Hal Leonard Inks Distribution Deal with Wunderkind Composer Emily Bear
Two Piano Solo Songbooks Now Exclusively Available Worldwide, More Matching Folios to Come
MILWAUKEE - Your average eight-year-old might have a hectic schedule of school, homework, Scout meetings and soccer games. Emily Bear's calendar looks something like this: perform at the White House, tape Ellen DeGeneres Show, headline Ravinia concert, solo with the symphony.
Emily, born on August 30, 2001, is a supremely gifted pianist and composer from Rockford, Illinois. At a year old, she could sing back lullabies in perfect pitch. When she was two, her grandmother recognized her talent at the piano. At three, she began composing her own music. She now has more than 200 pieces to her credit; for "Northern Lights," she won the ASCAP Foundation Morton Gould Young Composer Award - when she was six. Among her current mentors are the principal keyboardist for the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and the head of the piano department at Juilliard.
Equally comfortable playing jazz, classical, or her own compositions, Emily has recorded four CDs of original music: Five Years Wise, The Love in Us, Once upon a Wish and Always True. Profits from their sales support Susan G. Komen for The Cure, UNICEF, Ronald McDonald House Charities, and the Children's Hospitals of Los Angeles and Chicago.
Hal Leonard Corporation, the world's largest music print publisher, is proud to exclusively distribute Emily's publications around the world. Two piano solo songbooks, featuring great photos and full color throughout, are currently in stock, and more matching folios will soon follow.
The Love in Us contains the complete piano solo sheet music for the ten tunes on the CD, plus five bonus songs from Emily's first CD, Five Years Wise. The lyrics for "Rosario Sings," the sheet music for "Northern Lights," and three songs debuted on The Ellen DeGeneres Show - "Ellen's Song," "Thanks" and "The Love in Us" are included.
Once upon a Wish: A Holiday Collection and More features all the songs from the CD, including the title song that was debuted on The Ellen DeGeneres Show as a wedding gift to Ellen. Also featured are Emily's holiday originals, "Christmas Bells" and "Giving."
Stories about Emily have run on ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox News and WGN, among other outlets. This summer, she will make her international debut, performing in Italy, Taiwan and Czechoslovakia, and on Voices of America radio. John Jacobson's interview with Emily will appear in the October/November issue of Hal Leonard's Music Express classroom educational magazine, read by more than three million students.