Birth name Ben Gundersheimer Labels Coil | Years active 2009-present | |
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Genres Children's music, funk, rock, ska, bossa nova, folk, blues, bluegrass, salsa Occupation(s) Singer, songwriter, producer, multi-instrumentalist Instruments Vocals, guitar, mandolin, banjo Albums ABC Fiesta, Los Animales, Pizza for Breakfast, The Bossy E, Bugs, Chocolalala, The Mitzvah Bus Profiles | ||
Mister G (Ben Gundersheimer) is a Latin GRAMMY award winning children's musician and teaching artist. He has released seven award-winning albums of original music for children, including three bilingual (Spanish/English) albums. His 2015 bilingual release, Los Animales, won the Latin GRAMMY award for Best Children's album. His 2012 and 2015 bilingual releases, Chocolalala, Los Animales and The Mitzvah Bus, won a Parents' Choice Gold Award. ABC Fiesta (2014) received a Latin GRAMMY nomination. His CDs have been selected as best children's albums of the year by People Magazine, Parents Magazine, and The Washington Post.
Contents
History
Born and raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Mister G (Ben Gundersheimer) is the son of noted children’s book author and illustrator Karen Gundersheimer. Ben is a graduate of Amherst College, and the recipient of the first songwriting scholarship awarded by the Berklee College of Music. As an adult-oriented singer/songwriter, he performed and toured internationally. For his Master’s thesis at Smith College, Ben created a curriculum that incorporated song-writing as a learning tool. His 4th grade students dubbed him ‘Mister G’, and while teaching at the Smith College Campus School, he began writing the songs that would comprise his debut family album.
Children’s music
Mister G's 2010 debut children's music release, Pizza for Breakfast, was inspired by his former elementary school students at the Smith College Campus School.
BUGS, released in 2011, received awards from the Parents' Choice Foundation and the National Parenting Publications. The album was also chosen as one of the top ten best children’s albums of 2011 by Parents Magazine and People Magazine.
Mister G's two bilingual albums, "Chocolalala" (2012) and "ABC Fiesta" (2013) were inspired by his concert tours throughout Latin America, and feature the voices of bilingual families.
Released in 2014, The Bossy E is Mister G's literacy-themed album, which features a variety of genres, and received a NAPPA Award. GRAMMY winning saxophonist Charles Neville (Neville Brothers) and Senegalese talking drum master Massamba Diop (Baaba Maal) both perform on the album.
Los Animales (2015), is Mister G's most recent bilingual album. The record is a collaboration with 4-time GRAMMY award winning pianist Arturo O'Farrill, 3-time GRAMMY award winning bassist Oscar Stagnaro, and 2-time GRAMMY award winning drummer Vince Cherico.
Drawing from an eclectic range of musical influences, The Mitzvah Bus (2015), Mister G's Jewish-themed album, spans genres from funk to folk and rock to ska, while the lyrics celebrate family, holidays, food, camp and language.
All of Mister G's albums are written, produced, recorded and mixed by Ben Gundersheimer. Mister G tours internationally, headlining venues such as Symphony Space in New York, The National Zoo in Washington DC, The Hard Rock Cafe in Philadelphia, The Getty Museum in Los Angeles, The Coolidge Corner Theatre in Boston, among many others. Mister G also regularly conducts artists residencies in schools in the United States and Latin America.
Album
Songs
The Bossy EThe Bossy E · 2014
ChocolalalaChocolalala · 2012
ABC FiestaABC Fiesta · 2013