GREG SELTZER - PHILLY MUSIC FEST FOUNDER AND EXECTUTIVE PRODUCER
Greg Seltzer was born and raised in the Philadelphia-area, working as a CPA at Ernst & Young from 1998-2002 and then as a corporate lawyer at Ballard Spahr from 2004 to the Present. Greg’s legal expertise is Mergers & Acquisitions, with focus on private businesses and startups. Greg represents clients in various industries, including technology, music and sports. Greg and his wife, Jenn, created Philly Music Fest in 2017 to support local musicians, independent venues and raise money for music education. Philly Music Fest is structured as a nonprofit, with no payroll and minimal overhead costs. Greg curates the lineup each year for Philly Music Fest and handles all of the legal aspects of Philly Music Fest, while Jenn (also a CPA) handles the accounting and finances.
Philly Music Fest began at one venue in 2017 (World Cafe Live) and has grown to seven nights in mid-October, featuring Rock, Hip Hop, Punk, Folk, Jazz, R&B, Pop, Bluegrass - Our Genre is Philly. Each of the past four years, after paying all musicians and venues, Philly Music Fest has donated $100,000 to music education programs benefitting kids in Philly. In addition to Philly Music Fest, Greg organizes Inside Hustle, with the assistance of WXPN. Inside Hustle is a music information and networking event that takes place twice a year (Spring and Fall), featuring experts in the areas of booking, producing, radio, management, marketing, agency, labels and engineering. Inside Hustle is free and attracts approximately 400 attendees.
KEN ULANSEY - MUSICIAN
Ken Ulansey, Penn Council for the Arts winner, plays alto and soprano sax, penny whistle and clarinet. He is a musical chameleon, having played contemporary classical music with Relache—premiering new works by Philip Glass, Robert Ashley, among dozens of others— jazz with his own award-winning band, latin with Synthesis and Minas, and folk music with most of the area’s and even the nation’s leading songwriters. Besides leading his wedding ensemble that specializes in swing, motown, klezmer, latin, pop, zydeco and oldies, Ken has toured extensively in Europe and the States, played on nearly three hundred recordings, and worked in collaboration with dancers, film-makers, poets and story-tellers.
Noted highlights from a 50-year career include recording his newly commissioned piece in Philip Glass’ studio; playing main stage at the Philadelphia Folk Fest with Steve Goodman; playing in the Taj Mahal in India; performing new commissions with the Relache Ensemble at Lincoln Center and some to the storied concert halls of Europe; jamming with various traditional musicians in Greece, Turkey, Afghanistan, India and Nepal; recording an album of improvisations with Dave Darling and Paul Butler; leading bands for the weddings of lots of Philly’s luminaries. Many stories to tell….
To learn more about Ken Ulansey please visit his website at https://www.kenulansey.com