Join us for the culminating session of the Craft Session series designed to break through creative blocks by exploring how genre-crossing, collaboration, and personal storytelling can reinvigorate the songwriting process.
Midwest Songwriters & Composers come together to share cross-genre techniques, unique artistic journeys, and strategies for staying inspired. Let’s get unblocked—together.
MODERATOR
Tarrey Torae is a celebrated artist with a remarkable track record, having not only appeared on two Grammy Award-winning albums but also winning two Grammys of her own. She has collaborated closely with J. Ivy on his two Grammy-winning albums, contributing her talents in writing, production, and performance. Additionally, she is a 6x Showtime At The Apollo winner and has lent her skills to Kanye West’s The College Dropout and John Legend’s Get Lifted. After touring with Talib Kweli on The Roots tour for two and a half years, Tarrey is currently dazzling audiences as the lead stage vocalist for the iconic rapper Slick Rick The Ruler. She recently released a new dance/house single titled "Freedom Ride," produced by the legendary DJ Terry Hunter. Ms. Torae debuted her latest record, "Catching Feelings," and made her acting debut on several stages and screens, while also serving as the music supervisor for the new digital comedy drama series “In The Cut!”
Dr. Che "Rhymefest" Smith is a Grammy and Academy Award-winning writer, recording artist, educator, humanitarian, and elected member of Chicago's Board of Education. As a strategic partner with Golden State Entertainment, a division of the Golden State Warriors, he leverages culture and arts for positive community impact. His latest project, James & Nikki: A Conversation, reimagines the 1971 dialogue between James Baldwin and Nikki Giovanni with contemporary beats and rhymes. Dr. Smith has held fellowships at Dartmouth College and the University of Chicago, where he led seminars on using "Cultural Currency" for social and political justice. In 2024, he won a historic election to the Chicago Board of Education, overseeing a $10 billion budget for 322,000 students. Rhymefest's music career includes co-writing Kanye West's Grammy-winning "Jesus Walks" and Glory for the film Selma, which earned a Grammy, Golden Globe, and Academy Award. He was also the subject of the acclaimed documentary In My Father's House, chronicling his journey to reconnect with his estranged father. As co-founder of the non-profit Art of Culture, Rhymefest has championed the healing power of art and nature through initiatives in the U.S., Tanzania, and Senegal. He is also an advocate for global justice through his work with the Abolition Institute to combat modern slavery. "True Power Is the Power, To Empower." - Rhymefest
Dr. Sir William James the Baptist (better known by his stage name, Sir the Baptist) is a highly profiled, multi-genre, American artist, three-time Grammy Award-winning artist, writer, composer, and producer, two-time GMA Dove Award-winning, three-time Stellar Award-winning, BMI 2021 Songwriter of the Year, and BET Award-nominated artist. Sir proved he was a leader in the global industry when he facilitated a deal with Atlantic Records/Warner Music Group in New York City, alongside Craig Kallman, Julie Greenwald, and Michael Kyser. His debut release, Saint or Sinner, became a blueprint for urban Christian believers. He has toured Europe, opening for Nelly, Mary J. Blige, and Herbie Hancock. He has collaborated with musical artists Bootsy Collins, Anthony Hamilton, Donald Lawrence, Kierra Sheard, Killer Mike, Twista, Michelle Williams, Tony Bennett, Pharrell Williams, Musiq Soulchild, Brandy, Estelle, Tori Kelly, Elle Varner, DC Young Fly, and MC Lyte.
He is a business magnate, economist, media proprietor, and revenue agent for licensing intellectual property to lifestyle brands such as Facebook, Apple, Google, Lexus, Glenfiddich, Samsung, McDonald's, W Hotels, Lyft, WeWork, Toyota, T-Mobile, Tidal, Yeti, Converse, Vans, Macy's, The Chicago Bears, The Chicago Bulls, The Recording Academy, VH1 Save the Music Foundation, Fat Tire, and Pandora. His music is his most popular talent, but his innovations have pioneered the gospel culture in streaming, marketing, education on diverse business ethics, and mission homes.
He has an Honorary Doctorate degree from the HBCU Tennessee State University and crossed over as an honorary frat brother to Kappa Kappa Psi. He is the Chaplain of Innovation, the majority shareholder, and architect of tymple.
Mary Brown is a two-time GRAMMY-nominated singer, songwriter, producer, and vocal coach whose decades-long career includes penning Destiny’s Child’s breakout #1 hit “No, No, No” and contributing to numerous Billboard-charting records. She has collaborated with icons such as Mary J. Blige, Wyclef Jean, Michael Jackson, Summer Walker, DJ Mustard, Jack Harlow, Patti LaBelle, Queen Latifah, Jaheim, and many more. With 15 Platinum and 6 Gold RIAA certifications, as well as multiple BMI Publisher and Songwriter Awards, Mary’s impact on the music industry is undeniable. She has served as Co-Chair of the Recording Academy’s Songwriters & Composers Wing (NYC Chapter) and as a District Advocate for creator rights and policy reform, multiple times. Mary has been recognized with official Proclamations and Citations for her cultural contributions and currently serves on the board of The New York Performing Arts Academy at AMDA. She actively mentors emerging talent through GRAMMY U, Sound Thinking NYC, CUNY, and the NAACP’s ACT-SO program. As an adjunct professor at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, Mary nurtures the next generation of music creators. She is also the CEO of Ms. Mary’s Music, Inc., a creative production and publishing powerhouse committed to elevating artists. She leads The Recipe Music Workshop, an annual industry event in partnership with the NYC Mayor’s Office of Media + Entertainment for NY Music Month. In celebration of Women’s History Month, Mary was featured at the UN Women for Peace Association’s Annual Awards Ceremony, where she spoke and performed Aretha Franklin’s “(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman.” Whether teaching, performing, or producing, Mary Brown contributes to the music industry with unmatched passion and purpose.
Daniel Bernard Roumain (DBR) is a Black, Haitian-American composer who sees composing as collaboration with artists, organizations and communities within the farming and framing of ideas. He is a prolific and endlessly collaborative composer, performer, educator, and social entrepreneur. “About as omnivorous as a contemporary artist gets” (New York Times), Roumain has worked with artists from J’Nai Bridges, Lady Gaga and Philip Glass to Bill T. Jones, Marin Alsop and Anna Deavere Smith.
Known for his signature violin sounds infused with myriad electronic and African-American music influences, Roumain takes his genre-bending music beyond the proscenium. He is a composer of solo, chamber, orchestral, and operatic works, and has composed an array of film, theater, and dance scores. He has composed music for the acclaimed film Ailey (Sundance official selection); was the first Music Director and Principal Composer with the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Company; released and appeared on 30 album recordings; and has published over 300 works. He has appeared on CBS, ESPN, FOX, NBC, NPR, and PBS; and has been presented and collaborated with the Brooklyn Academy of Music, Kennedy Center, Lyric Opera of Chicago, and Sydney Opera House. He was Artist-in-Residence and Creative Chair at the Flynn in Burlington, Vermont. Currently, he is the first Artistic Ambassador with Firstworks; the first Artist Activist-in-Residence at Longy School of Music; and the first Resident Artistic Catalyst with the New Jersey Symphony.
Roumain is an Atlantic Center Master Artist, a Creative Capital Grantee, and a Hermitage Artist Retreat Fellow. He has won the American Academy in Rome Goddard Lieberson Fellowship; a Civitella Ranieri Music Fellowship Award; two regional Emmy Awards for The New Look of Classical Music: Boston Pops Orchestra and Art is Essential: New Jersey Symphony; National Sawdust Disruptor Award; and the Sphinx Organization Arthur L. Johnson Award. He has been featured as a keynote speaker at universities, colleges, conservatories and technology conferences, and was the first ASU GAMMAGE Residency Artist. He has lectured at Yale and Princeton University and was a Roth Distinguished Visiting Scholar at Dartmouth College. For over 20 years, he served as a board member for the Association of Performing Arts Professionals, most recently as Vice Chair; currently is a board member for the League of American Orchestras and National Sawdust; and is a voting member for the Recording Academy GRAMMY awards.
A student of William Albright, Leslie Bassett, and William Bolcom, Roumain graduated from Vanderbilt University and earned his doctorate in music composition from the University of Michigan. He is currently a tenured Associate and Institute Professor at Arizona State University Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts.
Chinese Pipa artist/composer/educator/improviser Gao Hong has performed throughout Europe, Australia, South America, Asia, and the U.S. in solo concerts and with symphony orchestras, jazz musicians, and musicians from other cultures. She began her career as a professional musician at age 12, later graduated from China's premier music school, the Central Conservatory. Her awards include fellowships from the Bush and McKnight Foundations, a Sorel Medallion in Recording, a Sally Award ,eleven gold medals from the Global Music Awards, grants from NEA, Mid Atlantic Arts, and MSAB, and numerous commissions from orchestras (including the Minnesota Orchestra and the President's Own United States Marine Band), chamber groups etc. Gao wrote the first pipa method book in English that was published by Hal Leonard. To honor her 50-year celebration concert at the Ordway, Mayor Melvin Carter proclaimed April 3, 2022, to be “Gao Hong Day” in St. Paul. Gao teaches at Carleton College.
