The Board of Directors of Recording Artists Development, Inc.

The RAD team includes our Board as well as the many professionals who have supported our non-profit work, the talented artists with whom we work who spread the word of our mission, refer their singer songwriter colleagues to work with us, the donors whose generosity supports our non-profit work, and the audiences, friends and fans of RAD who attend RAD events and support and cheer on RAD artists. There are so many supportive people who have made this work possible and RAD is grateful to each one of them.

“When we began RAD as a 501(c)(3) non-profit in 2003, we had the goal of helping emerging songwriters who otherwise would not have access to professional recording facilities and a producer to make their music and to get it out there into the world. We promised high-quality, low-cost recordings, along with artistic and career development advice. We have worked hard to meet that mission, and in addition have given away many free recordings, free studio hours, and consultations. Today RAD has served more than 120 artist and recorded over 500 songs, including EP and CD projects, in all genres and styles of music! We have worked consistently in three or more recording workshops a year, provided artistic and career advice, brought industry experts in to our workshops and panels to give advice to our artists and opened these panels up to the public, showcased the recorded music, provided performance opportunities for RAD and other artists, promoted our artists and their music and gave them a forum to promote themselves, including internet radio and tv performance opportunities and interviews, and created a network of emerging artists, musicians, engineers, producers, music industry experts, friends and fans of RAD and RAD artists. We are proud of the work and the music these talented emerging artists have accomplished. And we are proud of RAD’s service and dedication to its non-profit mission. We look forward to continuing to help even more artists: encouraging and developing creativity and providing them with a professionally produced record that they can be proud of and can show the world and use as a way to further a brilliant career!  We are excited about continuing and expanding our mission and finding more ways to help RAD artists to flourish!”

Many thanks to Founding Board Members Philip Carroll, Drew Hemenger and Catherine Hayes. Special thank you to Patricia Caprio Kaufman, Dr. Allen Kaufman and Keter Braun for their support and contribution.

Philip Carroll
President

Photo of Phil Carroll from RAD

Philip Carroll, a Grammy nominated producer/arranger, studied music and voice at the Juilliard School and Manhattan School of Music. He is a voting member of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, and his original music has been performed around the world,
including Lincoln Center, and has been televised on Nickelodeon, Logo Network and HBO. Philip has produced hundreds of independent and indie recording artists in almost every genre of music. He believes deeply in the power of the recording arts to enable artists to fully express themselves in ways that no other medium can—in a way that brings out unlimited creativity, self-discovery, and sometimes, healing. He has taught music at the Pratt institute, Greenwich House Music School, and HB Studios. As a pianist and music director, he has performed at off Broadway venues including Brooklyn Academy of music, The Duplex, Don’t Tell Mama, Fez Cafe, Fast Folk Cafe, Sidewalk Cafe, CBGB’s and many other venues. Philip’s composition work also extends to industrials with clients including American Greetings, Scholastic Books and Penguin publishing.

As Founder and Director of RAD since 2003, Phil has worked to build the organization. As a producer with RAD, he has arranged, produced, recorded, mixed and mastered over 600 songs and worked directly in the studio with each artist to create their vision for their music and their career.

Luanne Surace
Vice-President

Portrait of Luanne Surace

Luanne is a singer, songwriter, recording artist and performer. She’s created three albums, Undercover Covers, BLEECKER STREET ROOTS and Black Wedding Dress. She’s a graduate of NYU School of Law, studied voice at Greenwich House Music School, and trained as an actress with Director Gene Frankel. Luanne’s also a painter, inspired by her mother whose drawings adorn her first album. Luanne is honored to be a RAD Board Member and to support RAD’s non-profit work. She’s devoted to advancing RAD’s very talented singer songwriter recording artists, with the hope that they feel fulfilled and empowered and that their music will entertain, heal a soul, and even change the world.

Drew Hemenger
Treasurer

Portrait of Drew Hemenger

The music of Drew Hemenger has been heard in venues nationally and internationally ranging from Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center to intimate churches in the Midwest. His unique, yet quintessentially American sound has been described as “deceptively simple” (New Music Box); “perfectly crazy” (Sequenza 21); and “unlike anything I’ve heard before – in a good way!” (Ned Rorem). His works have been commissioned by distinguished artists and institutions such as the Goldman Memorial Band, Chicago’s Orion Ensemble, Chamber Music Yellow Springs, The Vogler Quartet, University of Texas at Austin, pianists Pascal and Ami Rogé, and Symphony New Hampshire. Winner of the 1996 ALEA III International Composition Competition, Hemenger’s residencies and fellowships include the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, the Banff Centre, Omi International Arts Center, and the Bowdoin and Aspen Music Festivals. He has also served as Composer-in-Residence for RamosDance. Hemenger’s Master’s and Doctoral degrees are from Manhattan School of Music where he studied principally with Richard Danielpour. Other teachers and mentors include George Crumb, David Del Tredici, Sebastian Currier, and Robert Beaser.