Be Our Guest with Mark Cabaniss (Miracle of the Music Man)

Mark Cabaniss is a music publisher, writer, producer, broadcaster, and speaker. He is President/CEO of Jubilate Music Group, a worldwide music publisher creating printed and digital music, recordings, and videos. As an ASCAP composer and arranger, Mark’s published compositions have been performed nationally and abroad, and include choral anthems, musicals, cantatas, and instrumental pieces. His concert musical Triumph of Faith (co-written with Mark Blankenship) received its world premiere at Carnegie Hall. Other musicals include The Homework Machine, co-written with Tony-nominated composer Keith Herrmann and premiered by the Boston Children’s Theatre and The Stardust Supper Club (featuring the music of Hoagy Carmichael) co-written with Alan Bailey and given an Off-Broadway workshop production by The York Theatre Company. Mark is the author of three books: Confessions of a Shameless Name-Dropper; Music Business Essentials: A Guide for Aspiring Professionals; and Miracle of The Music Man: The Classic American Story of Meredith Willson. Mark is a multiple recipient of ASCAP’s Popular Music Award, the NAMM Believe in Music Award, and is a Dove Award and Angel Award-winning producer. He is a member of The Recording Academy, The Dramatists Guild of America, and serves on the Board of Advisors for The Music Man Square, a museum and foundation in Mason City, Iowa, dedicated to furthering music education and honoring the legacy of Meredith Willson (creator of Broadway’s The Music Man). He also created and manages the official Meredith Willson website: www.meredithwillson.com. Mark was recognized as an Outstanding Alumnus by Mars Hill University and serves on the University’s Board of Trustees. Governor Wallace Wilkinson of Kentucky commissioned Mark as an official Kentucky Colonel. Mark is also the founder/donor of The Helen Cole Krause Music Scholarship, awarded annually to a qualifying incoming or current Mars Hill University music major. Mark serves as a correspondent for Hollywood 360, a weekly nationally-syndicated entertainment radio show based in Chicago. Mark’s work in music business and broadcasting has led to collaborations with television icons Andy Griffith, Bob Barker, and Kathie Lee Gifford; Academy Award-winner Shirley Jones; legendary entertainer Steve Allen; composer Charles Strouse (Annie/Bye Bye Birdie); Broadway/pop platinum singer/songwriters Rupert Holmes and David Pomeranz; jazz pianist/composer Loonis McGlohon; gospel singer Cynthia Clawson; actor/singer Thurl Ravenscroft (Tony the Tiger/“Mr. Grinch”), and others. Mark holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Music Education and Communications from Mars Hill University and The University of Tennessee – Knoxville. Mark resides in Nashville. https://markcabaniss.com/ MIRACLE OF THE MUSIC MAN: The Classic American Story of Meredith Willson About the Book The Music Man stands as one of the greatest achievements in American musical theatre, but few know about its rocky beginnings and the against-all-odds success story of its creator Meredith Willson. Mark Cabaniss steps back into the Golden Age of Broadway and brings to life the origins of this classic show, the music behind it, and the unlikely story of its creator. Interweaving behind-the-scenes accounts of people who worked with Willson, Cabaniss looks at his long and unusual career as a composer, conductor, radio personality, and flutist, which reached its pinnacle in The Music Man.