Parallel Voice Productions - Who We Are
Brian Young
Founder and President
Brian Young's career as a producer and an audio engineer spans more than thirty years and includes records, commercials, concerts, theater, and a wide variety of special events. In 2003, Brian founded Parallel Voice Productions as a result of his experience as co-producer of The Cathedral of St. John the Divine's Candlelight Concert of Remembrance and Hope. The September 11, 2002, interfaith memorial service and concert included performances by Joan Osborne, Richie Havens, Sussan Deyhim, Jason Robert Brown, DJ Spooky, Pharaoh's Daughter, Bang on a Can, and others.
On the stage and in the studio, Brian has worked with a wide range of artists, including: Yoko Ono, Ray Charles, Tito Puente, Arlo Guthrie, Ruth Brown, Vernon Reid, Bill Frisell, Bobby Sanabria, Lucinda Williams, Guy Davis, Kool Moe Dee, Bill Cosby, Whoopi Goldberg, Paquito D'Rivera, Joan Baez, Michael Hill, Jon Faddis, Sergio & Odair Assad, Leon Redbone, Nona Hendryx, Judy Collins, Henry Threadgill, Louis Andriessen, Danny Kalb, Tom Russell, Lionel Hampton, Lily Tomlin, Julie Andrews, the Brooklyn Philharmonic Orchestra, the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, and The Smothers Brothers.
Brian’s work as a writer/producer includes campaign ads for members of the New York State Legislature. Among his charitable activities are the writing and production of public service announcements for the non-profit organization Cancer Care,including a New Jersey radio campaign that featured Jon Bon Jovi. A songwriter, keyboardist and drummer on the side, Brian’s pursuits include an eclectic range of musical adventures.
Brian's professional association with Songs of the Spirit co-producer Jonathan Secor began in the mid 1990s, with their collaboration on various productions at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, and at the Celebrate Brooklyn festival. Brian spent the early 1980s as a staff engineer at Quad Recording Studios in New York City. He has also worked extensively as a theatrical sound designer in and around New York. Brian began his career in 1977 as an engineer for WWVA Radio's Jamboree USA, in Wheeling, West Virginia, where he had the opportunity to work with many of the legends of country music, including Kenny Rogers, Dolly Parton, Merle Haggard, and Jerry Lee Lewis.
Jonathan Secor
Songs of the Spirit Co-Artistic Director
Jonathan Secor has worked in the creative sector as a producer, director, general manager, production manager, and stage manager. He has managed and directed a wide variety of performing arts and humanitarian projects, ranging from non-profit community efforts to large-scale commercial projects with budgets in the millions.
Jonathan is currently Director of Special Programs at the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts in North Adams, MA, where he oversees a broad range of arts-based programs.
Since 1995, Jonathan’s production company, Secor Productions, has produced concerts, dance, theater, large-scale, site-specific performances, industrials, and special events. Past events include: the Candlelight Concert of Remembrance and Hope at New York City's Cathedral of St. John the Divine, the national tour of The Harlem Nutcracker, the Welcome Back to Brooklyn Festival, the Gay and Lesbian American Music Awards (GLAMA), and a variety of industrials and corporate events. Secor Productions served as the consulting firm for the design, construction, and outfitting of the four performing arts spaces at MASS MoCA in North Adams, MA.
Jonathan served as the Director of Performing Arts at MASS MoCA from its opening until 2005. At MoCA, Jonathan oversaw the presentation of renowned artists such as Patti Smith, Bill T. Jones, Steve Earle, Dr. John, Wynton Marsalis, Joan Baez, Los Lobos, Merce Cunningham, Robert Lepage, Sekou Sundiata, Laurie Anderson, Philip Glass, and DJ Spooky.
From 1997 until 1998, Jonathan was General Manager for 651, an Arts Center in Brooklyn, NY, where he presented an eight-show season that included collaborations with NJPAC and the Smithsonian Institution.
From the mid 1980s until the mid 1990s, Jonathan worked as a production manager throughout the United States and Europe. Artists and institutions he served include: Celebrate Brooklyn, Arts at St. Ann’s, Orion Films, Donald Byrd, BAM, Manhattan Punch Line, and PepsiCo Summerfare.
Jonathan started his professional career as a stage manager in 1979. He has stage managed hundreds of productions for institutions and clients such as the Yale Repertory Theater, Columbia Artists, Center Stage Theater, BAM, Sid Caesar and Company (Broadway), WNET’s Broadway Sings: The Music of Jule Styne, The San Francisco Opera Company, and Equity Library Theater.
Brian Young and Jonathan Secor have collaborated on multiple projects spanning more than a decade. In addition to co-producing Songs of the Spirit, they worked together on the Candlelight Concert of Remembrance and Hope, the Celebrate Brooklyn Festival, and on many projects at the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM).
PARALLEL VOICE PRODUCTIONS specializes in the presentation of music from the diverse cultures and spiritual traditions of the world. We create concerts and events designed to facilitate interfaith and intercultural understanding, presenting individual and collaborative performances by many of the most inspired and inspiring artists on the planet. We are pleased to announce the 2007 season of our multi-artist concert series, Songs of the Spirit.
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