Young Musicians Develop their Craft through Band Program

07/09/2014

Contacts for media: Nancy Cicco, 978-934-4944 or Nancy_Cicco@uml.edu and Christine Gillette, 978-934-2209 or Christine_Gillette@uml.edu

* Media Advisory *

Sunday July 13 through Saturday, July 19

What:  A training ground for future world-class musicians, the Mary Jo Leahey Symphonic Band Camp will bring 125 high-school students from across the country to UMass Lowell, where they will participate in honors classes and ensembles that will enhance their musicianship and performance skills.

The program will culminate in a free public concert on Saturday, July 19 at noon at Durgin Concert Hall at 35 Wilder St. on UMass Lowell’s South Campus. Free parking will be available across the street from the venue. 

Students don’t need to audition to attend the camp – only a passion for music. Participants hail from Billerica, Chelmsford, Dracut and Lowell, along with Londonderry, Nashua, Pelham and Salem, N.H., as well as Connecticut, Missouri, New York, Rhode Island and Vermont. They will live in a UMass Lowell residence hall during their stay, getting an early taste of university life. Approximately 10 percent of participants will begin as freshmen at UMass Lowell this fall, pursuing a variety of majors.

Now in its 18th year, the band program was established by Mary Jo Leahey ’37, a UMass Lowell graduate who went on to become a beloved music teacher and philanthropist.

 
Music sessions from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. each day will offer instruction in symphonic instruments, electric bass and guitar, sound recording technology – a signature program in UMass Lowell’s Music Department – music theory, composition, conducting and more.

Performance workshops at 4:30 and 7:30 p.m. daily will be held for groups including concert and jazz bands and brass, wind and percussion ensembles.

The program is led by UMass Lowell music faculty and students overseen by Debra-Nicole Huber, director of instrumental music outreach and associate director of university bands. Huber is one of only a handful of women serving as concert band conductors in the country.

The first public institution in the U.S. to offer a music-education degree, UMass Lowell provides a wealth of courses to aspiring musicians, music business professionals, music teachers and sound recording engineers. Next year, UMass Lowell plans to add a summer music program for middle-school students. Existing programs for young people include the nationally acclaimed New England Youth Wind Ensembles, the UMass Lowell String Project and Youth Orchestra.

Where: Durgin Hall, South Campus, 35 Wilder St., Lowell. For directions and parking information, contact UMass Lowell media relations.