Thursday, November 5, 2009

ABOUT BARBARA MCMILLEN

Founding President of the Dallas Songwriters Association, Barbe is a voting member of the Recording Academy, who recently voted for the 2016 Grammy Awards. She is currently Associate Professor of Songwriting at Collin College and is still an active member of the DSA Board of Directors. She has served on the executive board of the Texas Music Association and is an active member of the music community. She has directed five major conferences, the Dallas Songwriter's Association Seminar, DSS1-5, and New Dimensions Festival from 1990 - 95, plus numerous workshops, concerts, open mic events and other activities. Barbe has brought music industry professionals from all over the world to Dallas to provide educational & networking experiences for the DFW music industry. Under her direction, DSA grew from a handful of songwriters meeting within the Texas Music Association, to almost 300 members, when she left office as president. She molded DSA into an internationally known organization that many other groups aspired to imitate. While President, Barbe incorporated DSA into a 501 C3 educational organization with the help of local music attorney, Charles McGarry. She also advised many other founders of songwriter organizations across the country on starting their own regional groups. 
As a recording artist, she has recorded five albums that have been released by WHIT Records.  All were co-produced by Don Ashley; and two were co-produced by Grammy-award winner, Richard Theisen. She has also recorded with other solo artists, bands and for various other commercial projects as lead or background vocalist. 
Besides co-producing her own releases, she has also produced, two albums for Remarkable Records, Songs To Grow By, and When I Was A Dinosaur which features the Dixie Chicks on one number. She has also  co-produced The Passage with Grammy winner, Richard Theisen, for WHIT Records and Give Me A Break for Dripping Talent Records.
Barbara has written two musical plays, When I Was A Dinosaur, a children's musical, and her second musical, Give Me A Break, a rock musical. Her composer credits range from album cuts, to television and films credits, which include co-writing the theme music for a syndicated national television program, Billy Bob's Country Countdown, and winning a Mercom Gold Award and a US Film and Video Silver Screen Award for original music and lyrics on other projects.  
Barbara is currently on the adjunct faculty of the Commercial Music Department at Collin College. She is teaching Songwriting and Survey of Music Business classes. Barbara also offers individual songwriting, piano and voice lessons.