Hometown heroes Ginty, Gannet among Morristown Onstage judges for Feb. 26 competition

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From the Morris Educational Foundation:

The Morris Educational Foundation (MEF), a non-profit organization enhancing excellence in education in the Morris School District, today announced the panel of professional judges for its 13th annual talent show, Morristown ONSTAGE.

The following five distinguished judges from the arts profession will judge the Feb. 26, 2020, competition:

Terrie Carr
Terrie Carr

TERRIE CARR – Terrie is the Program Director and Midday Personality at WDHA/The Rock of New Jersey where she rocks the Garden State every weekday between 10 and 3pm.  With Terrie’s guidance, WDHA plays a wide variety of rock music from classics like Led Zeppelin to new bands like the Grammy nominated Greta Van Fleet and everything in between.  For over 20 years, Terrie has been interviewing mega rock stars such as Slash, connecting with listeners, helping homeless animals with her Rock and Ruff Feature and interacting with the community and advertisers. Tune in middays and join the DHA rock and roll party hosted by Terrie Carr!

JOSH GANNET – A member of Morristown High School (MHS) class of ’99, Josh Gannet is a professional recording/mixing engineer, producer, artist manager, tour manager, and artist relations representative. He has worked on projects for a variety of artists spanning the full spectrum of genres including hip hop legends Redman, Wu Tang Clan, Logic, Erick Sermon, Havoc (Mobb Deep) and Sean Price, classic rock icons Keith Richards and Steve Miller, jazz greats Bucky Pizzarelli and Jose Feliciano, as well as mixing and/or being featured on multiple Billboard charting albums. Josh is also a regular in the artist relations department of several major US music festivals such as Governors Ball, Bonnaroo, Rolling Loud, EZoo and AfroPunk.

John Ginty rocks his Hammond B3--literally--at First Night Morris 2018. Photo by Kevin Coughlin
John Ginty rocks his Hammond B3–literally–at First Night Morris 2018. Photo by Kevin Coughlin

JOHN GINTY – This Morristown native and MHS class of ’90, rose to fame after subbing for Gregg Allman during the Brothers’ annual Beacon Theatre residency in New York City. A founding member of Robert Randolph’s Family Band and The Allman Betts Band, Ginty became known as an ace session player with Ryan Adams’ Whiskeytown, then as a touring member with Jewel. Most recently, Ginty showcased his exceptional work as a keyboardist on the 2016-17 Dixie Chicks world tour. His 30-year career is marked by dozens of album appearances as a musician and producer with notable artists such as Santana and Citizen Cope and his efforts behind the boards with producers, Jim Scott and Ben Elliot, among others. His time with Randolph garnered two Grammy nominations, while backing The Blind Boys of Alabama’s Grammy-winning effort, Higher Ground. In 2006, he formed his John Ginty Band, after releasing four albums over the next decade, including Bad News Travels, with guests Warren Haynes and Neal Casal, and the latest, 2016’s Rockers, earning a Top 10 spot on Billboard’s Blues chart.

LORI BROWN MIRABAL – Throughout her award-winning singing career, Lori Brown Mirabal has worked with legendary opera and music theatre luminaries in international opera houses and on Broadway. In addition to her stage career, she was featured in the PBS television documentary, “Aida’s Brothers and Sisters” and made a comical cameo performance in the major motion picture, “The Secret Lives of Dentists.” Along with her performing career Mirabal created an opera production company, Opera Soup Productions, LLC, that introduces young audiences to opera in engaging and impactful ways. Her first children’s book, “From Soul Singing to Opera Soup,” launched her career as a published author. Last March, Mirabal released her first children’s recording “Musetta’s Musical Story Time,” which is available for distribution. Most recently, her one-woman-show, “With Warmest Regards” debuted with United Solo Theatre Festival in New York City.

Bill and Tanya Stephney, at Art in the Atrium 2018. Photo by Kevin Coughlin
Bill and Tanya Stephney, at Art in the Atrium 2018. Photo by Kevin Coughlin

BILL STEPHNEY – Bill Stephney is the principal executive for Broad Market Media, a production and strategic consulting firm, primarily focusing on the content and technology industries. Through Broad Market Media, Stephney currently serves as an advisor to Scaeva Technologies, a California-based firm that enables new content production and monetization opportunities for music and film through advanced intellectual property, innovation, and the application of new technologies. Stephney previously served as the chief executive for Def Jam Recordings, SOUL Records and Stepsun Music. He has produced music artists ranging from Rock-And-Roll Hall of Fame inductees Public Enemy to singer-actress Vanessa Williams and has supervised music production for successful films such as “Boomerang,” “Be Be’s Kids,” “CB4,” “Clockers” and “Shaft.” He has worked as a media consultant and advisor for National Public Radio, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, MTV Networks, Miramax Pictures, USA Networks and Comedy Central among others.

“We are thrilled to have this distinguished and diverse panel of judges join the Morristown ONSTAGE talent show,” said Melanie Smith, Morristown ONSTAGE event chair and member of the Morris Educational Foundation Board of Trustees.

“With 14 acts consisting of singers, pianists, dancers and musical performers, the judges will definitely have their work cut out for them to select our winners. It will be an exciting night at Mayo Performing Arts Center and we can’t wait to see the finalists give it their all.”

The theme for this year’s event is 20/20 Seeing Is Believing, which celebrates vision, hope and achievement. As in years past, the finalists will compete for one of two 1st place $1,000 cash prizes (one for contestants ages 19 and over and one for contestants ages 18 and under), a $500 award for the “Audience Choice” text-to-vote winner, and the $250 Rossoff Rising Star Award for talent training chosen by the Morristown ONSTAGE Steering Committee.

Atlantic Health System’s Morristown Medical Center is the event’s Headline Sponsor and the Master of Ceremonies and host of the show is Morristown resident, Tara Bernie, who was awarded an Emmy for her work as the Senior Correspondent on DailyMailTV.

Morristown ONSTAGE was created to further the Morris Educational Foundation’s ability to distribute financial and other resources to and for the Morris School District for enrichment programs and other projects. Tickets for Morristown ONSTAGE are available for purchase at the Mayo Performing Arts Center, 100 South Street, Morristown, NJ; by calling (973) 539-8008 or online at www.mayoarts.org. To become a sponsor or purchase an advertisement in the Morristown ONSTAGE playbill, download forms at www.morristownonstage.com.

 

To learn more and receive updates leading up to the show, visit the Morris Educational Foundation on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

About Morris Educational Foundation

The Morris Educational Foundation is a 501(c)(3) that seeks to attract private resources to support a variety of educational programs and initiatives in support of the Morris School District. Through effective solicitation and distribution of funds, the Morris Educational Foundation helps enable the District to continue to be the model of visionary social and educational leadership it has been since its inception.  For more information, visit www.morrisedfoundation.org.

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