Angel Donors
The individuals and organizations listed have made a significant impact on our year-long scholarship program. We are deeply grateful for your time, generosity, and support. The John Cirillo Songwriting Scholarship would not be possible without you. Thank you!
-
Steve Bloch transitioned from running his successful LA talent agency, Entertainment Associates, to founding Southern Cow Music in 1991, moving to Nashville in 1993. His publishing company secured cuts with artists like Faith Hill, Dierks Bentley, and Kenny Chesney. In the late '90s, he worked in independent A&R for Giant Records, generating hits for Clay Walker and Blake Shelton. In 2003, he co-founded Writer Zone Music, offering equity to successful songwriters. Steve later consulted for Demolition Music Publishing (2013-2020) and now assists Doug Johnson at Black River Entertainment and Dolly Parton’s producer, Kent Wells. He also publishes songwriter Scott Sean White. Steve is active in songwriters' communities and hosts events like "Lucky 13" Speed Pitch in Nashville. He has been an integral asset to the John Cirillo Songwriting Scholarship as a mentor and resource.
-
After many years singing, writing, performing and producing in Los Angeles, Denny moved to Nashville in 1996. Among his Nashville credits, he’s had film and TV placements, including Any Day Now and recently Call Me Kat used one of his jazz compositions. Denny’s diverse experience as a five-decade musician has given him the chance to work with various co-writers including Brad Tursi, Jeffrey Steele, Mark Narmore, Alan O’Day and Steve Leslie. The artist Sam Gyllenhaal’s first release had six of Denny’s co-writes and he's produced over 100 songs for the label Late-Bloomer-Music.com. From country to r&b/pop to bluegrass gospel, to jazz, Denny continues to love writing and singing his songs with a joyous energy and passion to keep any audience entertained.
-
Grammy-winner Robin Ruddy has built a thriving career in Nashville as a musician and entrepreneur, working as a songwriter, touring musician, session musician, recording studio owner and music publisher. A sought-after multi-instrumentalist, Robin has toured with Rod Stewart, Shania Twain, Ray Stevens and many others. She owns and operates The Parlor, a recording studio located in the heart of Music Row, which has been an integral part of the Nashille recording community since 2000. Robin’s new album, Healing Happens, was released in the spring of 2023.
-
Global Songwriters Connection (GSC) is an association for singer/songwriters that was founded in 2013 by music industry professional, career coach, mentor, motivational speaker and teacher, Sheree’ Spoltore’. Sheree’ is passionate about encouraging, equipping, and empowering songwriters around the world to be their personal best. Sheree’s songs have been cut by numerous independent artists and featured in film, television, and commercials. Sheree’s love of music led her to Music Row where she gained extensive experience working in various industry roles, including as a song plugger, a staff writer, and several management roles.
-
Instruments For Education is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to enriching students' lives by providing musical instruments to Middle Tennessee area schools. Since 2018, we have donated over 1,000 instruments to students and schools, ensuring that young musicians have the tools they need to learn, grow, and express themselves. We believe that music education is more than just learning notes—it builds confidence, fosters creativity, and brings communities together. By putting instruments directly into students' hands, we help cultivate the next generation of musicians and dreamers. Join us in making a difference! Learn more, donate, or get involved at www.instrumentsforeducation.org and follow us on social media: www.facebook.com/instrumentsforeducation
-
For over 2 decades, Sarah Spencer has been writing with artists in Nashville and the world over. Her work has climbed charts and gathered over a million streams. When she’s not writing, Sarah is dedicated to helping songwriters grow in their craft and careers. She’s created multiple communities (Song Club, The 5 in 5 Song Challenge, SongFancy) to help emerging artists and writers develop their voices in supportive spaces and take their songs to the next level.
-
SongU.com provides a unique online opportunity to study songwriting with award-winning songwriters from Nashville, New York, and Los Angeles while making direct industry connections, co-writing, showcasing, and pitching songs—all from the comfort of home. Our friend and colleague John Cirillo was a respected and admired member of SongU from 2018 until his passing in 2022. His songwriting talents earned him grand prize and category wins in several international song contests, which awarded him two free years of membership at SongU between 2020 to 2022. During that time, he had over 60 separate songs pitched by SongU.com’s guest music publishers, sync agents, and song pluggers, several of whom continue to pitch his work today.
-
Alyssa Trahan’s music production journey began after a negative studio experience, leading her to teach herself how to produce music. By her teens, she was creating studio-quality tracks. After moving to Nashville in 2016, she signed a publishing deal and continued to thrive as an artist, songwriter, and producer. Known for her polished production across multiple genres, Alyssa has written and produced over 20 commercially released songs and earned placements on platforms like The Jimmy Kimmel Show, CMT, The Young and the Restless, and many independent films.
-
As one of the first independent publishers in Nashville to move into sync licensing, we're proud to represent a cutting edge indie catalog, authentic vintage songs- circa 30s-80s as well as hip hop, jazz, holiday and more. Known as a trusted music source and an easy licensing ‘one-stop’ shop, we work closely with music supervisors in the US, Canada, Australia and Europe. Our songs and instrumental cues have been featured in a variety of TV shows, trailers, movies and feature films.
-
Jason Blume is a songwriter with more than 50 million album sales. Blume has had singles on Billboard’s Pop, Country, and R&B charts, recorded by artists including Britney Spears, the Backstreet Boys, the Oak Ridge Boys, K-Pop & J-Pop artists, and many more. He composed the background score and songs for an Emmy-winning TV show and another that was Emmy-nominated. His songs have been heard in top TV shows and movies, and as a songwriting expert, he has been interviewed by the New York Times, Rolling Stone magazine, and on CNN, the BBC, and NPR.
-
James Durbin is a Singer & Songwriter from Santa Cruz, California. Since his Top 4 finish on American Idol in 2011, Durbin has released 6 Solo albums and lent his voice and songwriting to a dozen more albums and singles with various bands.
In addition to Idol, James has appeared and performed on Conan, The Tonight Show, Late Night, Ellen, Live With Regis & Kelly, AXS TV's Top Ten Revealed, Good Morning America & more. His Voice Acting credits include Amazon & Disney products for Star Wars & Frozen, as well as the voice for the "Jingle All The Way" Turbo Man electronic figure from Funko.