An adaptive ensemble of musicians, educators, producers and songwriters.
We are based in New York and New Jersey and perform in the following modalities:
WAY PAST MIDNIGHT
Music Intensive Workshops
For aspiring musicians! Vocalists and instrumentalists are mentored by Way Past Midnight during two day music intensive workshop where they work through numerous songs. The intensive workshop concludes with the participants performing for a live audience.
House Parties and Office Events
Way Past Midnight will entertain at your event so guests can enjoy the ambience of the music and easily converse with each other. We will also assist a friend or family member who may want to perform that special song to create lifelong memories. We perform as a duo and up to 10 musicians at a time.
Lecture Concerts
Musical narratives geared to a theme of the month. Examples include: Black History Month (February), Women's History Month (March), American Heart Month (March), Jewish-American Heritage Month (May). Goals for any lecture concert can be singular or a series. They are based on the inspirational concepts of the themed event.
Melody Stevens, Vocals and Keyboard
Melody Stevens, Vocals and Keyboard
Melody Stevens, Vocals and Keyboard
Melody Stevens holds a Bachelor of Music degree from Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University and a Master of Music Degree from Westminster Choir College at Rider University.
Under Melody's leadership as music director for Red Bank Catholic High School, the choir was a top 3 finalist in NBC's Holiday Singing Competition, judged by Kelly Clarkson and her band. The choir also garnered a silver medal in the Virginia International Music Festival, and the choir has opened for Radio City Music Hall's Christmas Spectacular in New York City. Red Bank Catholic's chamber band under Melody's direction has opened for the Norfolk international parade honoring NATO.
Melody has produced over 100 shows and concerts with professional musicians and students of all ages. Several of the performance spaces include the Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Auditorium at the Brooklyn Museum, Main Street Theater in Parlin, NJ, Center Players Theater in Freehold, NJ, Musicians Workshop in Manalapan, NJ and various churches and High School auditoriums.
At Rutgers University, Fordham University, and University of Maryland (UMUC) Melody has lectured and been on panels on the topics of music education, time management, and entrepreneurship.
Melody wrote and published a book that was an Amazon Best Seller in the category of Self Improvement. The book is entitled “Become a Time Millionaire: 100 Ways to Gain an Extra Hour a Day”.
Melody has been a keynote speaker at women’s conferences, business events, and at universities in the mid-Atlantic region. She is the former New Jersey leader for Savor the Success, a mastermind and business development organization for women entrepreneurs.
At Fairleigh Dickinson University Melody served as an "emergency" vocal technician to help singers who were straining in a musical production of First Date.
Melody is the former owner of a three location music education company based in New Jersey and New York. The locations consisted of a music academy and two performing arts preschools.
Melody took the opportunity during Covid-19 quarantine and the shutdown of Broadway to record and send out daily to friends and family 539 songs in multiple genres. These songs included 14 of her originals.
For 12 years Melody sang in a professional a cappella trio called Women in a Chord. She has served as both a soprano and alto section leader in many church and temple choirs.
Melody teaches voice and piano to students ranging in age from 4 to 80.
Opera roles Melody has performed include Naiad in Ariadne Auf Naxos, Carmen Ghia in The Stoned Guest, Miss Wordsworth in Albert Herring, and Isabel in The Face on the Barroom Floor.
Melody resides in Manalapan, NJ.
Evita Belmonte, Vocals and Percussion
Melody Stevens, Vocals and Keyboard
Melody Stevens, Vocals and Keyboard
Evita Belmonte obtained a Bachelor’s Degree in Education from The City University of New York, New York City College of Technology. The Honorable Borough President Helen Marshall of Queens, New York appointed Evita to be on the New York City Board of Education's "Panel for Educational Policy." As the representative for the Borough of Queens, Evita chaired monthly meetings at Queens Borough Hall for elected officials, community members and parents of children in the New York City school system.
Evita was a recipient of the Women's Forum of New York"s "Women's Forum Education Award". This distinction and grant is given to high-potential women age 35 and over, whose education and lives have been disrupted by extreme adversity.
Evita sang and played multiple instruments with the seven-member soul, rock, musical theater crossover band called "Life USA".
The group became recording artists on RCA Records with the release of the song "A Different Drummer." With Rocky Coast Records, Evita sang the lead vocals on an uptempo dance version of Cole Porter's "Begin the Beguine". Life USA recorded the single “Foxy Trot” with Buddah Records. The song was released in the USA, Japan, and France.
Life USA was featured as a popular Long Island band in the karate movie “Force Plus Four”. Evita wrote the movie’s theme song and oversaw the soundtrack production for the film.
Evita was the first female trap drum player for the acclaimed guitarist/singer Chuck Berry when Life USA was his band's opening act in a concert where the drummer fell ill. Life USA opened for Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons, sang the jingle for a Marcal Paper Products commercial, performed at the world-famous Copacabana in New York City, Belmonte Park racetrack, cabarets, restaurants, private parties and notable clubs in Westchester, Long Island, New York, Vermont, Lake George, NY, Panama City, Florida and on various University campuses in Massachusetts.
Evita’s love of music translated to playing the trumpet, the accordion, teaching drums to teens in schools for summer programs, singing songwriter’s original songs on demos, and being the music director for a Queens chapter of the “Church of the Nazarene.” She used her musical background to teach two-to-five-year old’s music in a private preschool named Mozarts and Einsteins, as well as singing and playing drums for two different Contempo church choirs.
Evita resides in Long Island, New York.