Mister G
Mister G
Background information
Birth name	Ben Gundersheimer
Born	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania United States
Genres	Children's music, funk, rock, ska, bossa nova, folk, blues, bluegrass, salsa
Occupation(s)	Singer, songwriter, producer, multi-instrumentalist
Instrument(s)	Vocals, guitar, mandolin, banjo
Years active	2009–present
Labels	Coil
Website	MisterGsongs.com

Mister G (Ben Gundersheimer) is a Latin Grammy musician, author, and educator. He has released ten award-winning albums of original music for children and families, including four bilingual (Spanish/English). His 2015 bilingual release, Los Animales, won the Latin GRAMMY award for Best Children's album.^[1] Five of his albums (Chocolalala, Los Animales, The Mitzvah Bus, Mundo Verde/Green World, Fireflies) have won the Parents' Choice Gold Award.^[2][3] ABC Fiesta (2014) received a Latin Grammy nomination.^[4] His CDs have been selected as best children's albums of the year by People Magazine, Parents Magazine,^[5] and The Washington Post.^[6]

Education

A graduate of Amherst College, Ben received a songwriting scholarship to Berklee College of Music. He was awarded a full fellowship for his Master of Education degree at Smith College.

History

Born and raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Mister G is the son of children's book author and illustrator Karen Gundersheimer. He graduated from Amherst College, and received a songwriting scholarship from the Berklee College of Music.^[7][8] As an adult-oriented singer-songwriter, he performed and toured internationally.^[9] For his Master's thesis at Smith College, he 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 children's songs.^[9]

Musician

Mister G performing in Mexico

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.^[9]

BUGS, released in 2011, received awards from the Parents' Choice Foundation^[10] 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 bilingual albums, "Chocolalala" (2012) and "ABC Fiesta" (2013) were inspired by his concert tours throughout Latin America, and feature the voices of bilingual families.^[11]

Released in 2014, The Bossy E is Mister G's literacy-themed album, which features a variety of genres, and received a NAPPA Award.^[12] Grammy winning saxophonist Charles Neville (Neville Brothers) and Senegalese talking drum master Massamba Diop (Baaba Maal) both perform on the album.^[11]

For his Latin Grammy winning album, Los Animales (2015), Mister G collaborated with many leading figures from the Latin music world including Arturo O'Farrill, Oscar Stagnaro, Marlow Rosado, Vince Cherico, and Robby Ameen.

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.

Mundo Verde/Green World (2017) is a collection of original, bilingual children's songs with an environmental theme.

Seeds of Shalom (2018) is a collection of original, multicultural songs.

Mister G returns to his roots with Americana release, FIREFLIES (2019).

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, 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 for students and professional development workshops for teachers in schools in the United States and Latin America.

Discography

Author

Mister G (Ben Gundersheimer) has written four picture books based on his original songs. All the books Señorita Mariposa, Lilah Tov/Good Night, "How Many Squirrels Are in the World?" and "We'll Make Things Better Together," were published by Penguin Random House.

Activist

Mister G performed at the National Climate Rally in Washington, D.C. He has headlined four concerts on Capitol Hill for children and families from all fifty states in his role as an advocate for Moms Clean Air Force. Two of Mister G's albums (Mundo Verde/Green World and Seeds of Shalom) have explicit environmental themes, as does his picture book (Señorita Mariposa) which is about the monarch butterfly migration.

Educator

Mister G (Ben Gundersheimer) has conducted artist residencies at schools around the US and in many other countries (Mexico, India, England, Dominican Republic, Guatemala). He also leads professional development programs for educators and presents musical keynotes at conferences.

References

External links

• Official Mister G website
• Mister G's YouTube
• Mister G's Facebook
• "ONE TRACK MIND: Mister G <Gonna Take My Hat>" by Jeff, OWTK KID's MUSIC NEWS