Singer/Songwriter Intensive w/ Bobby Cronin and Alex Mendelson

This advanced course will further develop the singer/songwriter through a series of exercises in songwriting, piano, guitar, and voice, culminating in a demo recording of an original song. Weekly assignments will be shared in class. Students should have basic to advanced skills to accompany themselves on one of the following instruments: guitar, piano, or ukulele.

Wednesdays, October 5th - November 2nd (4 - 6pm EST)

In Person (w/ virtual option)

(There is a virtual option, however your home equipment/studio setup must be approved beforehand. You will need a microphone that connects to an interface (like a Scarlett) and GarageBand or Logic (Mac). Please email studiomanager@theprepnj.com if you are interested in the virtual option. If approved, then you can purchase the ticket for the class.)

Private Prep Students Only

*Class is limited to 8 students*

All weeks: $500 (Payment plans available. For more details, reach out to studiomanager@theprepnj.com.)

For the first day of class, please bring in something that you have written. This can be a full song already recorded, a song on guitar/uke/keyboard, a chorus melody, a verse of lyrics, a poem, a chord progression, or a beat.

**This intensive will lead to the possible invitation to recording and producing song(s) on the Prep Album that will be digitally released on Spotify!

Learn more about your instructors:

BOBBY CRONIN is a multi-disciplinary, multi-award winning  composer, lyricist, bookwriter, music producer, arranger, director, and educator. His theatre works include: composer/writer of Mary & Max with bookwriter Crystal Skillman “And it may open a new musical era. Because what is offered here for eyes, ears and heart is indeed a musical, but so atypically different, refreshingly modern - simply authentic.” - AU Kurier (World Premiere Theatre Calgary 2018 [BroadwayWorld Award winner], European Premiere at Austria's Theatre Linz 2019 [BroadwayWorld Award winner] currently under a Broadway option; Winner of 2018 MUT Critics Award, Pace New Musicals 2018, SigWorks Finalist 2018); composer/lyricist for ‘Til Death Do Us Part (World Premiere 2020 - Covid Canceled, 2018-2020 SDSU New Works Award; 2017 SigWorks Finalist; 2016 Overtures Series) with bookwriter Caroline Prugh; Words & music for Concrete Jungle, currently under a Broadway option, set to play London's Leicester Square Theatre summer 2020 (Covid Canceled) ; Words & music for Welcome to My Life (W2ML) a multi-media concert/theatre hybrid rock piece; music for Till Soon, Anne with Christine Toy Johnson (O'Neill Writing Residency); Daybreak (winner of the New Jersey Playwrights Contest) premiered in Wayne, NJ & London’s Tristan Bates Theatre spring 2012. His TYA commission PSYKIDZ was turned into a virtual digital film during Covid (www.psykidzthemusical.com) produced by The Professional Performance Prep where he is on faculty as a voice teacher/audition coach/songwriting instructor/demo producer. Bobby wrote the score for the London play Rain and Zoe Save the World by Crystal Skillman for which his work was called “Thrilling” and “Evocative” by critics. He wrote a song for Emmy, Grammy, & Tony winner Billy Porter and Tony winner Jordan Roth forThe Birds and the BS Webseries. He was a 2014 York NEO mentored by Stephen Flaherty (Ragtime, Once on This Island). He was part of the 2015 Prospect Theatre Company's Off-Broadway show "Fright Night" where his 15-minute musical My Boyfriend Is An Alien written with Christine Toy Johnson premiered. His music won “Best Score of a Mockumentary” for the webseries Thank You, Next and Best Music/Lyrics for Ten Reasons I Won’t Go Home With You in 2010’s MITF. Bobby has composed numerous award-winning scores and songs for musical short films, which have headlined festivals all over the world, and scored the hit audio drama King Kirby on Broadway Podcast Network, now licensed by Uproar Theatrics. He was commissioned to write a pop song for the 2013 winner of Italy’s televised singing competition “Lo Canto”. Other: 54 Below, Lincoln Center Songbook Series, Birdland, Symphony Space, The GreenRoom 42, London’s The Players Theatre & St. James Theatre, etc. His recordings “Reach The Sky: Live" & “The Concrete Jungle International Studio Cast Recording” are available on all digital platforms. As a music producer, Bobby produced and arranged 16 year old Claire Kennedy’s debut pop album “Hindsight” and co-produced Lauren Elder’s self-titled debut album, and many demos and vocal reels for pop and theater artists along the way. A graduate of Yale University where he won the Michael P. Manzella Award for Excellence in Arts, Scholastics and Character, Bobby has taught all over the world and at universities such as Harvard, NYU, UPenn, and NYFA.  Member of ASCAP, Dramatists Guild.

www.bobbycronin.com

ALEX MENDELSON is a multi-instrumentalist and producer with 15 years of experience playing guitar, writing music and being in bands. He is a Stevens alum, where he studied Music Technology. Having worked as a session guitarist in numerous professional settings, he played guitar for the late Nick Cordero on a Playbill promotional video. He has recently recorded and mixed Claire Kennedy’s debut album alongside Bobby Cronin’s production and arrangements. You can find some of Alex’s music on all streaming platforms. As a producer he worked on Phoneboy’s lead single Acid Girl, which is currently at nearly 2 million Spotify streams. He has been in musical projects with genres ranging from rock, electronic, emo, folk, pop, and glam. You may recognize him as the guitarist for a few of the Prep concerts!