Spanish songwriters workshop open to FIU students

Have you got music in your soul? A song in your heart? An unquenchable desire to bring your music to the world? If you answered “si” to any of those questions, now is the time to apply to attend a two-day Spanish songwriters workshop held in conjunction with the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCA) and FIU’s College of Architecture + The Arts (CARTA).

Six FIU students will be selected to attend the free, two-day workshop that will be led by three of Miami’s leading bilingual songwriters. Industry veteran Karl Avanzini will facilitate the workshop at CARTA’s Miami Beach Urban Studios on Lincoln Road.

“The partnership provides our students with yet another opportunity to work alongside distinguished songwriters, composers and producers,” said CARTA Dean Brian Schriner.

The intensive workshop will be offered in Spanish and is designed to focus on the development and education of promising new songwriters. As part of the collaboration, a panel of artist-faculty from the FIU School of Music will select six aspiring FIU student musicians (open to all current FIU students, School of Music students and alumni) to participate. The panel will include Music Business and Music Management Programs Director Karen Fuller and Jazz Vocal Program Director Lisanne Lyons.

Students who are chosen will have an opportunity to work collectively and privately with professional songwriters to develop original works as well as participate in a music business seminar which will cover areas such as marketing, copyright and publishing. This year’s workshop will be led by Latin Grammy winners Yoel Henriquez and Fernando Osorio, along with Latin pop hitmaker Jorge Luis Piloto.

The workshop will end with a private reception in the Miami Beach Urban Studios main gallery, where the students will perform their new works for music producers and invited guests. Each student will receive a certificate of completion at the conclusion of the event.

How to apply: Writers interested in applying to the ASCAP/FIU Spanish Music Songwriters Workshop should submit the following information electronically to music@fiu.edu — Panther I.D.; a brief biography including address, phone number and e-mail address; and MP3s of two (2) original songs with lyric sheets. The subject line must include “ASCAP Songwriting Workshop.” If selected, participants must be able to attend all sessions at CARTA’s Miami Beach Urban Studios at 420 Lincoln Road on Miami Beach. Submission deadline is Oct. 24, 2014.