Come one, come all! Don't miss Marla in a rare concert appearance at the Great South Bay Music Festival, in Patchogue, NY, THIS Saturday, July 12, at 5:00 PM under the Kidzone Tent. A good time is guaranteed! Marla will be giving away beautiful autographed posters. Go here for all info and directions:
http://www.greatsouthbaymusicfestival.com/
Marla's latest CD, "I Love to Talk to Plants," was just awarded GOLD from the Parent's Choice Foundation! To celebrate, we are offering Plants CD's for only $10 each! This is a limited time offer -- click here to get yours now :http://cdbaby.com/cd/marlalewis2
Lynne Heffley of the LA Times has this to say about I Love to Talk to Plants:
A delight from singer/songwriter Marla Lewis, who brings enormous warmth and creativity to memorable songs that are as varied as the story of real-life 1931 baseball "strike-out queen" Jackie Mitchell and a life-celebrating, affectionate conversation with dandelions and morning glories. By turns humorous and soulful, Lewis sings about messy rooms, weird dreams and making a difference in the world. Her tribute to late Cuban salsa legend Celia Cruz ("Whenever Celia Sings") and "Sambas Swaying in the Trees," are, quite simply, musical gold.http://cdbaby.com/cd/marlalewis2
Marla Lewis and Les Julian are the Grand Prize winners of the 9th Annual Great American Song Contest with their winning song, "Mighty Jackie (The Strikeout Queen)." The song, which tells the TRUE story of a 17-year-old girl who struck out Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig in the same exhibition baseball game, is featured in the Great American Song Hall of Fame.
In addition, Marla scored TOP FIVE Honors with two more songs, "Whenever Celia Sings," a tribute to the late salsa legend, Celia Cruz, and "Sambas Swaying in the Trees," a Brazilian ode to the rain forest.
To hear these and more winning songs, visit the Great American Song Hall Of Fame website link at: http://www.greatamericansong.com/winners.html
For the fifth year in a row, Marla presented a musical workshop for her fellow ESL teachers (English as a Second Language) at the Long Island ESL Conference in April. Its Title: "Music for a Visual Generation: How to Use Music, Movement and Visuals to Inspire ELL's (English Language Learners)".
Marla used slides, videos, and activity pages from her website to share her multisensory teaching approach to a full house. Here are some comments by workshop participants:
Marla and the incomparable Les Julian were honored guests and performers at the Rhyme Celebration at Marlborough Elementary School in CT on St. Patrick's Day! First, Marla and Les conducted two songwriting workshops with the 5th and 6th graders, and created a song about Respect. Then they were serenaded by a chorus of 100 children singing Marla's song, "We All Laugh in the Same Language!" What an honor! Next, the 5th and 6th grade songwriters performed their Respect song for the school. Finally, Les and Marla sang, clapped, and danced with 300 children. A wonderful time was had by all!
My new song, "Lend a Hand," will be featured as the soundtrack for a video by Matt Ahl about the International Breast Milk Project, an organization that has saved hundreds of hungry babies in Africa. You can read about their accomplishments and goals here: www.breastmilkproject.org. Its founder, Jill Youse, was Person of the week on ABC's World News Tonight, and featured on Oprah Winfrey's show. All proceeds from the sale of "Lend a Hand" on my website will go to IBMP. Listen and check out the lyrics here: Lend a Hand
Here is the news I just received in my inbox a few days ago:
Your song "We All Laugh in the Same Language" has been selected to be included on the 2008 Indie Music For Life children's music compilation CD. This is the first children's themed CD we have produced and are very excited about it. This CD is also slated to go into the packets that we are putting together to go out to pediatric cancer patients for free.
....I am honored. To further the cause, I will send proceeds from all mp3 sales of my song, "We All Laugh in the Same Language" to Indie Music for Life, as well.
This pun-ny song about homophones -- those pesky pairs of words that sound alike but are spelled differently and mean something entirely different from each other -- was written by 15 people! I was down in Arkansas a short while ago, giving a workshop to music teachers at Henderson State University in Arkadelphia, AK (what a great name!). In the morning, we explored Music through the Curriculum, and in the afternoon, I hosted a Songwriting Workshop. The synapses were firing and we had a lot of laughs! I am still sorting out the copyright info, so only my name is on the credits, but soon everyone who contributed to the song will be on it. Check it out here: homophones
It's amazing what you can come up with in the right atmosphere. Many of these folks had never written a song before. What a blast!
Is it Dental Health Month? I don't know, I'm confused! Anyway, my new (and only) Reggae Brush-Your-Teeth song is available HERE: Wash Away All That Sugar
This lovely song, which 8-year-old Denise calls, "Chocolate to my ears," (thanks, Dee!), is also featured on a CD compilation for kids called, "Brush Your Teeth!" that will be available at pediatric dentists' offices nationwide.
Meeting you and hearing your wonderful songs was definitely a highlight of the year. Your talent, humor, and kind heart motivates me to become a better educator and citizen of this wonderful nation and world!
-- Rodney Wallace, music educator, Little Rock, AK
