ASCAP SCORES Portland Video With Dave Berg & Tony Esterly

The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) premieres the third music video, “The Best Me I Can Be,” from ASCAP Songwriter Residency: Volume 7 with Performing Songwriter. The track was co-written and performed by chart-topping songwriter Dave Berg (Carrie Underwood, Kenny Chesney) with songwriter-producer Tony Esterly and 16 America SCORES Portland students from Davis Elementary School. It was written over the course of two afternoons, and recorded on a third at Kung Fu Bakery Studios.

Commenting on the program, Berg said, “I am honored to participate in the ASCAP Songwriter Residency for a second time. Music is a powerful vehicle for connection and joy, and never have I been more reminded of that than when I first participated in this program in St. Louis. I went there hoping to inspire some kids that in many cases have had a pretty tough go of things, and left there being completely inspired by them. It’s an added bonus that this time around I was able to work with kids from my hometown of Portland, Oregon, a community that I’ll always be grateful to for embracing and nurturing my creative spirit.”

Esterly added, “You can’t beat the smiles on the kids’ faces when they see the studio, or the laughs when they sing in a real microphone for the first time. I think I’ve had just as much, or more, fun as they did.  Every ASCAP Songwriter Residency session has been a life-changing experience for me.”

“Having an ASCAP songwriter do their residency at an MFS (Metropolitan Family Service) Community School in Portland, which facilitates our America SCORES program, is a dream come true!” said AC Portland (Active Children Portland) Executive Director Ben Dudley. “We know the value of helping young people find their voices through creative writing, and pairing them with a songwriter like Dave Berg only encourages them to be more artistic and innovative. I’m very proud of what they came up with.”

The ASCAP Songwriter Residency, a partnership with acclaimed after-school program America SCORES, is an annual mentorship program that enables songwriters to engage and inspire elementary and middle school students in under-resourced neighborhoods around the country. Each ASCAP songwriter spends three afternoons with a group of America SCORES students, co-writing and recording a song. The ASCAP Foundation, a public charity dedicated to supporting music education and talent development programs, funds the program.

“The Best Me I Can Be” is one of seven tracks on ASCAP Songwriter Residency: Volume 7, which will be available to stream and as a free download on Friday, September 25, at http://www.ascap.com/songwriterresidency.

Other artists on ASCAP Songwriter Residency: Vol. 7 include Grammy Award-winning songwriter-producer Alonzo “Zo” Lee (Ludacris, Usher) collaborating with chart-topping country songwriter Walt Aldridge (Travis Tritt, Heartland) in St. Louis; Felix McTeigue (Florida Georgia Line, Dallas Smith) with songwriters Ellie Buckland and Isa Burke in Boston; critically-acclaimed composer-songwriter Gabriel Mann (Modern Family, Rectify) in LA; Grammy-winning rapper-producer Malik Yusef (Kanye West, Common) with Golden Globe-winning songwriter Julie Frost (Pitbull, Madonna) in Chicago; Grammy- and Emmy-nominated composer-songwriter David Wolfert (Whitney Houston, Barbra Streisand) with acclaimed songwriter-producer Johnny Blk (Daughtry, Jessie J) in NYC; and chart-topping R&B songwriter Andrea Martin (En Vogue, Leona Lewis) in NYC.

ASCAP welcomes anyone wishing to use “The Best Me I Can Be” as a promotional tool to e-mail ASCAP Songwriter Residency Executive Producer Sue Devine at sdevine@ascap.com.

About ASCAP

The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) is a professional membership organization of songwriters, composers and music publishers of every kind of music. ASCAP’s mission is to license and promote the music of its members and foreign affiliates, obtain fair compensation for the public performance of their works and to distribute the royalties that it collects based upon those performances. ASCAP members write the world’s best-loved music and ASCAP has pioneered the efficient licensing of that music to hundreds of thousands of enterprises who use it to add value to their business – from bars, restaurants and retail, to radio, TV and cable, to Internet, mobile services and more. The ASCAP license offers an efficient solution for businesses to legally perform ASCAP music while respecting the right of songwriters and composers to be paid fairly. With over 530,000 members representing more than 10 million copyrighted works, ASCAP is the worldwide leader in performance royalties, service and advocacy for songwriters and composers, and the only American performing rights organization (PRO) owned and governed by its writer and publisher members.www.ascap.com

About America SCORES

Founded in 1994, America SCORES is a national youth development non-profit that serves urban youth in under-resourced public schools in 14 cities across the nation. America SCORES provides a high quality after-school program that integrates poetry, soccer and service-learning. Using teamwork as a unifying value, America SCORES’ mission is to inspire youth to lead healthy lives, be engaged students, and have the confidence and character to make a difference in the world. America SCORES’ innovative and holistic approach to youth development encourages creative expression among youth while improving their health, academic achievement and civic engagement. Participants show significantly improved physical fitness, higher school attendance rates, and increased self-confidence after just one season in the program.www.AmericaSCORES.org

About AC Portland

AC Portland’s mission is to empower students to lead healthy lives, succeed academically, and inspire positive community engagement. The organization began in 2011 with the vision to transform communities and serve hundreds of local students through youth sports.  AC Portland program participants receive programming 30 weeks a year, four days per week, which keeps them active, healthy, and engaged in a positive and stable after-school environment. Our programs focus on helping all participants to develop the confidence and life skills they need to succeed. We believe that by taking a holistic and comprehensive approach to youth-development, and by focusing on kids who need it the most, we CAN make a positive difference for the next generation. www.acportland.org

About Metropolitan Family Service (MFS)  

MFS Community Schools are full-service neighborhood hubs where the school and partners from across the community come together to make sure kids and families have what they need to be successful – in school and in life. MFS provides help to more than 30,000 children, families, and older adults in the greater Portland and SW Washington area each year. With a mission to help people move beyond the limitations of poverty, inequity and social isolation, MFS delivers proven programs to help people succeed at home, in school and in the community. For more information, visit www.metfamily.org.

About The ASCAP Foundation

Founded in 1975, The ASCAP Foundation is a charitable organization dedicated to supporting American music creators and encouraging their development through music education and talent development programs. Included in these are songwriting workshops, grants, scholarships, awards, recognition and community outreach programs, and public service projects for senior composers and lyricists. The ASCAP Foundation is supported by contributions from ASCAP members and from music lovers throughout the United States. www.ascapfoundation.org

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