Program Marks 15th Year with Event, Awards to Local Arts Advocates
12/05/2016
Media contacts: Nancy Cicco, 978-934-4944 or Nancy_Cicco@uml.edu and Christine Gillette, 978-934-2209 or Christine_Gillette@uml.edu
LOWELL, Mass. – The nationally acclaimed UMass Lowell String Project, which teaches public school students how to play classical instruments, will celebrate its 15th anniversary with a free concert for the public and campus.
“Winter Magic on the Merrimack” will feature performances by more than 80 local schoolchildren age 8 through 18 from throughout the Merrimack Valley who participate in the String Project. The event will be held on Thursday, Dec. 8 at 7 p.m. in Durgin Hall on the university’s South Campus at 35 Wilder St., Lowell. Free parking is available across the street from the venue.
“This family-friendly show is a great way to kick off the holiday season and introduce children in attendance to the wonder of classical music,” said John-Morgan Bush, the String Project’s executive director and a UMass Lowell Music Department faculty member. “The program will include timeless music from Tchaikovsky’s ‘The Nutcracker’ and a collaboration with the UMass Lowell University Choirs on selections from Mozart’s ‘Coronation Mass’ and Handel’s ‘Judas Maccabeus,’ with special guest soloists.”
The UMass Lowell String Project was launched in 2001 to provide high-quality music education to local public K-12 students who might not otherwise have an opportunity to learn to play stringed instruments such as the violin and cello or experience what it’s like to perform on stage. UMass Lowell music students serve as teaching artists in the program, mentoring young musicians and conducting performance ensembles. Since its founding, the program has helped educate thousands of young people, provided UMass Lowell students with valuable teaching experience and garnered national acclaim from the American String Teachers Association and National String Project Consortium.
At the Dec. 8 concert, Lifetime Arts Advocate Awards will be presented to UMass Lowell graduates Sharon Clark, chairwoman of the Lowell Public Schools Fine Arts Department, and Susan Turcotte-Gavriel, a founding String Project master teacher, for their longstanding commitment and contributions to the program. Both Clark and Turcotte-Gavriel earned bachelor’s degrees in music education at the university.
“Sharon Clark has helped forge the String Project’s fruitful relationship with the Lowell public schools, while Susan Turcotte-Gavriel helped build the program’s curriculum and structure as one of its founders 15 years ago,” Bush said. “We are honored to recognize both of them during this event.”
Members of the public who would like more information about the concert may call 978-934-5344.
UMass Lowell is a national research university located on a high-energy campus in the heart of a global community. The university offers its more than 17,500 students bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees in business, education, engineering, fine arts, health, humanities, sciences and social sciences. UMass Lowell delivers high-quality educational programs, vigorous hands-on learning and personal attention from leading faculty and staff, all of which prepare graduates to be ready for work, for life and for all the world offers. www.uml.edu