Songbook Academy: 2017 National Finalists Announced

We recently announced the forty young singers who will travel to Carmel, Indiana, this summer for the Songbook Academy, our week-long intensive for high schoolers. Click here to view a list! We received a record number of applications for this year’s program, and the talent of the applicants was immense. Our recently expanded team of screeners carefully reviewed the applicants’ video submissions and rated their performances. Every applicant has now received detailed written feedback and thoughtful critiques from five members of the screener panel. We’ll be sharing LOTS of information about the Songbook Academy on our social media channels over the next couple months. Make sure you’re following us!

Ella's One Hundredth Birthday Party

On April 25, the Songbook Exhibit Gallery had extended hours for a very good reason -- Ella Fitzgerald’s one hundredth birthday celebration. Ella sang out as guests mingled indoors and on the west balcony of the Palladium. They shared stories about Ella, ate cake, toasted to her memory and enjoyed her favorite beverage, Diet Coke. Just before the party concluded, additional guests appeared, talented members of the Naptown Stomp and Lindy Hop Society. Swinging standards sung by Ella filled the air as the Exhibit Gallery became a dance floor and the First Lady of Jazz helped make lasting, happy, new memories. 

PERFECT Harmony Continues to Thrive!

Songbook Archivist Lisa Lobdell was the guiding force behind the initiation of our PERFECT Harmony program for seniors with memory loss, Alzheimer's, dementia, and other neurodegenerative disorders. We asked her to tell us in her own words what it has been like to develop this program over the past eighteen months. Here's what she had to say!

Click the image at left to see a group of PERFECT Harmony participants making music and having fun at one of our "Fiesta"-themed sessions in the month of May.

Songbook Foundation Receives Major Grant from Efroymson Family Foundation

The Efroymson Family Fund, a personal foundation of the Central Indiana Community Foundation, will again be the National Sponsor for the Songbook Academy in 2017. We are grateful to the Efroymsons for their continued support of our programs. Click here to learn more about how this generous gift will impact the talented young musicians who will travel to Carmel this summer for the Songbook Academy.

Volunteer Profile: Janice Roger

As a small nonprofit organization, the Songbook Foundation depends on a team of dedicated volunteers who assist us with the Songbook Exhibit Gallery, provide tours to our visitors and tour groups, and complete a wide variety of projects in the Songbook Archives. 

Visit our website to learn more about Cantor Janice Roger, a member of our collections processing team who has played a significant role in the musical life of Indianapolis' Jewish community for several decades. Janice also recently described her efforts as a Collections Processor for the Songbook Blog... click here to read!