Lauren Mayer

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Contact

Departments

Opera and Musical Theatre

Courses Taught

Musical Theater Workshop

Education

BA, Yale University

Ensembles

The Girls Next Door

Cabaret Duo with Scott Grinthal

Awards and Distinctions

SF Cabaret Gold Award, Outstanding Piano Entertainer (3 consecutive years)

Someone new, amusing and nervy"

— Gerald Nachman

Q&A

What is your hometown?

Irvine, CA

What is your favorite recording?

Smothers Brothers: Sibling Revelry

What are you passionate about outside of music?

Tap dancing, Jane Austen, feminism.

Who were your major teachers?

Rob Kapilow (conducting) and Maury Yeston (songwriting).

What is a favorite quote that you repeatedly tell students?

“If you can laugh at it, you can deal with it.”

What was the defining moment when you decided to pursue music as a career?

When my father saw me working as a singing waiter, and I was still planning on going to law school, he said, "You don't get applause in court.”

What was a turning point in your career?

Moving to San Francisco. (I discovered the cabaret scene.)

If you weren't a musician or teacher, what do you think you would be doing now?

Writing historical fiction novels.

What is your daily practice routine?x

I do vocal exercises with my private coaching students, and I write a new song every week for my YouTube channel.

If you could play only three composers for the rest of your life, who would they be?

Stephen Sondheim, Felix Mendelssohn, Cecile Chaminade.

From a music history perspective, what year and city are most important to you?

New York (Broadway), 1950s.

Who have you had the privilege of teaching?

Kelsey Luongo and Lexi Scatena (both are recording artists).

What recordings can we hear you on?

Curriculum Rocks: "Second Grade Rocks,” "California Bound,” and "First Grade Rocks"

What is your unrealized project?

Writing a book/musical about women during the silent movie era, focusing on Frances Marion, the first credited screenwriter.

Biography

Lauren is a summa cum laude graduate of Yale University, where she studied conducting with Robert Kapilow and songwriting with Maury Yeston. She has worked as a music/vocal director with Theatreworks, 42nd Street Moon, Woodminster, Crystal Springs Uplands School, The Burlingame Country Club, and many others, and as a performer she is a 5-time recipient of the SF/Bay Area Cabaret Gold Award. Lauren also writes award-winning children's educational music and musicals through the company she founded, Curriculum Rocks, performs a cabaret act with her singer-husband, Scott Grinthal, and posts weekly topical comedy songs based on current events.  Her recent "Sexual Harassment Prevention Song" has almost 3 million views on social media (and almost as many internet trolls).

Lauren Mayer in the News

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