Songbook Showcase

The Songbook Showcase is a public performance of The Songbook Academy® featuring Michael Feinstein, guest mentor Nikki Renée Daniels, and 40 of the nation’s most talented young vocalists.

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Songbook Showcase Event Information

Special Guests Artists

Songbook Academy Class of 2025

About the Songbook Academy

Partners

At this event all 40 participants of the 2025 Songbook Academy have the opportunity to perform one song live on the Payne & Mencias Palladium stage. The event also features special performances by Songbook Foundation founder Michael Feinstein and guest mentor, celebrated Broadway star Nikki Renée Daniels.

This year's showcase will take place before a live audience and will be streamed for national viewers.

Event Information

Special Guest Artists

Nikki Renée Daniels has appeared in 12 Broadway productions, including Once Upon a Mattress (Lady Larken), The Book of Mormon (Nabulungi), Les Misérables (Fantine), and the Tony Award-winning revivals of Company (Jenny) and The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess (Clara). She portrayed Angelica Schuyler in Hamilton at the CIBC Theater in Chicago. Her notable New York performances include Eve/Mama Noah in Children of Eden and Rose Lennox in The Secret Garden at David Geffen Hall with Manhattan Concert Productions. She was also seen as Martha Jefferson in 1776 at City Center Encores, and made her New York City Opera debut as Clara in Porgy and Bess.

On screen, Nikki’s film and television credits include The Other Woman, Billions, The Equalizer, Chappelle’s Show, Madam Secretary, and The Sound of Music: Live. She has been featured in two PBS concert specials: Black Broadway and Broadway’s Brightest Lights. As a concert soloist, Nikki has performed with leading orchestras around the world, and has also appeared as a soloist at Carnegie Hall.

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, Principal Pops Conductor for the Pasadena Symphony, and is a member of the Library of Congress’ National Recording Preservation Board. He’s also the author of the Los Angeles Times bestseller The Gershwins and Me.

2025 Songbook Academy Performers

Listed alphabetically by last name:

Helena Badiali, Doylestown, Pennsylvania, Central Bucks High School East
Ava Baker, New Albany, Ohio, New Albany High School
Lucy Bollier, Los Angeles, California, Calabasas High School
Martha Glenn Bowers, High Point, North Carolina, Penn-Griffin School for the Arts
Tiffany Chamberlain, Hatfield, Pennsylvania, Pennridge High School
Morgan Grace Champ, Salt Lake City, Utah, Skyline High School
Emily Grace Chavez, Los Angeles, California, Van Nuys High School

Sadie Cohen, Carmel, Indiana, Carmel High School
Georgia Dadekian, Burbank, California, John Burroughs High School
Jane Delahoussaye, Sugar Land, Texas, Logos Preparatory Academy
Madeleine Delbridge, Pasadena, California, Polytechnic School

Noelle Duncan, Kokomo, Indiana, Kokomo High School

Aarthi Eswaran, Carmel, Indiana, Carmel High School
Eliza Griffey, Sewanee, Tennessee, Saint Andrews-Sewanee School
Grady Griffin, Carmel, Indiana, Carmel High School

Isaiah Henderson, Carmel, Indiana, Carmel High School
Madeline Hogan, Winter Garden, Florida, Montverde Academy

Mia Kadar, Dublin, Ohio, Dublin Coffman High School

Claire Kauffman, Zionsville, Indiana, Zionsville Community High School

Ali Kosteck, Frankfort, Illinois, Lincoln-Way East High School
Zac Kowal, Palmetto Bay, Florida, Miami Palmetto Senior High School
Ethan Mathias, Ada, Michigan, Michigan International Prep School

Kayleigh McCarter, Houston, Texas, Kinder High School for the Performing and Visual Arts
Soren McLaughlin, Noblesville, Indiana, Noblesville High School
Krishaa Motycka, Carmel, Indiana, Carmel High School
Carly Rose Mulay, Portage, Michigan, Portage Central High School
Adrienne Nicastro, Huntingdon Valley, Pennsylvania, Lower Moreland High School
Rika Nishikawa, Chicago, Illinois, Homeschool
Sophia O'Toole, Medfield, Massachusetts, Medfield High School
Dilan Patton, Los Angeles, California, Van Nuys High School
Mia Rettig, Indianapolis, Indiana, Park Tudor School
Connor Ruckman, Los Angeles, California, Van Nuys High School
William Daniel Russell, Westwood, Massachusetts, Westwood High School
Phoebe Sidebottom, Zionsville, Indiana, Zionsville Community High School
Ikepo Soyinka, Braintree, Massachusetts, CATS Academy Boston
Kellyssa Rose Vincent, West Palm Beach, Florida, Oxbridge Academy
Jacob Volker, Nashville, Tennessee, Nashville School of the Arts
Thomas Whitten, Noblesville, Indiana, Whitten Homeschool
Maddox Wood, Webb City, Missouri, Webb City High School
Journee Woodley, Westfield, Indiana, Westfield High School

About The Songbook Academy®

Now in its 16th year, The Songbook Academy is a transformative summer intensive for high school vocalists, presented by the Great American Songbook Foundation and its founder, Michael Feinstein. Forty of the nation’s most talented young singers are selected from hundreds of applicants to spend a week working with Broadway stars, professional vocal coaches, and music educators to develop their artistry with a focus on song interpretation and performance of timeless American popular music.

Our Partners

We are grateful to the partners whose support makes The Songbook Academy® possible. Their investment helps nurture the next generation of musical storytellers and preserve America's timeless musical legacy.

Songbook Summer Match Sponsor

Dr. Larry Weeda Jr. and Sharon Polk

Guest Mentor Impact Supporters

Libby and Randy Brown
Tim and Karyl McGeath

Bob and Rose Popovich
The Tobin Family