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Groovelily is a trio, pop band made up of Valerie Vigoda (vocals, violins), Brendan Milburn (vocals, keyboards), and Gene Lewin (vocals, drums). The band was originally formed in 1994 as "The Valerie Vigoda Band." Groovelily's music combines classical music, musical theatre, jazz and rock. Formerly based out of New York City, in 2009 Brendan and Valerie relocated to Los Angeles with their son, and Gene moved to Montclair, New Jersey, where he lives with his wife and two sons.

Members

Valerie Vigoda plays an electric, six-string, fretted violin called a "Viper" (created and designed by Mark Wood), and sings with Groovelily. Valerie is a native of McLean, Virginia, a classically-trained musician, honors graduate of Princeton University, and former Army lieutenant. She founded Groovelily (originally the Valerie Vigoda Band) in 1994 and created the critically acclaimed CD, "Inhabit My Heart." Before Groovelily, she toured with Cyndi Lauper (opening for Tina Turner and Cher), Joe Jackson and the Trans-Siberian Orchestra. Valerie's grandfather, Samuel Vigoda, was one of the last great Eastern European cantors. Along with her husband and collaborator, Brendan Milburn, Valerie is a 2009 winner of the ASCAP Foundation Richard Rodgers New Horizons Award, as well as a two-time winner of the Jonathan Larson Award for Excellence in Writing for the Theatre.

Brendan Milburn sings and plays the keyboard with Groovelily. Brendan is a native of San Francisco, graduated from Pomona College, and received a MFA from New York University (NYU) in Musical Theatre Writing. Brendan puts his talents to work arranging for GrooveLily, as well as producing records.

Gene Lewin plays the drums and sings with Groovelily. Gene is a native of Princeton, NJ. graduated from Princeton University, and earned a master’s degree from the Manhattan School of Music. He has toured with Audra McDonald and has appeared on CDs with George Coleman, John Patitucci, and many others.

Musicals

As a band Groovelily has created several pieces of hybrid concert/musical theatre performances, as well as some more traditional musicals (where the actors are on stage and musicians are in the pit).

A list of some of their musical theatre projects include:

Striking 12: A musical adaptation of Hans Christian Andersen's fairytale "The Little Match Girl." The creative team for "Striking 12" includes Tony Award winners co-writer Rachel Sheinkin and director Ted Sperling.

"Striking 12 may be the best new American musical that nobody has heard of." -- Kenneth Jones, Playbill Online, December 16, 2005

"More artfully crafted and engaging than virtually all the standard-mold musicals coming our way these days." -- Charles Isherwood, The New York Times, November 13, 2006

Sleeping Beauty Wakes:

A Midsummer Night’s Dream: A musical version of William Shakespeare's play, "A Midsummer Night's Dream."

"Much of the familiar dialogue, conveniently written in rhyming couplets, is scored and sung with contemporary GrooveLily melodies so well suited to the words that it's hard to believe they were written centuries apart." -- William Westhoven, The Daily Record, March 31, 2006

Wheelhouse: A (semi) autobiographical tale of Groovelily's life on the road.

Long Story Short:

Ernest Shackleton Loves Me:

Toy Story- The Musical:

Discography

Inhabit My Heart (1994)
Jungle & Sky/Groovelily Sampler (1996, 1997)
Brendan & the Extenuating Circumstances (1998)
Little Light (2000)
Just The Three Of Us (2002)
Are We There Yet? (2003)
Striking 12 (2004)
A Little Midsummer Night's Music (Soundtrack) (2007)
Sleeping Beauty Wakes (2009)

External links

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 ==Members==
-'''Valerie Vigoda''' plays an electric, six-string, fretted violin called a "Viper" (created and designed by [[Mark Wood (violinist)]]), and sings with Groovelily.  Valerie is a native of [[McLean, Virginia]], a classically-trained musician, honors graduate of [[Princeton University]], and former Army lieutenant.  She founded Groovelily (originally the Valerie Vigoda Band) in 1994 and created the critically acclaimed CD, "Inhabit My Heart."  Before Groovelily, she toured with [[Cyndi Lauper]] (opening for [[Tina Turner]] and [[Cher]]), [[Joe Jackson (musician)|Joe Jackson]] and the [[Trans-Siberian Orchestra]].  Valerie's grandfather, Samuel Vigoda, was one of the last great Eastern European [[hazzan|cantors]].  Along with her husband and collaborator, Brendan Milburn, Valerie is a 2009 winner of the [[ASCAP Foundation Richard Rodgers New Horizons Award]], as well as a two-time winner of the Jonathan Larson Award for Excellence in Writing for the Theatre.
+'''Valerie Vigoda''' plays an electric, six-string, fretted violin called a "Viper" (created and designed by [[Mark Wood (violinist)|Mark Wood]]), and sings with Groovelily.  Valerie is a native of [[McLean, Virginia]], a classically-trained musician, honors graduate of [[Princeton University]], and former Army lieutenant.  She founded Groovelily (originally the Valerie Vigoda Band) in 1994 and created the critically acclaimed CD, "Inhabit My Heart."  Before Groovelily, she toured with [[Cyndi Lauper]] (opening for [[Tina Turner]] and [[Cher]]), [[Joe Jackson (musician)|Joe Jackson]] and the [[Trans-Siberian Orchestra]].  Valerie's grandfather, Samuel Vigoda, was one of the last great Eastern European [[hazzan|cantors]].  Along with her husband and collaborator, Brendan Milburn, Valerie is a 2009 winner of the [[ASCAP Foundation Richard Rodgers New Horizons Award]], as well as a two-time winner of the Jonathan Larson Award for Excellence in Writing for the Theatre.
 '''Brendan Milburn''' sings and plays the keyboard with Groovelily.  Brendan is a native of [[San Francisco]], graduated from [[Pomona College]], and received a MFA from [[New York University]] (NYU) in Musical Theatre Writing.  Brendan puts his talents to work arranging for GrooveLily, as well as producing records.