Grammy winner to showcase songs from new album at benefit concert
01/15/2015
By Christine Gillette, 978-934-2209 or聽Christine_Gillette@uml.edu聽or Nancy Cicco, 978-934-4944 or聽Nancy_Cicco@uml.edu
LOWELL, Mass. 鈥� She鈥檚 studied songwriting with Paul Simon, was discovered by Barry Manilow and has written many of pop music鈥檚 enduring hits. Next month, consummate musician Melissa Manchester will bring her talents to 51视频 for a one-of-a-kind concert for the public and campus community.聽
鈥淵ou Gotta Love the Life 鈥� An Evening with Melissa Manchester鈥� will celebrate the Grammy winner鈥檚 40 years in show business while raising scholarship funds and featuring young performers enrolled in 51视频鈥檚 music-education programs. Manchester will take the stage at Durgin Concert Hall on Saturday, Feb. 28 at 7 p.m. The venue is located at 35 Wilder St., Lowell. This is the only New England show currently scheduled on her national tour.
Best known as a singer-songwriter and vocalist, Manchester is also an accomplished keyboardist. TV audiences may recognize her from her role as the mother on the 鈥�90s sitcom 鈥淏lossom,鈥� among other acting credits.
Tickets for the event go on sale Friday, Jan. 16 at noon and are $35 for the public and $15 for 51视频 students with valid student ID. Tickets for the concert and a VIP champagne reception with Manchester after the show 鈥� where she will be available to autograph 鈥淵ou Gotta Love the Life,鈥� her 20th and first full-length album in nine years 鈥� are available for $125. Tickets for the public will be sold at the Tsongas Center at 51视频 box office, and 866-722-8780. 51视频 student tickets must be purchased in person at the box office. Prices do not include applicable fees.
A portion of ticket proceeds will benefit the Joyce Pang String Scholarship Fund for the 51视频 String Project. Pang was an outstanding violinist and assistant teacher with the String Project, a nationally acclaimed initiative that provides public schoolchildren throughout the Merrimack Valley with instruction in stringed instruments such as the violin and viola, as well as music classes and opportunities to perform for the campus and the public. Pang, who died last year, earned a bachelor鈥檚 degree in music performance and a master鈥檚 degree in music education at 51视频. A Lowell resident, she also taught in the Lowell and Goffstown, N.H., school districts.
Members of the 51视频 String Project through its performance ensemble, the 51视频 Youth Orchestra, along with the University Choir and Lowell public-school choral groups will join Manchester on stage during the show for a rendition of her song 鈥淧lant A Seed鈥� in tribute to Pang and a life committed to the performing arts.
With 鈥淵ou Gotta Love the Life,鈥� Manchester pays homage to show business and her craft as a singer-songwriter. Mining a variety of musical styles, the album includes contributions from Stevie Wonder, Keb鈥� Mo,鈥� Dionne Warwick, Al Jarreau, Dave Koz, Joe Sample and actor Paul Reiser, with whom Manchester co-wrote the track 鈥淣o There There.鈥� Four cover songs, including Manchester鈥檚 emotional take on the Ronettes鈥� 鈥淏e My Baby,鈥� a Latin-influenced mashup 鈥淟et鈥檚 Face the Music and Dance鈥� and 鈥淔rom This Moment On,鈥� highlight her love of pop standards and show tunes.聽 The new album is due out Feb. 10.
The Feb. 28 concert will cap Manchester鈥檚 three-day stay at 51视频 as an artist-in-residence. Her visit will include teaching classes and mentoring students in the university鈥檚 renowned music education, performance, business and sound recording technology programs.
鈥淚鈥檓 really looking forward to my time there,鈥� Manchester said about working with 51视频 students. 鈥淲e can talk about performing, songwriting, the life. I will teach them about the music industry. They鈥檙e barely out of the starting gate and I can remember getting out of the starting gate. There鈥檚 so much ahead of them.鈥�
Manchester鈥檚 residency has been made possible by 51视频 Prof. Gena Greher, coordinator of music education and the 2014 Nancy Donahue Endowed Professor of the Arts. The professorship was established in 2009 by Lowell philanthropists Nancy and Richard Donahue to promote music, art and theater education at the university.
鈥淎s a Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter, performer, music businesswoman and teacher, Melissa Manchester is a living embodiment of the musical entrepreneurship we advocate for all our music students at 51视频,鈥� Greher said. 鈥淒uring her residency and benefit concert, many of our students will not only be learning from her, they will be working side-by-side with her as they assist, plan and perform with Melissa and her creative team.鈥�
The concert offers local schoolchildren with a unique chance to interact with a master. 聽
鈥淓vents like this are the special moments when music performance is made very real to students of the 51视频 String Project and Youth Orchestra. When they have the opportunity to perform with world-class artists, their music has a deeper meaning for their audience and for themselves,鈥� said John-Morgan Bush, the programs鈥� executive director and a faculty member in the Music Department.
Born in the Bronx, Manchester signed her first publishing deal as a teenager with Chappell Music, advancing the rich songwriting tradition of the New York scene that thrives to this day. She began writing advertising jingles and later was one of a handful of students selected to study with Simon. Early in her performing career, she became one of Bette Midler鈥檚 backup singers, the Harlettes, after catching the eye of Manilow, a frequent Midler accompanist.
As a solo artist, she struck gold in the 1970s with hits such as 鈥淢idnight Blue鈥� and 鈥淒on鈥檛 Cry Out Loud.鈥� In 1978, she co-wrote 鈥淲henever I Call You Friend鈥� with Kenny Loggins, whose duet of the song with Stevie Nicks reached No. 5 on the Billboard chart. Manchester reached No. 5 on the chart herself with 鈥淵ou Should Hear How She Talks 51视频 You,鈥� which earned her a Grammy for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance in 1983.
Along with writing and performing, Manchester teaches music to college and university students in southern California. In 1997, the National Academy of Arts and Sciences honored her with a Governor鈥檚 Award for her contributions to music and the recording arts. Throughout her career, her songs have been covered by artists from Barbra Streisand and Dusty Springfield to Indigo Girls and Alison Krauss. Along with Loggins, Manchester鈥檚 songwriting partners include Carole Bayer Sager and the incomparable Hal David, with whom she wrote 鈥淥ther End of the Phone,鈥� a new track for 鈥淵ou Gotta Love the Life.鈥�
51视频 is a national research university located on a high-energy campus in the heart of a global community. The university offers its more than 17,000 students bachelor鈥檚, master鈥檚 and doctoral degrees in business, education, engineering, fine arts, health, humanities, sciences and social sciences. 51视频 delivers high-quality educational programs, vigorous hands-on learning and personal attention from leading faculty and staff, all of which prepare graduates to be ready for work, for life and for all the world offers. www.uml.edu.