"CREATIVE HORIZONS": PARTNERS: MICHAEL L. RICCIARDI and JOHN D. NUGENT: Press Reviews

SKYLARK is a pure joy to watch. Every Once in a while a musical comes along that makes you want to stand up and cheer at the end"

"Every once in a while a collection of songs comes along that persuades one to conclude that great songwriting is still alive and well in the world!"
Reviewer: Walter E. Miller, Editor Song City
Original songs making up an entire CD can sometimes be very uneven. A rose or two between the thorns. But Highway To A Dream never disapoints you. It presents soaring melodies and memorable and catchy lyrics. Some of these songs are bound to be standards and out right classics. There is real structure here and the prosidy between story, structure, melody and arrangement seems to be really harmonious. My favorite is "Fly Me Home For Christmas" a real tear jerker. But better listen to "Littleton and Columbine" and "Wherever You Go There ou Are" You'll be humming the tune home for a long time to come. There are some wonderful musical moments here and outright praise needs to be extended to Mr. Ricciardi, Mr. Westbrook and especially Tim Doran. Where have these guys ben hiding? BRAVO!!!!

Melodic, Lyrical and Vocal Symmetry
Reviewer: Rick Halsne
Rarely does one find such illuminary lyrics, music and talent in such symphonic harmony. The collaboration of artists Mike Ricciardi, Tony Westbrook, and Tim Doran stir the soul and allow it to take wing. These songs full of passion, compassion, and hope, and are timeless!

After all this time, the songs still make me smile.
Reviewer: Tony Westbrook
I know I know. I sang the songs. But after all the time that's gone by, they still make me smile. Mike has written some wonderful songs about dreaming, hope, love, and caring. When my nephew gets a bit older I will give him a copy of this CD. Maybe it will inspire him to sing like his Uncle Tony.

A delightfully different assortment of every kind of Broadway type music!
Reviewer: BROADWAY TOMORROW
Boy this is great! I loved "WE ARE DIFFERENT NOW" -- it made me relive 9/11 all over again and TERRY SNYDER can really sell a song! "God Draws Straight With Crooked Lines" is terrific! It's the story of my life! Overall, these are really tuneful melodies. You will remember them! Be sure to listen to the last track. It's called "ONE LAST MIRACLE" With that wonderful orchestra and live audience and Tony Westbrook's soaring vocal you get more than a few goosebumps! Greg Lastrapes is a talent to be reckoned with and "City In The Sky" pays a wonderful tribute to the late great World Trade Center. It was really a city within its mighty two towers! Bravo!

A great collection of love, novelty and patriotic tunes
Reviewer: New song Stories Magazine
Here are twenty-two songs that are as different and unusual as one can imagine. Some deal with love lost. Some deal with 9/11 and the great city of New York and others are comical, fun and downright refreshing to listen to. Greg Lastrapes has an incredible voice and so does Joshua Kranz. Congrats to compooser Mike Ricciardi and Tim Doran. take a bow, guys!

Original and wonderful new songs! Hurray!
Reviewer: Entertainment Today
Here is a new collection of songs that really makes you think, reflect, and yes even cry! The song "And He's Flying To Your World" by Greg Lastrapes is a soaring and timeless ballad. I also think that "Still" (in two versions by Terry Snyder) has some beautiful lyrics and a great melody. Other favorites include Joshua Kranz's "Till I Saw You Tonight" and Tony Westbrook's "I Can't Ever Leave Your Love!" Great arrangements by Tim Doran and great songs by Michael Ricciardi. Michael Criste is another wonderful singer! This is all in all an album to collect! Let's hear more of songs like this!

Arts & Culture
Making A Voice Through Singing and Marketing
By Sara B. Allison

Making music is a way of life in Los Angeles for many talented singers and musicians. Molly Summer, a singer and performer herself, has been helping female singers develop their voices for the last seven years in her class, Vocal Coaching & Marketing for Your Professional Career. In addition to teaching the craft of singing and helping her students find their voice, Molly also goes the extra step to help her students learn to market themselves in a career as a professional singer. Valley Scene Magazine sat down to talk to Molly about her career and the class she teaches.
VS: When did you know singing was what you wanted to do?
MS: I was 8. I was lucky because my dad was a musical theater singer. So that's what we did. We were backstage with him all the time. I started doing Community Theater when I was a little kid and I got my first equity show at 13.
VS: What have been the highlights of your career as a singer?
MS: I worked with Steve Allen when I was 16. He cast me in his musical. It was one of the last projects he did before he passed away and it was just a wonderful thing. I would say that was a really big thing for me b/c it was kind of the start of my career as an adult. Instead of just playing the kid role.
Most recently working with Creative Horizons, it's the group of composers that I work with. They're affiliated with ASCAP and they've just been so inspiring and wonderful to work with. I'm really excited about the projects.
VS: Tell me the basics of how the class works and why you started it.
I started teaching this class 7 years ago. And I started it because the problem that I had with a lot of conservatories and universities is that you sing songs. You work on the songs, the voice, the acting, everything and then nobody ever tells you how you actually get an audition or get an agent.
What my class is is basically first of all a vocal boot camp for singers to expand their range, get them vocally prepared for everything and also promote good vocal health. We do a lot of musicianship, like they learn a new song every week and they have to learn it in 10 minutes and sing it. They hate it, but it really improves memory and it makes you prepared to memorize the music really fast & bring yourself to it.
The other side of it is the marketing side. For beginning singers, sometimes they don't know what kind of singer they are, or where to go and that can lead to years of going up the wrong ladder and then having to start all over again. We work on what they need for their marketing like their pictures, what should be on their resume, their cover letters. What is going to best suit them to get them ready for success? How to work with an agent or a manager. How to find one. And when you get one, how you continue yourself working. I love singers and I just want to see them succeed and it's a shame when they don't.
VS: What kinds of people come to your class?
MS: About 90% of the people I work with are going to be professional singers if they're not already. Most of the time it's people that are really dedicated to their careers and being really good at it-not just getting famous, but so they have longevity. I want them to have a career past 20 years old.
VS: What is one of your favorite things about teaching your class?
MS: I can't imagine what life would be like without being able to sing. And when someone is able to find that it's like, it's the best feeling in the world. To me, teaching somebody to do that is better than anything that could happen in my own career.
Molly Summer teaches "Vocal Coaching & Marketing for Your Professional Career" on Saturdays from 12 - 2pm at the Lankershim Arts Center at 5108 Lankershim Blvd in North Hollywood. For more information, please visit: www.myspace.com/VocalCoachingandMarketing