Hal Leonard actively pursued new business deals and outreach efforts in the first half of 2009.

The print publisher donated its Essential Elements for Guitar beginning method book/CD series to the New Young Guitarists Program, a recently launched outreach program sponsored by Chicago’s VanderCook College of Music.

The 15-week program offers free after-school guitar classes to fifth through eighth graders at the James R. Doolittle School in Chicago. Student recitals will take place at the end of May.

New Deals
In March, Hal Leonard President Larry Morton and Stephen Sondheim’s representative, John Breglio, negotiated a deal which grants Hal Leonard print rights to more than 10 Sondheim shows. The shows include “Sweeney Todd,” “A Little Night Music,” “Into the Woods,” “Sunday in the Park With George,” “Road Show” and “The Frogs.”

Also in development are several Sondheim piano/vocal collections, play-alongs for a variety of instruments, band and choral arrangements, and the four-volume The Songs of Stephen Sondheim series. Hal Leonard already had print rights to Sondheim’s earlier musicals through existing agreements.

Earlier this year, Hal Leonard also arranged distribution agreements with Nashville, Tenn.-based Arrangers’ Publishing for the rights to its band music catalog and the newly formed Lauren Keiser Music Publishing, which acquired the assets and music copyrights of MMB Music in St. Louis. MI

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