In recognition of DW Drums founder Don Lombardi’s generous instrument donation to our rehearsal rooms, please join us in welcoming Don at a special plaque unveiling ceremony naming Room 3 in his honor.
Where: AFM Local 47 Rehearsal Room Artists’ Lounge
When: Tuesday, October 2, 10 a.m.
Facebook Event Page Continue reading
Students of the pilot Local 47 Career Pathways Program visit the Streisand Scoring Stage at Sony Pictures in Culver City. [photo by Tiffany Israel]
The Local 47 Career Pathways Program recently concluded its pilot session, and by all accounts was a resounding success.
With funding completely secured by the Verdugo Workforce Development Board from federal, state, and local sources, the program teamed up with the union to connect younger generation high schoolers with professionals working in the music industry.
And then there were 15… Superstar AFM Local 47 member John Legend joins the exclusive EGOT club with his two Emmy Arts wins as lead actor and co-producer for “Jesus Christ Superstar Live.” He is one of the youngest people ever to win all four Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony awards.
AFM Secretary/Treasurer Gary Lasley (far left) joins the newly sworn-in TMA Officers for a group photo. [by Tom Mendel]
Theater musicians from across the United States and Canada joined together with the mission of continuing to build the organization that is our voice within the American Federation of Musicians. Continue reading
Life Member. Bongos
9/24/1919 – 8/18/2018
Born in Sept. 24, 1919 in Chicago, Illinois, Jack Costanzo universally gets credit for introducing the bongo drums to American jazz. As a teenager, he witnessed a Puerto Rican dance group whose leader played bongos, and there was no looking back. With no one to help, Costanzo had to teach himself to play. He fashioned a pair of bongos out of wooden butter tubs and began his long percussion quest. Continue reading
Grammy-winning pianist Gloria Cheng, a professor of music in the UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music, has won an Emmy for independent programming at the 70th annual Los Angeles Area Emmy Awards for her short music documentary, “MONTAGE: Great film composers and the piano.”
The 2018 awards ceremony took place July 28.
The LA Area Emmy Awards are given to Los Angeles television stations and cable television for broadcast achievements for Local News, Programming, and Sports within the Los Angeles market.
The #LAEmmys for Independent Programming go to Gloria Cheng for “Montage: Great Film Composers and the Piano,” @PBSSoCalhttps://t.co/YcjJxfIrE8 pic.twitter.com/0KQVvKtTJV
— Television Academy (@TelevisionAcad) July 29, 2018
Violinists Ayrton Pisco and Sydney Adedamola, violist Bradley Parrimore, and cellist Juan-Salvador Carrasco [photo: Ben Gibbs]
Four top-tier post-graduate string musicians from underrepresented communities have been announced as the first class of the Los Angeles Orchestra Fellowship, a program designed to increase diversity in American orchestras.
Launched in August 2018, the groundbreaking program was conceived by a partnership of Inner City Youth Orchestra of Los Angeles (ICYOLA), the country’s largest African-American-majority youth orchestra; Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra (LACO), one of the world’s leading chamber orchestras; and USC Thornton School of Music, one of the country’s top music programs. Continue reading
Congratulations to Los Angeles music director Gregg Field for taking home a 2018 Creative Arts Emmy for his work on the PBS special “Tony Bennett: The Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song.”
While no stranger to accolades — Field has several Grammy Awards under his belt, including Latin Grammy Producer of the Year — this marks the multi-talented musician’s first Emmy nomination and win.
The program premiered in January 2018 on PBS stations nationwide and honored Tony Bennett as the first “interpretive singer” to be the recipient of the Gershwin Prize. With Bruce Willis as host and Gregg Field as music director, the special was taped Nov. 15, 2017 at the Daughters of the American Revolution Constitution Hall in Washington, D.C. and featured performances by Bennett as well as Chris Botti, Michael Bublé, Gloria Estefan, Michael Feinstein, Savion Glover, Josh Groban, Wé McDonald, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Vanessa Williams, 2009 Gershwin Prize honoree Stevie Wonder, and Wynton Marsalis. During the ceremony, Bennett was presented the Gershwin Prize by Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden and a delegation of members of Congress.
Members of the American Federation of Musicians union Local 47 in Los Angeles, New York AFM Local 802, and Boston AFM Local 9-535 traveled to perform the special event alongside members of the D.C. AFM Local 161-710. The house band, contracted by JoAnn Tominaga (47), included Field on drums, Shelton Berg (47) on piano, Edwin Bonilla (802) on percussion, Ernest Hamilton (47) on bass, Dean Parks (47) on guitar, and Randy Waldman (47) on keyboard. The horn section comprised D.C. 161 -710 members Fred Irby III and Aaron Broadus on trumpet, Joseph Jackson on trombone, and Brent Birckhead and Scott Silbert on sax. The Tony Bennet band featured musicians from Los Angeles and Boston AFM Local 9-535: Tom Ranier (47) on piano, Gray Sargent (9-535) on guitar, Marshall Wood (9-535) on bass, and Harold Jones (47) on drums. Susan Kelly (161-710) served as music librarian. This goes to show — musicians truly are stronger when standing together!
About Gregg Field
A longtime member of AFM Local 47, Field is one of the industry’s most versatile and highly sought-after producers, drummers and educators. A veritable who’s who of the music world are among his musical collaborators, including Frank Sinatra, Barbara Streisand, Quincy Jones, Stevie Wonder, Ray Charles, Andrea Bocelli, Seal, Michael Bublé, Kelly Clarkson, Jason Mraz, Jeff Beck, Herbie Hancock, Count Basie, Plácido Domingo, Ella Fitzgerald, LeAnn Rimes, Natalie Cole, John Williams, Steve Miller, Arturo Sandoval, Carole King, Brian Wilson, Shania Twain, Olivia Newton John, and many more.
Field has appeared on 32 Grammy-nominated recordings, seven of which have been awarded the coveted Grammy. Not only a highly respected musician, he is a busy record and television producer. In November 2010 he was awarded the coveted Latin Grammy “Producer of the Year” as well as Latin Grammys for producing and engineering the Arturo Sandoval album “A Time For Love.”
Additionally, Field has performed with numerous symphonies worldwide including New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Dallas, Boston, Nashville, Seattle, Pittsburgh and the National Symphony in Washington D.C. In 2006, he was invited by President Bush to perform at the White House. Field has served as a Recording Academy Governor and Trustee and Chairman of the Grammy Producers Committee. He currently serves as Chairman of the Board of the University of Southern California Thornton School of Music Board of Councilors.