JAN AUSTIN, JPPR, OWNER: After 20 years in Nashville’s media and  public relations communities,  Jan  Austin has been  acknowledged as one of the area’s innovative  entrepreneurs.As part of the original production teams for WTVF Channel 5’s "Talk of The Town" and "On The Air With Ruth Ann Leach," she learned about the effectiveness of  television when well produced. As feature columnist  for The  Nashville Scene, she realized personally the power of the printed word. As radio talk show host at WLAC/AM, she discovered that great ideas are born out of a  variety of opinions. And when she began her own small business, Jan became keenly aware of the need for strategic   planning required to grow a company. Now as a public relations/advertising consultant,  graphic designer and events manager, she shares her knowledge of advertising, promotion and public relations as it relates to  businesses of any size, and she offers simple solutions to daily management issues. Most recently, Jan served as Deputy Director of the Tennessee Film, Entertainment & Music Commission. During her tenure,  the Tennessee Legislature passed two new laws that created incentives that will be used to attract more film and television projects to the State.

ALAN BREWER, BME MUSIC, OWNER/COMPOSER/PRODUCER:  Starting in the music business as a touring musician and songwriter, and later moving into the producer’s chair, Alan Brewer has worked in the studio with Pete Townshend of “The Who,” legendary “Yes” keyboardist, Rick Wakeman, Sister Sledge, Rick Derringer, and Clarence Clemons of Bruce Springsteen’s “E Street Band,” as well as studio greats like the Brecker Brothers, Steve Gadd, Will Lee, Larry Coryell, Liberty DeVitto, and Tony Levin.  He has also served as Producer on mixes of live recordings of Sting, Phil Collins, Jeff Beck, Donovan, Bob Geldof, and Eric Clapton.  During his years as a touring musician, Brewer had the pleasure of performing live with the likes of John Lee Hooker, Sonny Terry & Brownie McGhee and jazz composer/pianist, Cecil Taylor. A stint as Post-Production Sound & Music Supervisor for Miramax Films led Brewer into the motion picture business, and he then progressed to Score Composer, Music Director, and Soundtrack Producer on a number of feature films and television projects.  His movie credits include David Bowie’s “Ziggy Stardust & The Spiders From Mars,” Paul McCartney’s “Rockshow,” “Tokyo Pop,” “Crossover Dreams,” “B.C. Rock,” “The Burning,” and “Secret Policeman’s Other Ball.”  Reaching beyond his music related responsibilities, Brewer also produced the Universal Pictures release, “Playing For Keeps.”  His publishing and production company, BME/Brewman Music & Entertainment, currently has offices in Nashville and Los Angeles and represents such luminaries as Narada Michael Walden, Rick Wakeman, Danny Federici (of the E Street Band), and jazz artist/composer Chris Bennett, for film & television composition.

ERIE CHAPMAN, PRESIDENT AND CEO OF THE BAPTIST HEALING TRUST:  Across his extraordinary career, Erie Chapman has served as a successful trial attorney, federal prosecuting attorney, night court judge, producer/host of an internationally syndicated television show, publisher of a healthcare magazine, newspaper columnist, radio talk show host, documentary film producer, and author.  He is also a prize-winning photographer and a music composer.  He is a recent graduate of Vanderbilt University Divinity School and a candidate for his Ph.D. at Vanderbilt where he teaches a masters level course in leadership theory and behavior.  Erie has just finished his first book, Radical Loving Care.

SCOTT W. HALLGREN, COMPOSER/ARRANGER, KEYBOARDIST :  Scott W. Hallgren has written the underscore for over two dozen indie movies, done music/voiceover production and sound design work for Scholastic Video, Oxygen Network, Chattem/IcyHot, Ridiculous Software, The BAO Way, Vanderbilt University, Ritz-Carlton, CMT, P-K Pictures, and won '2006 Best Comedy' award from atomFilms & LucasFilm for the Star Wars spoof "Sith'd". Additionally, he has served as Donna Summer’s musical director and pianist; toured with Margaret Becker, The Wilkinsons, Steve Wariner, and Fernando Ortega; done arrangements for multi-platinum producer David Foster; and performed with Sir Elton John, Aaron Neville, Andrae Crouch, Gloria Estefan, Ricky Skaggs, Marc Anthony, and Eddy Arnold.

Dr. E. MICHAEL HARRINGTON, PROFESSOR, COMPOSER, MUSICIAN :  Dr. E. Michael Harrington teaches Intellectual Property Law as a Professor of Entertainment & Music Business at Belmont University. He was the 1995 Jemison Distinguished Professor of The Humanities at the University of Alabama-Birmingham, an endowed chair funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities. He is Chair of the first-ever College Music Society Music Industry Outreach Committee, a member of the Leadership Music Class of 2007, and has taught at the University of Miami, the University of Pittsburgh, Ohio State, UAB, and William Paterson University. He has taught training sessions at the Harvard University Law School, been a guest speaker at the Boston Bar Association, and delivered presentations at more than 90 international, national and regional meetings of 45 different organizations; and has lectured, performed and taught master classes at more than 50 universities throughout the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico. Harrington is presently serving as an expert in an international consortium on copyright issues and the future of the music industry funded by Brazil’s National Counsel of Scientific and Technological Development, and administered through the Federal University of Santa Catarina in Florianopolis, Brazil, and has been a consultant to the Electronic Frontier Foundation, and Columbia University Law School’s Music Plagiarism Project. He has been interviewed by print, radio, television and Internet sources including The New York Times, CNN, Washington Post and others.

GEOFF KOCH, PRODUCER, COMPOSER, KEYBOARDIST:   Geoff Koch has composed music for a number of television shows, most recently A&E's "American Justice," HGTV programs such as "Pet Palaces," "Homes Across America," "Extreme Christmas," etc., and CMT's "Controversy" theme song.  He also composes and produces jingles.  His degree in music was earned between Oberlin Conservatory of Music and Belmont University School of Music.  As a keyboardist, he has also toured with Lorrie Morgan, The Glenn Miller Orchestra, and most recently, Restless Heart.  Koch usually writes and produces music at his studio on 16th Ave. S.

ROLIN MAINS, FOUNDER OF THE NASHVILLE COMPOSERS ASSOCIATION:  Rolin Mains is a composer, pianist, orchestrator and an award-winning producer.  He won a Dove award for Best Instrumental Album of the Year in 1999, and has since been nominated for two others. He has also won numerous Addy awards for his work as a jingle producer in Fort Wayne, IN.  As a composer, Rolin has written music for Dino Kartsonakis’ award-winning Branson Christmas Extravaganza.  He has attended the ASCAP “Buddy Baker” Film Scoring Workshop in New York, and has written music for the feature film “Alternate Routes,” and for several of A&E’s Biography television shows.  As a pianist and keyboard player, Rolin has toured with Sandi Patty, The Young Messiah Tour, Emmanuel, John Michael Talbot, and Wayne Watson. He has recorded a solo instrumental album, “A Time To Dance” for Brentwood Records.  Mr. Mains also does workshops around the country on topics such as synthesizer playing and playing keyboards within a worship band.  As the founding member of the NCA, Mr. Mains currently sits on the board of FilmNashville.

BILL PURSELL, COMPOSER, ARRANGER, PIANIST, EDUCATOR: Born in Oakland, California, and raised in Tulare, California, USA, Bill Pursell had one US Top 10 hit in 1963 before going on to a successful career as a session pianist. Pursell's main claim to fame was "Our Winter Love", a number 9 single for Columbia Records. Before that, he studied music composition in Baltimore and worked as an arranger for the US Air Force Band during World War II. Further musical education following his discharge led to a position with the Nashville Symphony Orchestra and a teaching position at Nashville's Vanderbilt University. He signed with Columbia in 1962 and recorded an album which included his version of the instrumental "Our Winter Love". After its chart run, and that of the album of the same title (with arrangements by Bill Justis and an orchestra conducted by Grady Martin), Pursell continued to record, for such labels as Epic, Alton and Dot Records

STACY WIDELITZ, COMPOSER, ORCHESTRATOR:  With a multi-platinum album for his contribution to Dirty Dancing, an Emmy nomination for a wildlife documentary score, more than a dozen television themes, and music for more than two dozen movies for both the big screen and TV to his credit, composer Stacy Widelitz has already built up an impressive resumé. Stacy first came to prominence with the song "She's Like the Wind," co-written with Patrick Swayze and featured in Swayze's blockbuster Dirty Dancing.  Featured on the movie's wildly successful soundtrack, which sold 11 million copies in the United States alone, it was the third single to be released and reached no. 3 on Billboard's top-40 chart (no. 1 among adult-contemporary radio listeners). He also received two BMI awards for the tune as among the most-performed songs of that year. In the past few years, he has scored more than twenty made-for-TV movies, written the end-title song for Disney’s “Pocahontas II”, and has recently moved to Nashville to collaborate with some of that city’s top songwriters. Stacy wrote the title song and scored all the episodes of Children’s Television Workshop’s acclaimed animated series Cro, and has worked with directors such as Todd Holland, Waris Hussein and James Contner. Stacy recently completed the score and much of the dance music for the up-coming film One Last Dance, and received four Gold Addy awards for an ad campaign in Kentucky. He has also worked with many noted musicians, such as Jeff “Skunk” Baxter, Edgar Winter and Danny Wilde (The Rembrandts). Stacy is noted for his diversity, being as comfortable in front of an orchestra as he is in the state-of-the-art digital studio he maintains at his home.

DEREK YOUNG, BRIDGES ACADEMY DIRECTOR: Derek Young is the first director of the soon to be opened Bridges Academy, an all-boys school for inner city youth.  Mr. Young has been involved in the 100 Kings Program, an educational program for troubled African-American youth.  He has served as director for diversity for Cracker Barrel and Dollar General.  He currently sits on the governance board of the Nashville Chamber, as well as several other boards around town.
 
PAST MEMBERS
KENNETH SCHERMERHORN, MUSIC DIRECTOR, CONDUCTOR:  The late Kenneth Schermerhorn was one of the most distinguished and versatile conductors. Music director of The Nashville Symphony since 1983, he brought the NSO to new levels of artistic achievement and public support. He led the NSO on its first East Coast tour, which culminated in a stunning debut at Carnegie Hall on September 25, 2000; and in 2003, he conducted The Symphony’s Fourth of July concert, which was broadcast nationwide on the A&E cable network. Further highlighting his tenure with The Orchestra was a multi-disc recording project for Naxos. Maestro Schermerhorn’s distinguished career led him to guest engagements with orchestras in many parts of the world including Europe, Asia, Australia, and North and South America. In The United States, he conducted the New York Philharmonic, the Philadelphia Orchestra and the Boston Symphony, among other distinguished orchestras.  He was the music director of the Milwaukee Symphony for 12 years and was credited with its development into one of America’s major orchestras. Earlier positions held by Maestro Schermerhorn include music director of the New Jersey Symphony and music director and conductor of the American Ballet Theatre. He premiered Mikhail Baryshnikov’s Nutcracker at the Kennedy Center in 1977. A frequent and highly sought after opera conductor, Maestro Schermerhorn also led the gala celebration of the Metropolitan Opera’s Centennial in 1983.  As a composer, Maestro Schermerhorn wrote more than 50 choral, orchestra and chamber works.

JOHN CATCHINGS, ‘CELLIST, RECORDING ARTIST: John graduated from the Peabody Conservatory of Music in Baltimore, Maryland in 1969.  He worked closely with many contemporary composers such as Alberto Ginestara, Frank Martin, Zoltan Kodaly, Ernst Krenek, Sergio Cervetti, and others, as a performer. His major 'cello instructors were Paul Olefsky, Lawrence Lesser, and Stephen Kates.  John chose to go into the commercial music field in the early 80's, attracted by the diversity of the work and the science of the recording arts.  Chapter & Verse Media Inc is a recording and recording services company John established in the early 90's. Media Mix Studio is the company facility where all production occurs.  It is a Logic Audio based recording and visual art facility shared with Sue, his wife, who is a mixed media artist.

MAXWELL ABRAMS, SAXOPHONIST, PRODUCER, CIRCUS MAXIMUS:  Max Abrams earned a BA in composition from Princeton University. In the course of his education there he worked with Steve Macky, Paul Lansky, Rick Margitza, Walt Wieskoph, YoYo Ma and a variety of other composers and performers. After working for legendary producer Tommy Lipuma, Abrams moved  to Nashville in 1999. Maintaining an active presence in the Music City, Abrams has recorded and performed as a saxophonist with a variety of artists  including Wide Spread Panic, Kid Rock, Jessica Andrews, Marcus Hummon, and James Slater. Abrams has also been an assistant producer on projects for Disney, Virgin, and Universal and has lead his own performance art collective, Circus Maximus, through a series of critically acclaimed sold out shows.

ROD MCGAHA, TRUMPET, TEACHER:  RodMcGaha has toured the world as a sideman for Kenny Rodgers, BeBe and CeCe Winans, The O’Jays, Take 6, Lou Rawls, and the legendary Max Roach who called Rod “an important new and original voice”.  Rod has earned impressive awards such as The Maynard Ferguson Award from the Notre Dame Collegiate Jazz Festival, The Louis Armstrong Jazz Award for Outstanding Jazz Trumpeter, The Oak Lawn Jazz Festival All-Star Award, and The Outstanding Jazz Trumpet Soloist Award from the National Association of Jazz Educators.Rod McGaha has had his own recordings released including the Hip-Hop-ish The Servant (1997), the powerful and stirring Traditional Jazz offering Preacherman (1999) which was co-produced by Delfeayo Marsalis rose to number 12 on the Gavin Jazz Report, the rare Seven (2000) a European Import full of passion and experimentation, and his beautifully crafted Jazz approach to Gospel music The Trumpet Sounds (2003), for which Rod has been nominated for a DOVE award. A LIVE recording made in February of 2004 should be released this summer.