Nominees announced for Lehigh Valley Music Awards’ special honors
A longtime Lehigh Valley music photographer, a performer nominated for more than 40 awards in the last four years and a music educator will be honored with Lehigh Valley Music Awards’ board of directors honors at the awards’ 21st ceremony, it has been announced.
David Happel, Chelsea Lyn Meyer and Rosemary MurdyHaber will be honored at the ceremony, set for 4 p.m. March 1 at Musikfest Cafe at ArtsQuest Center in Bethlehem.
Also honored as 20-year veterans will be Paula Battavio, Brian Brazil, Dina Hall, Bill Parker and Scott Siska.
Tickets, at $20, are on sale at www.steelstacks.com and 610332-3378.
Happel is a longtime photographer and contributor to several Lehigh Valley publications, including The Morning Call. Happel also was nominated for Lehigh Valley Music Awards’ Outstanding Photographer.
Meyer, a singer-guitarist who started with the pop-punk band 2AM, in recent years has fronted her own Chelsea Lyn Meyers Band. She has been nominated for 43 Lehigh Valley Music Awards in the last four years, and this year is nominated for 10, including Fans Choice and All Around Performer on both the Industry and Fan ballots.
Murdy-Haber was a music educator for 32 years. After retiring from Bethlehem Area Schools in 2007, she joined Northampton Community College as chorus director. She has two master’s degrees in music education and teaches piano, voice and harp and is on the board of directors at Charter Arts High School.
Battavio started in the 1980s, playing in the all-female band Rapture, Friendz of Dorothy, Planet Velvet and the Paula Battavio Band. Since 2014, she has been guitarist in the Lehigh Valley band Girl Crue.
Brazil is a blues harmonicist who played with Hard Case Blues Band and others. He has been nominated several times for the Lehigh Valley Music Awards for Outstanding Blues Band and Outstanding Harmonicist, for which he is again is nominated this year.
Singer-songwriter Hall, who has performed throughout the Lehigh Valley and beyond, is a past winner of Best Singer Songwriter, Best Folk Performer, Best Americana Band, Best Lyricist, Best Original Band/Solo, Best Original Song and others. In 2012, she won a special Board of Directors Community Involvement Award. She’s nominated for two competitive awards this year. Hall also is president of the club Godfrey Daniels in Bethlehem.
Longtime Lehigh Valley bluegrass performer Parker is a multiinstrumentalist who has been a Lehigh Valley Music Awards nominee.
Bass guitarist Siska is a Lehigh Valley Music Awards winner for Outstanding Bassist and is again nominated this year. He has played and sung in BC Combo.