ENTANGLED PUBLISHING CEO AND HIT SONG PRODUCER LAUNCH NEW MUSIC VENTURE

Leveraging the success of Entangled Publishing’s author-centric business model, CEO and publisher Liz Pelletier has partnered with hit songwriter and producer David Elliott Johnson to form Entangled Music Group and a new musician-centric business model. Entangled Music plans initial focus to be on their first label, Subtext Records, which releases "character inspired" soundtracks based on new and popular books for inclusion with purchase, as well as streaming. Separate tracks will also be available for purchase on all major retailers.

“Music is an amazing medium for storytelling and evoking strong emotions,” says Liz Pelletier, Publisher at Entangled Publishing. “In this digital age, the pairing of music inspired by books creates multimedia novels that can not only enhance the reading experience, but allow the work to become part of our everyday lives and playlists.”

Subtext Records leaps over previous platform hurdles for enhanced e-books via a unique combination of embedded technologies, separate retail availability of enhanced content, and streaming capabilities on their own website platform. In addition, authors and artists are now able to reach new market segments via agreed upon cross-promotion licensing terms, bringing together avid readers and avid music lovers.

“I was super excited when I was approached to be included in this amazing opportunity to add original music inspired by the Lux Series into the actual novels,” says #1 NYT Bestselling Author Jennifer L. Armentrout. “It’s been an exciting process, and I hope the readers enjoy the music as much as I have, plus the additional insight into Kat and Daemon.”

Gold and Platinum award-winning songwriter and producer David Elliott Johnson, recognized for his most recent #1 single and Grammy-nominated Blake Shelton song, "Over", is excited to bring his 30 plus years of music business acumen to this new arena of original artist-inspired soundtracks for books.

“In this time where music seems to hold no value, it is important to evaluate the current systems of creation distribution,” says David Elliott Johnson, President of Entangled Music. “I’m excited to be a part of a new venture that has not only developed new creative outlets for artists and songwriters to be promoted and discovered, but also the ability to generate quality revenue streams for those artists and songwriters. Entangled Music is a new music model, one that works for everyone involved.”

About Liz Pelletier

Liz Pelletier is the co-founder, CEO, and publisher of Entangled Publishing, an independent publisher of romantic fiction in both the adult and young adult markets distributed globally by Macmillan Distribution. Since its first release in July 2011, Entangled has published more than 970 titles, including the #8 bestselling book of 2012 by Jennifer Probst, as well as the blockbuster young adult novel, Obsidian, by Jennifer L. Armentrout. Entangled has since grown to thirteen imprints, with 42 titles appearing on the USA Today Bestsellers list and 14 titles on the NYT Bestsellers list. Currently, Entangled releases approximately 30-45 titles per month in digital-first format and 2 per month in simultaneous print and digital formats.

About David Elliott Johnson

David Elliott Johnson is a successful songwriter, drummer, and record producer. His song writing has landed him Top 10 hits around the globe. His latest success with Country superstar and judge on the hit TV show “The Voice”, Bake Shelton, gained him Gold and Platinum awards with the Grammy-nominated song, “Over”. This original composition of David’s was #1 on the Billboard Hot Country charts in Canada and the US for 2 weeks. He has also had hit radio success in Spain and Bulgaria. As a 3rd generation drummer he has shared the stage with musical legends Bruce Springsteen, Don Henley, Sheryl Crow, and Tito Puente, to name a few. David has also made a name for himself with some of the biggest names in film and television based on his compositions and orchestral arrangements. The majority of his music was composed, performed, and produced by himself in his own production facility, The Sound Asylum, based in the beautiful beach community of historic St Augustine, Fl.

About Entangled Music

Entangled Music an independent music company founded by Entangled Publishing CEO Liz Pelletier and Grammy-nominated songwriter David Elliott Johnson with two initial labels: Subtext Records which specializes in soundtracks for popular books, and Caffeinated Records which focuses on debut solo albums. The first singles from Subtext Records were released on November 2, 2015 and feature original music for the young adult sci-fi thriller listed by Buzzfeed.com as one of the most anticipated novels of 2015, FORGET TOMORROW. 

Raquel Sofia Back Home at University of Miami

Raquel Sofía 

When I started publishing the Florida Music Letter in this electronic form, I previously launched a music blog called Weekly Music Commentary two years earlier. The two publications were different because Florida Music Letter featured music makers from the state of Florida. It also was not limited to popular artists, as I have featured music studios, colleges, events and venues. Nevertheless, I always knew the day would come when I featured an artist in both publications. In fact, I was looking forward to the time and opportunity for the occasion. However, I did not think it would take place in the same month. I have accomplished what I thought would happen three years into publishing Florida Music Letter. After interviews and events featuring so many fine Florida musicians, the first has found her place in both publications. Raquel Sofia, the rising Latin singer/songwriter is the featured Florida musician this month. Last week Raquel appeared in concert at the Festival Miami 2015. The performance was held at the Gusman Concert Hall on the campus of her alma mater University of Miami. I’m sure you will enjoy her story.

Edward Reid

Raquel Sofía graduated from the University of Miami with a bachelors degree in studio music and jazz. Originally from Mayaüez, Puerto Rico, she plays guitar and sings in Spanish, English and Portuguese.

Singer/songwriter Raquel Sofía is a Spotify “2015 Artist To Watch,” grossing over 3.6 million streams on Spotify in just 6 months, and over 9 million streams to date.  Winner of the Rudy Perez Songwriting Award, her first single “Agridulce” was named one of Beats Music’s “Best of 2014 Pop” songs.

A digital phenomenon, Raquel Sofía’s first EP, Te Odio Los Sábados, has already received over 7.6 million streams on Spotify. Her “Tiny Desk Concert” on NPR has more than 72,000 views.  She is the first Latin artist on “Vevo DSCVR,” with over 100,000 views.

Raquel Sofía’s big break came singing backup for Juanes on MTV Unplugged. She then toured as opener and backup singer with Juanes, appearing at the Latin Billboards Music Awards, Billboard Music Awards, and Latin Grammys.  She sang backup for Shakira at the 2014 American Music Awards, Tonight Show, and The Voice (UK).

Raquel Sofía recorded vocals for the Grammy winning track “Ula Ula” by Illya Kuryaki & The Valderramas, featured in Target’s “Summer Up” campaign, and she wrote and performed on HBO’s 2015 Game Of Thrones Mix Tape.

click the link below to read the article featuring Raquel Sofia in Weekly Music Commentary

Weekly Music Commentary - Raquel Sofia

Festival Miami—Florida’s Premier Live Music Festival—provides world-class musical programming in diverse styles to all of South Florida, as it continues its cultural and community legacy. The University of Miami Frost School of Music hosts Festival Miami on its picturesque Coral Gables campus in comfortable and intimate venues including the newly renovated Maurice Gusman Concert Hall and the Weeks Center for Recording and Performance. Festival sponsors enjoy high-impact visibility and advertising throughout the festival including stage banners, printed program books, brochure mailers and throughout our extensive media campaign.

Festival Miami presents 25 to 30 concerts each October and November featuring Grammy Award winning and internationally acclaimed musical guest artists, master faculty artists, and award-winning student ensembles. Several events are offered free of admission each season and educational components such as master classes, open rehearsals, and hosted conversations with artists are also presented. Residents and visitors to South Florida are invited to partake in all that Festival Miami has to offer - from world premieres and symphonic concerts, to chamber music presentations and jazz performances, and much more.

click the link below for more information about Festival Miami

Festival Miami 2015

photos by Amanda Julca

UF Performing Arts Welcomes New Director Brian Jose

Brian Jose has been named the new director of University of Florida Performing Arts.

Mr. Jose comes to the University of Florida from the College of Saint Benedict/Saint John’s University in Central Minnesota where he has served as the executive director of Fine Arts Programming since 2008. In this position, Jose was responsible for establishing strategic direction for the program, creating a collaborative environment between Fine Arts Programming and the faculty/staff of both college campuses.

Prior to his current position, Jose worked in various capacities for the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center at the University of Maryland, Arizona State University’s Herberger College of Fine Arts, the Phoenix Art Museum, Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra and the Columbus Symphony Orchestra.

“I am so thrilled to join one of this country’s most storied performing arts programs. It is an honor to take over for Michael Blachly, and to build on his arts legacy at this great university,” Jose said.  “I look forward to sharing my passion for the performing arts with the UF and Gainesville communities.”

Jose, who currently serves as the Vice-Chair on the Board of Directors for the Association of Performing Arts Presenters (APAP), will assume his new director duties effective early November.

University of Florida Performing Arts (UFPA) was formed in September 2000 when the Phillips Center and the newly-dedicated Baughman Center united under the direction of Michael Blachly.  In April, 2001, University Auditorium became a part of the program as well.  UFPA is responsible for building administration, technical labor, staffing, business and fiduciary oversight of these three facilities.

UFPA is a campus-based presenting organization.  Each season, UFPA presents 40-50 different events each season in the Phillips Center, University Auditorium and the Squitieri Studio Theatre (a black box venue located off the main lobby of the Phillips Center).  UFPA has also presented larger events at the Stephen C. O’Connell Center.  UFPA strives to present a diversity of events from popular acts to classical to dance and beyond. 

In addition to its presented season, UFPA facilities also host rental events featuring local artists as well as national and internationally known acts.  Each season, UFPA welcomes approximately 100,000 visitors to its venues for its presented season, rental events, UF graduation ceremonies and more.

Here are a few special events coming to UFPA:

RAISIN’ CANE: A HARLEM RENAISSANCE ODYSSEY STARRING JASMINE GUY & THE AVERY SHARPE TRIO

• September 27, 2015 at 7:30 pm

• September 28, 2015 at 7:30 pm

• September 29, 2015 at 7:30 pm

Location: Phillips Center

Inspired by the classic 1923 Jean Toomer novel Cane and works by the musicians, composers, poets and actors of the Harlem Renaissance. Starring the award-winning actress, singer and dancer Jasmine Guy, a modern-day Griot, and the acclaimed Avery Sharpe Trio, Raisin’ Cane celebrates and honors the legendary voices of the Harlem Renaissance through text, song, music, movement and imagery. Raisin’ Cane was written and conceived by Harry Clark with adaptation by Jasmine Guy and original musical score by Avery Sharpe.

RAGTIME

• October 22, 2015 at 7:30 pm

• October 23, 2015 at 7:30 pm

Location: Phillips Center

AT THE DAWN OF A NEW CENTURY, everything is changing…and anything is possible. RAGTIME returns to the road in all-new touring production directed and choreographed by Marcia Milgrom Dodge and produced by the team that most recently brought you THE ADDAMS FAMILY, SPAMALOT, ROCK OF AGES and THE COLOR PURPLE. The stories of an upper-class wife, a determined Jewish immigrant and a daring young Harlem musician unfold – set in turn-of-the-century New York – all three united by their desire and belief in a brighter tomorrow. Their compelling stories are set to theater’s richest and most glorious Tony Award®-winning score by Stephen Flaherty and Lynn Ahrens.

Winning Tony Awards for Best Book and Best Musical Score, this 13-time Tony Award nominated musical is a timeless celebration of life – what it could and should be!

click the link below for more information:

UF Performing Arts

Spectacular Lineup of Award-Winning Artists to Perform at Festival Miami 2015

Freda Payne

The University of Miami Frost School of Music and presenting sponsor UHealth – University of Miami Health System announce the extraordinary lineup for its annual multi-genre music festival, FESTIVAL MIAMI, Florida’s premier live music festival. From October 16 to November 7, 2015, the Festival will offer vibrant performances by the biggest names on the music scene from around the globe who will showcase their talents alongside the outstanding students and faculty artists from the Frost School of Music. More than 20 performances, organized into four themes: Great Performances, Jazz and Beyond, Music of the Americas, and Creative American Music, will be held in the intimate setting of the 600-seat UM Maurice Gusman Concert Hall, 1314 Miller Drive, on the Coral Gables campus.

The Festival’s 32nd season kicks off on a bright note on October 16 when South Florida concert-goers will be treated to an unforgettable program featuring the music of three visionary American composers. The highlight of the evening will be a riveting performance by one of America’s newest artistic treasures – the Billboard chart-topping piano sensation SIMONE DINNERSTEIN who will perform the Florida premiere of Phillip Lasser’s Concerto for Piano and Orchestra – The Circle and the Child with the FROST SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA. Alan Hovhaness’s landmark And God Created Great Whales and Howard Hanson’s epic Symphony No. 5 complete the program of standout works.

Additional Festival Miami highlights include the annual SONGWRITERS SHOWCASE – Johnny Mercer Re-Imagined, held on October 20, that will place the spotlight on the remarkable talents of songwriters and performers from the Frost School’s Bruce Hornsby Creative American Music (CAM) Program. The students will give a fresh spin on classic songs by the legendary Johnny Mercer, who penned such beloved standards as “Autumn Leaves,” “Moon River,” and “Skylark,” showcasing all new versions of classic works by this brilliant writer. This event will be hosted by Rey Sanchez, CAM Program Director and Jon Brielle, Vice President of the Johnny Mercer Foundation. The following evening, October, 21, country music fans will be treated to an “unplugged” and “in the round” evening of music by Nashville’s songwriting giants when the NASHVILLE COUNTRY ALL-STARS (Craig Carothers, Tony Arata, Dave Berg, and Annie Mosher) showcase their biggest hits recorded by Garth Brooks, Keith Urban, Trisha Yearwood, Rodney Atkins, and many others. Cuban-born piano master GONZALO RUBALCABA, who has been heralded by The New York Times as “one of the greatest musicians in jazz… a pianist of almost supernatural abilities,” will be joined by his fellow Frost School faculty artists, including percussion virtuoso and winner of the Concert Artists Guild International Competition SVET STOYANOV with trumpeter/bandleader JOHN 

Los Angeles Guitar Quartet

DAVERSA directing the FROST CONCERT JAZZ BAND.
They will enthrall audiences in their new musical home with a thrilling jazz program on October 22. The Grammy-and Emmy Award winning tenor JOHN EASTERLIN will thrill audiences with Broadway and opera favorites and classic arias by Mozart, Bernstein, plus more celebrated composers on October 24 on a program that features Grammy nominated jazz arranger and Dean of the Frost School of Music SHELLY BERG as special guest. On October 25, the inimitable LOS ANGELES GUITAR QUARTET -- recognized as one of the nation’s most groundbreaking and virtuosic instrumental ensembles -- will present music from their album New Renaissance and arrangements of classics by Ralph Towner, Pat Metheny, and Chet Atkins from their Grammy-winning project Guitar Heroes, as well as premiere works by Atanas Ourkouzounov, Tilman Hoppstock, and Dweezil Zappa.

Musical sparks will fly in a new interpretation of Brahms’s Horn Trio in E-flat Major, Op. 40 on October 28 when admired Frost horn faculty member, motion picture and solo recording artist RICHARD TODD performs with violin soloist and Cleveland Institute of Music’s President JOEL SMIRNOFF and award-winning pianist and NPR’s From the Top host CHRISTOPHER O’RILEY. Todd will also perform Olivier Messiaen’s solo horn work “Appel Interstellaire.” Solo piano and violin works by Bach and chamber music gems round out the evening’s program. CYRILLE AIMÉE, who is an extraordinary revelation in contemporary vocal jazz, will perform with the 2015 DownBeat Collegiate Award winning FROST STUDIO JAZZ BAND and JAZZ VOCAL 1 ENSEMBLE on October 29. The young, New York-based French singer AIMÉE blends standards with Gypsy swing and bossa nova. Since she won the 2012 Sarah Vaughan Jazz Competition, she has quickly become widely acclaimed as a favorite of jazz aficionados. Multi-platinum selling singer-songwriter and pianist BEN FOLDS will perform his critically acclaimed Concerto for Piano and Orchestra with the Frost School’s stellar HENRY MANCINI INSTITUTE ORCHESTRA on October 30. His concerto, which he composed in 2013 and has since been performed by symphony orchestras to sold-out audiences around the globe, will be featured on his upcoming new album "So There," which is slated for release in September 2015."

On Halloween afternoon, the FROST SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA presents Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (Children’s Suite for Orchestra) by John Williams, plus music by Saint-Saëns and Mussorgsky. The young and young-at-heart are invited to dress in Halloween costumes and enjoy post-concert treats courtesy of Festival Miami.

Black Violin

The Festival continues on November 1 with an exhilarating sonic celebration when the violin/viola hip-hop duo BLACK VIOLIN, comprised of string musicians Kev Marcus and Wil B, will once again shatter stereotypes of classical musicians by offering their fresh take on classical music, incorporating influences from R&B and soul to rock and beyond. Named one of the hottest new bands at the South by Southwest (SXSW®) Festival, Black Violin is sure to “wow” audiences with their high-energy, genre-bending sounds. Grammy nominated jazz organist extraordinaire JOEY DeFRANCESCO has been credited with being a vital force in the revival of the Hammond B3 organ as a jazz instrument. On November 3, he will entertain audiences with his swinging style and astounding originality as he performs in the great tradition of the unforgettable Jimmy Smith. FREDA PAYNE, who will forever be associated with her 1970 breakthrough R&B hit “Band of Gold,” returns to her musical roots as an American jazz singer in the tradition of Nancy Wilson and Ella Fitzgerald on November 5. She will captivate audiences with her artistic prowess on a program that includes “Save Your Love for Me,” plus more enthralling selections with a trio that will feature Frost School of Music Dean SHELLY BERG on piano.