What: Annual “Bringing out the Stars” and “Starlight Serenade” Concerts
Who: The Woodlands Youth & Teen and Adult Music Camp Participants
When: July 10 and July 17, 2015 at 7:00pm
Where: The Woodlands, 134 Shenot Road, Wexford, PA 15090
The Woodlands is proud to present their annual “Bringing Out the Stars” and “Starlight Serenade” concerts featuring participants of the Notes From the Heart music camps. “Bringing Out the Stars” presents the musical stylings the Youth & Teen campers, ages 13 to 21, on Friday, July 10. “Starlight Serenade” highlights the talents of the adult campers the following week on Friday, July 17. Both performances begin at 7:00pm on The Woodlands campus and are free and open to the public.
The Woodlands’ signature program, Notes from the Heart, started in 1999 when a group of musical artists and music lovers in the Pittsburgh area came together with a desire to create a summer program that would bring the joy of music to children with disabilities and chronic illnesses. Today, Notes from the Heart offers a year-round program to include a week-long summer camp, weekend retreats held during the academic year and, a year-round Music Ensemble program. The music program offers a wide variety of activities and programs that range from music appreciation, theory, composition, singing, and instrument playing under the guidance of internationally and locally known musicians, artists, conductors and educators. Returning to the faculty this year, include camper favorites Lilly Abreu, Allison Fromm, and Edward Cumming. Ms. Abreu is a vocal recording artist and teaches Voice at Carnegie Mellon. Ms. Fromm is the founding director of Joyful Noise, a New Jersey and Delaware chorus of adults with developmental disabilities and acquired brain injuries, which has become a national model for similar ensembles. Mr. Cumming is the Director of Orchestral Activities and Associate Professor at The Hartt School.
This year, the transformation that participants undergo in a week at camp will be documented in a new film by Ian Cumming, son of Woodlands Music Educator, Edward Cumming. Ian is a New York based filmmaker, holding a Gradate Certificate in Documentary Media Studies from The New School and a B.A. Summa Cum Laude, in Cinema Studies from SUNY. Ian and his team will be capturing footage of camp activities in addition to the July 10th performance in order to tell the “Notes From the Heart” story through film. Supports can donate to the creation of the film through the documentary’s Kickstarter page (www.Kickstarter.com – Woodlands “Notes from the Heart” Documentary). Kickstarter backers donating $10 or more will be able to see their name in the end credits of the final film.
It is the mission of The Woodlands to enrich the lives of children and adults with disability and chronic illness by providing adapted therapeutic programs that support and strengthen the development of skills in socialization, creative expression, environmental awareness, recreation, and spirituality at its fully-accessible facility. Further information and a schedule of Woodlands’ music programming are available at www.MyWoodlands.org