Concert Band Camp Includes Free Performance for Public at UMass Lowell

Mary Jo Leahey Band Camp
For the 21st year, young musicians will come to UMass Lowell in July to develop their talents at the Mary Jo Leahey Symphonic Band Camp.

07/13/2017

Media contacts: Nancy Cicco, 978-934-4944 or Nancy_Cicco@uml.edu and Christine Gillette, 978-934-2209 or Christine_Gillette@uml.edu

* M E D I A A D V I S O R Y *

Monday, July 17 through Saturday, July 22

WHAT: More than 130 talented young musicians from across the Northeast will study and perform at UMass Lowell this month, enhancing their skills as participants in the university’s Mary Jo Leahey Symphonic Band Camp.

The 21st annual event provides students entering the first year of high school through the first year of college with the unique opportunity to be part of a weeklong immersion in music ensembles, classes and workshops, all designed to develop their virtuosity. Sessions will be led by UMass Lowell music faculty and guest instructors with the university’s music students and alumni serving as mentors. The camp was established by Mary Jo Leahey, a 1937 UMass Lowell graduate who was a beloved music teacher and philanthropist.

All workshops, rehearsals, classes and performances are open to the media. The public may hear participants perform at two events:

  • On Tuesday, July 18 at 6:35 p.m., the students will play the national anthem before the Lowell Spinners, the single-A affiliate of the Boston Red Sox, take on the Aberdeen IronBirds at LeLacheur Park at 450 Aiken St., Lowell.
  • On Saturday, July 22 at noon, the musicians will perform a free concert at Durgin Hall at UMass Lowell. Selections will include Frank Ticheli’s “Acadiana,” which was commissioned by the camp’s Executive Director Debra-Nicole Huber, a UMass Lowell graduate and director of instrumental music outreach and associate director of university bands.

Camp participants are from Acton, Andover, Beverly, Billerica, Boxford, Brockton, Chelmsford, Danvers, Dracut, Freetown, Gilbertville, Grafton, Groton, Harvard, Lowell, Lynnfield, Malden, Methuen, Milford, Natick, North Andover, North Reading, Norwood, Peabody, Pepperell, Quincy, Reading, Rutland, Stow, Taunton, Townsend, Tyngsborough, Walpole, Wayland, West Newbury, Westborough, Westford and Woburn, along with Putnam, Conn.; Hudson, Londonderry, Salem and Windham, N.H.; and Jenkintown, Pa.

WHERE: Durgin Hall, South Campus, 35 Wilder St., Lowell. Contact UMass Lowell media relations for directions and parking information.