2026 Guest Mentors

We are thrilled to reveal the incredible roster of celebrity guest mentors joining us for Songbook Academy 2026!

Browse our 2026 program faculty and keep an eye out for an official guest mentor press release coming soon.
 

Guest Mentors:

MICHAEL FEINSTEIN - Founder (Songbook Academy Week)
  
Michael Feinstein is a multi-platinum-selling, two-time Emmy and five-time GRAMMY Award-nominated entertainer known for his dedication to preserving the Great American Songbook. He has performed at the White House, Carnegie Hall, Buckingham Palace, and the Sydney Opera House. His most recent album, Gershwin Country, features collaborations with Dolly Parton, Brad Paisley, and other country legends.

In addition to founding the Great American Songbook Foundation, Feinstein serves as Artistic Director of Allied Solutions Center for the Performing Arts, and is a member of the Library of Congress’s National Recording Preservation Board. He’s also the author of the Los Angeles Times bestseller The Gershwins and Me and collaborator on the New York Times bestselling memoir of Liza Minnelli.

 
LEA SALONGA - Guest Mentor (Monday + Public Masterclass)
   
Multiple award-winning actress and singer Lea Salonga is renown across the world for her powerful voice and perfect pitch. Lea Most recently starred on Broadway in Old Friends (alongside Bernadette Peters) after headlining the Los Angeles and London productions.

Lea is best known for her Tony Award winning role in Miss Saigon. In addition to the Tony, she has won the Olivier, Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle and Theatre World Awards. She was also the first Asian to play Eponine in the musical Les Misérables on Broadway and returned to the beloved show as Fantine in the 2006 revival. In January 2026 she will take on the role of Madame Thénardier in the Les Miserables: The World Tour Spectacular. On Broadway, Lea starred in the 2018 Broadway revival of Once on This Island as the Goddess of Love, Erzulie. The show’s return to the Broadway stage earned a Tony Award for “Best Revival of a Musical” and also garnered Lea and the cast a Grammy nomination for “Best Musical Theater Album.” She has also been seen on Broadway in Here Lies Love, Allegiance and Flower Drum Song.

Many fans of all ages recognize Lea as the singing voice of Princess Jasmine from Aladdin and Fa Mulan for Mulan and Mulan II. For her portrayal of the beloved princesses, the Walt Disney Company bestowed her with the honor of “Disney Legend”.

Lea starred in Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin (a reboot of the popular series) available on HBO Max, after starring in the critically acclaimed Sony musical-drama Yellow Rose. Lea can also be heard in the Netflix record-breaking film KPop Demon Hunters, the Netflix animated series Centaurworld and in FX’s animated series Little Demon. In August 2021, Lea released her single “Dream Again” and in November Lea Salonga: Live with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra from Sydney Opera House aired as part of Great Performances on PBS. A live album of the performance was subsequently released by Broadway Records.

Lea’s 2025 Stage, Screen and Everything In Between Tour and her 2022 Dream Again Tour saw sold-out audiences and record-breaking sales across North America and the United Kingdom. Lea has toured all over the world, performing sold out concerts in such locations as the Sydney Opera House, 02 Arena, Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, Singapore’s Esplanade, Kuala Lumpur Convention Center, Hong Kong Cultural Center, Queen Sirikit Convention Center in Bangkok and Carnegie Hall in New York.

In addition to her stage and screen credits, Lea served as a judge on the Philippines hit version of “The Voice” including the ratings juggernaut “The Voice Kids”. She has released multiple solo albums, toured the world with legendary popopera quartet Il Divo, and received rave reviews for her many cabaret engagements, including a record setting run at New York’s 54 Below. Her latest album, Sounding Joy | The Holiday Album, was released by Center Stage Records in November 2024.

In her 45-year career, Lea has performed for six Philippine presidents (from Ferdinand Marcos to Benigno S. Aquino III), four American Presidents (Joe Biden, George H. W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and George W. Bush), and for Diana, Princess of Wales and Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. She was honored by Time Magazine as a Time100 Impact Award Recipient and received the Gold House 2023 Gold Legend Award.

 
ADAM KANTOR - Guest Mentor (Monday)

 
Adam Kantor is currently starring in ARE YOU NOW OR HAVE YOU EVER BEEN at City Center off-Broadway. He won an Emmy and a Grammy for his performance in the Tony-winning production of THE BAND’S VISIT on Broadway, as well as an Outer Critics Circle honor for his performance in DARLING GRENADINE at the Roundabout. He was nominated for an LA Drama Critics Circle Award for THE INHERITANCE at The Geffen Playhouse. Previously, on Broadway, Adam starred in FIDDLER ON THE ROOF, NEXT TO NORMAL, and RENT (final cast, filmed live for Sony Pictures). Off-Broadway, he starred in THE LAST FIVE YEARS at Second Stage and AVENUE Q at New World Stages. Regional highlights include Jonathan Larson’s TICK, TICK, BOOM at Actor’s Playhouse in Miami, Duncan Sheik and Kyle Jarrow’s NOIR at the Alley in Houston, as well as Barry Levinson and Sheryl Crow’s DINER at the Signature outside DC. On TV he guest starred in High Potential on ABC as “Spencer”, Billions on Showtime as “Pununzio”, and The Good Wife on CBS as “Ezra”. He starred in the feature film Either Side Of Midnight, directed by Roger Spottiswoode. Adam is a graduate of Northwestern University and the British American Drama Academy.  He is a Tony-nominated co-producer on the Broadway smash hit CATS: THE JELLICLE BALL. He is a coach for the finalists of The National High School Music Theatre Awards (“The Jimmy Awards”) since 2014, and leads masterclasses at theatre programs across the globe.  He was a co-creator of the digital special “SATURDAY NIGHT SEDER” (which raised over $4M for the CDC Foundation), produced by his interactive experiential culinary-theatre company StoryCourse. Adam has headlined concerts at Carnegie Hall as well Princeton Symphony Orchestra, among others.  @AdamJKantor on social.

 
MICHE BRADEN - Guest Mentor (Tuesday)

Miche Braden is a singer, actor, musician, songwriter, arranger, and musical director. She is a product of the rich musical heritage of her hometown, Detroit, Michigan, where she was an Artist in Residence with the Detroit Council of the Arts, the founder and former lead singer of Straight Ahead (women‘s jazz band), and was a protégé of Motown musicians Thomas “Beans” Bowles, Earl Van Dyke (leader of The Funk Brothers), and jazz master composer Harold McKinney.

As a theatre actor, Miche has appeared in and served as musical director/ arranger in The People’s Temple, Gee’s Bend, The Bluest Eye, & Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar & Grill. In The Devil's Music: The Life & Blues of Bessie Smith (TDM). She served as Bessie, co-collaborator with Joe Brancato & Angelo Parra (Director & Playwright) and Musical Director, Arranger, & Composer for 17 years. She has been nominated for the Drama Desk, Lucille Lortel, Carbonell, Off Broadway Alliance, Audelco & Connecticut Critics Awards for TDM. She’s played Sister Rosetta Tharpe Marie & Rosetta & Aunt Sarah in Nina Simone: Four Women. Miche appeared in the Detroit Plowshares Theater’s World premiere of Hastings Street-The Musical. She has appeared in Chicken & Biscuits as Baneatta Mabry & Alibi as Mrs. Ackroyd, both at the Bristol Riverside Theater.

TV Credits: Inventing Anna, Raising Kanan, Bull, The Blacklist, Law & Order SVU, Evil, The Other Two, Stumble & Stella

Film Credits: Ms. Miche did vocal arrangements for the Spike Lee Joint “Da Sweet Blood of Jesus”, sang on the soundtrack of the Justin Chon Sundance movie “Ms. Purple”, & is featured in John Hebert’s award winning micro film “Curtains Down — The Last Rod”.

Miche was a member of the band Rough Magic in 3 productions of the critically acclaimed play The Tempest, an A.R.T. production that debuted in Las Vegas & was directed & conceived by Teller & Aaron Posner. She served as Musical Director for their South Coast Repertory production in Costa Mesa, CA. earning her an LA Critics Nomination.

Her international credits: Gone With The Wind & The Devil’s Music at the Royal Manitoba Theatre Center in Winnipeg, Manitoba Canada, BBC Blues America Documentaries & Popular Voices hosted by Gregory Porter, The Damian Foundation Gospel Tour thru Belgium & Northern France, Absolute Gospel Festival Concerts in & around Lyon, France, Postmodern Jukebox in Montreal,Quebec & several jazz & concert venues thru out Japan & England.

As a singer, Miche has shared the stage with Regina Carter, Alexis P. Suter, Milt Hinton, Lionel Hampton, Colman Domingo, James Carter, Frenchie Davis & Byron Stripling. Her fabulous week long gig with Byron’s Columbus Jazz Orchestra garnered her a gig as a featured singer in Jeff Tyzik’s Swing Is The Thing Pops Orchestra productions.

She is featured on numerous recordings including her own CD “Diva Out Of Bounds” Ms. Miche, “Accentuate the Positive” Regina Carter, “New Beginnings” Gayelynn McKinney, & James Carter’s “Gardenias For Lady Day” & “At The Crossroads”. She has performed with James at Carnegie Hall, Birdland, & Jazz Festivals in Detroit, Newport & Montreal. She’s featured on 6 Postmodern Jukebox recordings including the one that made her a YouTube sensation with over 12 Million views “Sweet Child o’ Mine” & is the singing voice on “Tainted Love” in the BioShock Infinite video game.

 
SCOTT BRADLEE - Guest Mentor (Tuesday)

Pianist / arranger Scott Bradlee is best known for his work as the creative force behind Postmodern Jukebox, the popular time-twisting musical collective that he founded in 2010. Born and raised in a small town in New Jersey, a chance encounter with George Gershwin’s Rhapsody In Blue sparked Bradlee’s lifelong interest in the work of jazz pioneers like Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong and Fats Waller and American Songbook composers like Gershwin, Cole Porter and Hoagy Carmichael. Shortly after moving to New York City, Bradlee began uploading various “musical experiments” to YouTube, combining the popular hits of the present with the musical styles of yesteryear. His first notable live performance was at Live Nation’s 2012 Live At Squamish festival with a precursor to Postmodern Jukebox, A Motown Tribute To Nickelback.
 
In 2013, Postmodern Jukebox began to attract media and industry attention, incorporating a rotating cast of musicians, singers, and tap dancers to reimagine modern pop songs in a wide variety of 20th century American popular music genres — New Orleans jazz, ragtime, swing, doo-wop, Motown, and others. Over the following years Bradlee had a number of viral hits that would lead to breakout success with the group, and introduced the world to a host of new artists like “Sad Clown with the Golden Voice,” Puddles Pity Party. Postmodern Jukebox — or “PMJ,” as it is commonly known — began touring in 2014, leading to sold-out shows in theaters across six continents.  Today, Postmodern Jukebox has 6.5 million subscribers on YouTube and performs over 200 shows a year worldwide, including headlining appearances at noteworthy venues such as Radio City Music Hall and Royal Albert Hall in London. Along the way, Bradlee’s work with PMJ has received coverage by major press outlets like Billboard and Business Insider, and he has given talks at institutions such as Oxford Student Union following the release of his 2018 memoir, Outside The Jukebox. In addition to PMJ, Bradlee also scored credits on video games such as BioShock Infinite and Red Dead Redemption 2, composing and performing covers for in game sequences and their soundtracks. 

 
MANDY GONZALEZ - Guest Mentor (Wednesday + Songbook Showcase)

Mandy Gonzalez is an accomplished film, TV, stage actor and author. She possesses one of the most powerful and versatile contemporary voices of our time. Mandy has starred on Broadway in the megahit Hamilton as Angelica Schuyler. She also originated Nina Rosario in the Tony Award-winning Broadway musical, In The Heights, for which Mandy received a Drama Desk Award. Mandy also starred as Elphaba in the Broadway production of Wicked, blowing the roof off of New York’s Gershwin Theatre each night as she belted out the signature song, Defying Gravity. She most recently guest-starred as Norma Desmond in the Tony-winning revival of Sunset Blvd.

Mandy also received an OBIE Award and overwhelming critical praise for her performance in the Off-Broadway production of Eli’s Comin’. Television viewers have had the pleasure of seeing Mandy in her recurring roles in the hit series Madam Secretary, BULL, Quantico, and alongside Steve Martin, Martin Short, and Selena Gomez in Only Murders in the Building. Equally at home on the big and small screen, she has appeared in Across the Universe directed by Julie Taymor, After starring opposite Pablo Schreiber, and Man on a Ledge with Sam Worthington. Mandy can also be heard as the voice of Mei in Disney’s Mulan 2, and as the voice of Mother Rose on the Disney Plus and Disney Jr. series Alice’s Wonderland Bakery.

A frequent concert soloist, Mandy has performed with symphony orchestras around the world.  Highlights include: Carnegie Hall with The New York Pops, Boston Pops, Philly Pops, The National Symphony Orchestra, Houston Symphony, and Atlanta Pops to name a few.

She recently brought her concert, Everything I Know: Mandy Gonzalez sings Lin Manuel Miranda, to Carnegie Hall to rave reviews. The show is a dynamic production that pairs Gonzalez’s powerhouse voice and emotive prowess with a full accompaniment, creating an unforgettable celebration of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s iconic works. Mandy will be performing this show with symphonies across the country in 2026.

Mandy is also an accomplished author who published a Young Adult series, FEARLESS, with Simon and Schuster.