Nation’s top teen singers chosen for 2026 Songbook Academy
5/5/2026 12AM
Now in its 17th year, the Songbook Academy is the flagship education program of the Great American Songbook Foundation. The 2026 Songbook Academy will take place July 11-18 at Allied Solutions Center, with three performances open to the public.
Summer music intensive will include participants from 13 states, 29 cities
CARMEL, Ind. – Forty of the nation’s most talented high school vocalists have been selected to participate in the 2026 Songbook Academy®, a weeklong summer intensive that immerses young performers in the gold standard of storytelling through song and helps them develop as artists under the guidance of Broadway stars, entertainment professionals and leading arts educators.
Now in its 17th year, the Songbook Academy is the flagship education program of the Great American Songbook Foundation. The 2026 Songbook Academy will take place July 11-18 at Allied Solutions Center for the Performing Arts in Carmel, Indiana. The program includes workshops, masterclasses, and performance opportunities that help participants hone their vocal and stage skills, particularly in song interpretation, while building friendships and professional connections that last a lifetime.
Songbook Academy Week features three public performance events at the Center’s world-class concert hall, the Payne & Mencias Palladium, for both in-person audiences and livestream viewers worldwide. These events offer opportunities to witness the rising stars of tomorrow alongside today’s top performers.
On July 13, Songbook Foundation founder and five-time GRAMMY nominee Michael Feinstein and a soon-to-be-announced celebrity guest mentor will offer real-time feedback to 10 randomly selected participants during the Public Masterclass. Then, on July 16, the Songbook Showcase will feature all 40 students in solo performances, along with special appearances by Feinstein and Broadway star Mandy Gonzalez. The week culminates Saturday, July 18, in the Songbook Academy in Concert, with all 40 singers coming together for a dynamic program of ensemble numbers and featured solos celebrating the breadth, diversity and timeless appeal of the Great American Songbook.
Tickets for all three public performances will go on sale May 18 at TheSongbook.org.
Following the judging process, every applicant to this year’s Songbook Academy received personalized written feedback from a national screening panel. The 2026 Songbook Academy National Screening Panel featured an incredible lineup of Broadway performers, jazz vocalists, music directors and acclaimed educators, including:
- Max Chernin (Broadway's Parade, Bright Star, Sunday in the Park with George)
- Jessie Hooker-Bailey (Broadway's Waitress, Beautiful, Tour: Company)
- Mary Michael Patterson (Broadway’s Phantom of the Opera, Anything Goes, Tour: Love Never Dies)
- Melinda Rodriguez (jazz vocalist; first ever commercial vocalist of the U.S. Army Blues)
- Cinderella Ksebati (sought-after vocal coach, clinician and international performer)
- Kathleen Hacker (renowned soprano and longtime vocal professor).
After reviewing a remarkably talented group of applicants, the panel selected 40 students from 29 cities and 13 states to participate in the 2026 program.
2026 Songbook Academy Participants
Lucy Chesley, Burbank, California, John Burroughs High School
Jacob Cintron, Westfield, Indiana, Westfield High School
Sadie Cohen*, Carmel, Indiana, Carmel High School
Finn Davis, Mill Valley, California, Tamalpais High School
Maddie Delbridge*, Pasadena, California, Polytechnic School
Cecilia Diamond, Agoura Hills, California, Agoura High School
Cami Errami, Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin, Rural Virtual Academy
Aarthi Eswaran*, Carmel, Indiana, Carmel High School
Charlotte Green, Wheaton, Illinois, Wheaton Academy
Grady Griffin*, Carmel, Indiana, Carmel High School
Ella Harris, Lexington, Kentucky, Lafayette Senior High School
Aubreyana Eileen Hoeppner, Kokomo, Indiana, Western High School
Madeline Hogan*, Winter Garden, Florida, Montverde Academy
Ian Jones, Carmel, Indiana, Carmel High School
Claire Kashman, Indianapolis, Indiana, Park Tudor School
Clara Keiper, Zionsville, Indiana, Zionsville Community High School
Annabelle Kim, Carmel, Indiana, Carmel High School
Julianna Joy Lawson-Schlitz, North Aurora, Illinois, Classical Homeschool
Maya Mariano, Westlake Village, California, Santa Susana High School
Ethan Mathias*, Ada, Michigan, Michigan International Prep School
Maggie McBride, Ashburn, Virginia, Rock Ridge High School
Soren McLaughlin*, Noblesville, Indiana, Noblesville High School
Julia Mooney, Holmdel, New Jersey, Holmdel High School
Krishaa Motycka*, Carmel, Indiana, Carmel High School
Adrienne Nicastro*, Huntingdon Valley, Pennsylvania, Lower Moreland High School
Sophia O'Toole*, Medfield, Massachusetts, Medfield High School
Dilan Patton*, Los Angeles, California, Van Nuys High School
Charlotte Raynor, Doylestown, Pennsylvania, Central Bucks High School West
Mia Rettig*, Indianapolis, Indiana, Park Tudor School
Addison Rogers, Doylestown, Pennsylvania, Central Bucks High School West
Connor Ruckman*, Los Angeles, California, Van Nuys High School
Claire Noelle Scrogham, Greenwood, Indiana, Silver Hill Academy
Hannah Sevening, Carmel, Indiana, Carmel High School
Akshara Shrikant, Boston, Massachusetts, American Embassy School, New Delhi, India
Olivia Steele, Kokomo, Indiana, Northwestern High School
Lucy Thiel, New Hope, Pennsylvania, Gwynedd-Mercy Academy
Kellyssa Rose Vincent*, West Palm Beach, Florida, The King's Academy
Jacob Volker*, Nashville, Tennessee, Nashville School of the Arts
Caiden Woll, Perkasie, Pennsylvania, Pennridge High School
Maddox Wood*, Webb City, Missouri, Webb City High School
* indicates alumni of the Songbook Academy
These young vocalists will join the larger Songbook Academy community, which includes alumni who have released music and performed from Broadway to concert hall stages around the world. They include Reed Gnepper (2018) and Jason Mulay (2021), currently touring with Wicked and Mamma Mia!, respectively; Emily Fink (2012), who debuted on Broadway last season in Dead Outlaw; Matthew Fedorek (2017), on tour with A Beautiful Noise following his tour with Funny Girl; and Jack Ducat (2019), who made his national tour debut as Buddy on the 2025 national tour of Elf this past holiday season.
In music, April Varner (2015) was named 2025 Rising Star Female Vocalist in the 73rd Annual DownBeat Critics Poll, while Anaïs Reno (2018) won a 2026 Bistro Award. Ava Nicole Frances (2020 & 2022) and Ethan Mathias (2024-2026) were honored with 2026 MAC Awards. Singer-songwriters Taylor Bickett (2017), Eleri Ward (2012) and Ryan Peter Murphy (2018) continue to release new music and build national followings.
The Songbook Academy receives generous support from the Efroymson Family Fund, Traditions Senior Communities, the Ella Fitzgerald Charitable Foundation, the Ira & Leonore S. Gershwin Trusts, The Blanche and Irving Laurie Foundation, Westfield Veterinary Care and the City of Carmel.
Guest Mentor support is provided by generous contributions from individual donors, including Libby and Randy Brown, Michael and Margie Draper, Peggy Ford, The Fuller Family, David Gerstein, Tim and Karyl McGeath, Bob and Rose Popovich and The Tobin Family.
About the Great American Songbook Foundation
The mission of the Great American Songbook Foundation, founded in 2007 by five-time Grammy® Award nominee Michael Feinstein, is to inspire and educate by celebrating the foundational era of American popular music. Headquartered at Allied Solutions Center for the Performing Arts in Carmel, Indiana, the Foundation advances this rich legacy by curating physical artifacts of its creators, performers and publishers in the Songbook Library & Archives; operating a multimedia exhibit gallery; overseeing the Songbook Hall of Fame; offering programs for the public and research opportunities for scholars and artists; and providing educational opportunities for student musicians, including the annual Songbook Academy® summer intensive. The Foundation is a Cultural Affiliate of the Los Angeles-based Grammy Museum®. More information is available at TheSongbook.org.
