, blues and adult contemporary pop styles and performs with Michael Bowers This session will focus on Siobhán’s successful process of getting your own voice to reflect the unique emotional center and perspective of your song, whatever the style. By the end of the hour you will be well on the way to creating a landscape of emotion with your voice.

[visit Siobhan’s website]

Tom Prasada-Rao - Recording on a Budget: how to get your best work recorded

Tom Prasada-Rao burst on the scene in 1992 and has not let up since. He’s won awards, played major music festivals with many of his heroes, and headlined at singer-songwriter venues across the country. Tom is also a multi instrumentalist doubling on sitar, violin, piano, mandolin, fretless bass, and percussion on his own recordings, as well as contributing harmonies and guitars on a host of other albums. In this hour Tom will explain how to use the latest technology in recording, how to bring out your best work, and how to do it all on a budget.

[visit Tom’s website]

Affiliate Program: Make money by signing up your friends!

This program is sort of amazing. Join us as an Affiliate and you will receive a 30% commission on every registration referral you generate. That’s over $50 per registration. Let your friends and associates know about The Songwriters TeleSummit and if four of them register, you will pay nothing to attend! And for each additional sign up, you will make money.

[Make Money as an Affiliate!]

Upon submitting your sign up form you will receive an email with your Affiliate Link, log in and password. You may start using the Affiliate Link right away in emails and newsletters. Once you receive the email with your code, log in and password, you can use the Affiliate Members Button in the navigation bar on the right of this page to visit the Affiliate Resource Center at anytime to track your earnings!

Note: You can become an affiliate whether or not you want to attend TeleSummit. Our affiliate program is available to anyone who wants to let folks know about The Songwriters TeleSummit. So join now!

Absolutely No Risk!

We appreciate the trust it takes to order anything on the Internet. So, if for any reason, after attending the live event or listening to the recorded version you are unsatisfied, we will cheerfully refund your money. Just let us know by the end of August 2009 and we’ll take care of your request right away.