Judah and Tamar Story Authors
Authors Joy Sikorski and Michael Silversher in collaboration
Joy’s fav phrase: “If it ain’t fun, I’m outta here.”
Michael’s fav phrase: “We put the fun in dysfunctional.”
Joy Sikorski, M.A.
Although Joy grew up in a large city—Los Angeles—and is a published author, composer, professional singer/pianist and vocal specialist, she also lived in a log cabin in Alaska she helped to build. There, she lived off the land, home-birthed three children (two in the cabin), wrote award-winning film music, co-created an award-winning environmental awareness contest for high school students, helped run a radio show, taught piano and voice and was flown into remote areas of Alaska to bring awareness about the benefits of music training in early-childhood development.
In addition to Tamar of the Terebinths, she has written Your Voice Your Child, a ground-breaking pregnancy and early childhood development book, Singing Through Life With Your Mouth Closed, and is published in the Los Angeles Family Magazine and the Inlandia Journal (2011-2012)
Her current book projects (in addition to Book Two and Book Three of The Judah and Tamar Trilogy) are CHEMO? No Thanks!, the true story of how Joy overcame a disastrous cancer diagnosis without traditional chemo, radiation, or drug treatments; 2 illustrated children’s books in collaboration with Pixar artist, Rona Liu; a true-life memoir about her life in Alaska; a children’s book series called Bird ‘n Bear ; a tween/teen fantasy fiction series with a female protagonist, “how to sing” books and various other short stories, poems and articles.
Musically, she specializes in what she calls
Music in the Moment. She has co-written (with Michael Silversher) the music and lyrics to a musical with script by Richard Hellesen, based on Gathering Blue, a book by Newbery Award winning author Lois Lowry. Her current music projects include Morning Peace, a series of solo piano pieces composed in her “Music in the Moment” style. Additionally, she is also known as the “Voice Liberator” because of her unique approach in guiding people to vocal freedom.
She thrills at being the mom of three successful adult children (two born and all three raised in the log cabin mentioned above) and known as friend and Momma Joy to many others. She loves to relax with yoga, hiking in the mountains, watching ocean waves and interacting with lively people. Besides all that she makes a mean chickweed salad smothered with fresh papaya seed dressing.
More about Joy Sikorski and her projects
Michael Silversher
Michael Silversher is a Grammy-winning songwriter and a three time Emmy-nominated composer, having worked with The Walt Disney Company® for twenty-six years and with The Jim Henson Company, Inc.® for the last seventeen years on movies, records, theme park parades and many TV series and specials.
Gummi Bears, Dinosaur Train, TailSpin & Donald Duck
Depending on your age, you will know Michael as the composer/lyricist (with his writing partner, Patty Silversher) for the Disney® Gummi Bears and TailSpin theme songs, Donald Duck’s Happy Birthday song, the Jim Henson Company’s® Dinosaur Train and many many other songs and music scores.
He has also written many musicals for theatre with The Kennedy Center, Los Angeles Opera, Mark Taper Forum and South Coast Repertory. He was resident composer and musical director for Robert Redford’s Sundance Institute from 1991-96.
His current projects include scoring two TV series: Dinosaur Train (Henson/PBS) and Pajanimals (Henson/Sprout/NBC) and, of course, writing Song of the Terebinths with Joy Sikorski!
In his spare time (ha!), he cooks for fun, friends, and himself. He reads far too many books and articles and has way too many opinions about too many things to fit into a small space like this….
