Hollywood, CA – December 7, 2014 – Education Through Music-Los Angeles (ETM-LA) honored legendary Academy® Award-Winning Composer/Lyricist Richard Sherman and Music Teacher Steve Hollis with “Shining Star” Awards at the Skirball Cultural Center. Each year, the Shining Stars are awarded to individuals whose contributions through music have changed lives. “Through music, our honorees inspire our youth to achieve their highest potential,” says ETM-LA Executive Director, Victoria Lanier.
Honorary chairs of the gala included music education champions and celebrities such as actress Ellie Kemper, actor Ed Helms, composer Michael Giacchino, composer John Debney, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, Alice and Leonard Maltin, Michael Feinstein, Richard Kraft & Laura Engel, composer Christopher Lennertz, Musical Director Rickey Minor, Paramount’s Randy Spendlove, and the Honorable Zev Yaroslavsky.
Richard Sherman mesmerized the crowd of nearly 300 people, singing timeless Disney songs written by him and his late brother, Robert B. Sherman, including Supercalifragilisticexpialodocious, The Wonderful Thing about Tiggers, Spoonful of Sugar, Tiki Tiki Tiki Room, and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. For a poignant finale, the audience got to join in a sing-along on It’s a Small World. Other special guest artists graced the stage, including Actor Josh Gad (Olaf – Frozen) singing a contagious performance of Sherman’s I Wanna Be Like You and Grammy® Award-Winning R&B/Pop Group All-4-One, who opened the evening with Sherman’s You’re Sixteen (You’re Beautiful and You’re Mine). Reputed for being Walt Disney’s favorite song, Feed the Birds beautifully radiated from the voice of Evelyn Halus, while Let’s Go Fly a Kite soared from the voices and instruments of the youngest artists in performance that night - music students of Education Through Music-LA partner schools and Burbank’s Roosevelt Elementary School.
Actress Karen Dotrice (Jane Banks – Mary Poppins) and Asst. Superintendent of Instructional Services Dr. Tom Kissinger (Burbank Unified School District) were on hand to present Sherman and Hollis with their awards, respectively. "I felt very fortunate as a young man because of the fact that music was a part of the academic career. Unfortunately today, we don't have the funding we should have,” shared Sherman. “I'm happy to know that Education Through Music-Los Angeles is now working constantly, bringing the wonderful gift of music to youngsters because it's so vital - it's so important."
Proceeds from the event will benefit ETM-LA’s programs serving over 7,000 children. The non-profit organization believes every child deserves a well-rounded education that includes music and the arts. “We are so humbled by the tremendous support and participation at tonight’s benefit to ensure every child has an equal opportunity to succeed through music.” says Lanier. Added Hollis, “I always say that everybody has the gift of music…my job is to help kids open that gift and really take it to its fullest.”
Throughout the legendary Sherman Brothers’ career, honoree Richard M. Sherman, along with his late brother, Robert B. Sherman, have written more songs for motion pictures than any team in cinematic history. For generations, the Shermans, considered to be the foremost composer-lyricists have written the soundtrack of our childhood, including the most translated song on earth, It’s A Small World (After All) and other songs - Let’s Go Fly a Kite, Spoonful of Sugar, and Supercalifragilisticexpialadocious. Their achievements include: 2 Academy Awards for Mary Poppins (1964) for Original Score and Original Song for Chim Chim Cher-ee, Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, 3 Grammy Awards, 24 Gold and Platinum albums, and a White House, National Medal of Arts—the highest honor bestowed on American-born artists. The Sherman Brothers wrote over 200 songs featured in Walt Disney’s films, TV shows and Theme Parks (including music to the Tiki Tiki Tiki Room). Sherman was also a Musical Consultant for the film, Saving Mr. Banks (2013).
Honoree Steve Hollis has been a professional pianist for the past 35 years and a dedicated music teacher for over two decades. Hollis holds a Bachelor of Music Education (Vocal/Instrumental K-12), and a Masters of Arts with a music curriculum emphasis. After teaching for 13 years in the Chicagoland area at the Lake in The Hills Elementary School, he has been proud to teach music in the Burbank Unified School District for over 6 years. Among his most rewarding encounters include the integration of the deaf and hard of hearing students into his music classes, the implementation of an integrated music, art, drama and dance curriculum for FAME (Fine Arts Methods in Education), and the development of a website for engaged learning using the “Blues” and improvisation techniques. Hollis has performed both as a solo artist, a member of a 16-piece show band, played alongside performers Marvin Hamlish, Smokey Robinson, The Gatlin Brothers, and Joan Rivers. He has also been the musical director for full Broadway-style productions in several Chicago Equity Theatres.
View Photos from the Benefit Gala
Education Through Music-LA is an independent 501(c)3 non-profit with the mission to provide music in disadvantaged schools to enhance students’ academic achievement and creative and overall development. ETM-LA partners with inner-city schools to provide yearlong music instruction and is based on the ETM® model (New York, 1991). For more info: www.etmla.org
