Category: Community Outreach

Mason Drumline Supports Fellow Teammate

Post author By Matt Geske
Post date May 6, 2016

After returning from the WGI world championship competition in April, Mason Drumline member Dustin Burton was devastated to learn that he was battling lymphatic cancer. True to form, fellow Drumline teammates immediately rallied to his side.

Dustin has begun his chemotherapy and will continue for the next four months. This will provide an incredible financial burden and emotional toll on Dustin, but the George Mason Green Machine family isn’t letting him battle cancer alone. Recently his friends in the band set up a gofundme campaign to help alleviate some of the cost that he and his family will incur.

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Please consider a gift of any amount. GO TO DUSTIN’S GOFUNDME PAGE

SEE FULL STORY ON COLLEGE MARCHING WEBSITE

Potomac Arts Academy wishes Dustin and his family a full and speedy recovery.

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Connecting Instruments With Musicians

Post author By Matt Geske
Post date May 6, 2016

Our Instruments in the Attic program recently connected Shenandoah University international student Gerson Medina with a rare and unique violin donation to assist with his music education.

Earlier this year, we had received a very nice Brandilioni-crafted violin from a generous donor. What made the instrument extra-special was that it had at one time been played by violin virtuoso Jascha Heifetz! Through a connection made by Instruments in the Attic advocate (and Potomac board member) Jenna Day of Day Violins, we offered Gerson the opportunity to use the violin for his lessons with Professor Akemi Takayama.

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Gerson is a young artist with an impressive background. He started his violin lessons at the age of 12 at “EL Sistema” in Colon city, Venezuela. He has played as a soloist with the youth orchestra of San Juan de Colon and Merida Symphony Orchestra, and he participated in the 4th Festival of the Venezuelan Youth Orchestra. Gerson was the winner of the 1st prize in the Category “A” of the Violin Competition organized by the “Festival y Academia del Nuevo Mundo” in Maracaibo city. He has studied with the professors Shawn Moore, Alexis Cárdenas, José Francisco del Castillo, Latin-American string quartet, Benjaming Sung, Virginie Robilliad, Yura Lee, Daniel Philips, Vladimir Dyo and Simon Gollo. He was musical teacher at “El Sistema” in Venezuela for 4 years in Colon city. He is currently attending Shenandoah University.

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Community Outreach Instruments in the Attic Music Publicity

Outreach Program Featured in Paper

Post author By Matt Geske
Post date April 8, 2016

Our Instruments in the Attic outreach program was recently featured in an article in the Lifestyle section of the April 4th edition of Fourth Estate, the student newspaper at Mason.

The article titled “Instruments in the Attic gives old instruments new life”, written by Basma Humadi, describes the it as “A new outreach program …. spreading tunes in a new way by collecting used musical instruments for children and students to give them a second life.”

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Jeremy Cochran, Mason Doctoral student and current intern for the Instruments in the Attic, assists with the day-to-day work of the program. “It’s almost like a library, you can come in and check [an instrument] out if you want,” Cochran said. “The purpose of it is to serve Mason music students who might need it for playing a second instrument or for one of their methods courses… [also] there are a lot of needs out there for kids who want to play in band or orchestra and aren’t able to get an instrument.” Through a growing network of collaborations with local and regional schools, IiA is helping to get instruments to those kids.

“This really is recycling on steroids,” Libby Curtis, Director of Potomac Arts Academy, was quoted as saying when describing the program. “We want nothing to go to the landfill.” Besides donating usable instruments to musicians, Instruments in the Attic turns instruments that are past their prime into art projects.

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To read the full article, please pick up a hard copy of the April 4th edition of Fourth Estate. Thanks to Basma and the Fourth Estate for choosing to write this story and spotlight this wonderful outreach program.

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Acting Community Outreach Events Music

Live-Streamed Performathon

Post author By Alaina
Post date April 1, 2016

Potomac Arts Live accompanist, performer and M.C's.

Potomac Arts LIVE! is back for its second year! This exciting live-streamed performance opportunity for our students is also an important fundraiser for the Academy. Funds that are raised go toward supporting our many outreach activities, such as our in-school-service programs and Instruments in the Attic, and student scholarships.

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Potomac Arts LIVE! Performathon 2016 will be on Sunday, May 15th.

A selection of the academy’s Music and Acting students are raising sponsorships (usually from family and friends) to be eligible to perform. On the day of the live performance, anyone from around the world can watch via a provided URL link on the internet. This gives relatives who live a long distance away the chance to watch the student perform live – last year we even had viewers from as far away as South America and France! The link will also be posted on our website.

“This event is truly one of a kind! Not only does it seamlessly blend technology and art, but it’s exciting for the students to know that their performance can be viewed live online,” says Potomac Arts Academy staff member Alaina Talley. “We live in a world where social media is so relevant, and I feel this event gives our students the chance to be seen by friends and family around the world in a fun, accessible way.”

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What is also amazing about Potomac Arts LIVE! is that it is so focused on giving back. Encouraging students of all ages to raise funds in the community for the community is an important lesson in social action and responsibility. Teaching young performers that they have the ability to make a difference is invaluable. It’s really a celebration of how arts can make a very real positive impact and how the students can be a part of that.

“Last year, parents and students were amazed that simply by performing in front of a camera, their performance could be viewed by hundreds of people– it’s really exciting!” shares Ms. Talley. “The experience of being interviewed by our emcees gives students the chance to feel like celebrities.”

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Even if you are not a student “sponsor”, you have the opportunity to contribute to the event via a donation portal that will be advertised during the event and on our website. We hope you will join us from wherever you are – on whatever device you choose (with an internet connection, that is) – to watch this wonderful performance event.

SEE PERFORMATHON PAGE

Community Outreach Instruments in the Attic Music

IiA – A Violinist In The Making

Post author By Matt Geske
Post date March 10, 2016

Jenna Day of Day Violins recently teamed up with Potomac’s Instruments in the Attic program to bring the joy of music to one very enthusiastic youngster, whose family was going through some hardship.

“I was at an instrument petting zoo event recently when a young boy named Nicholas and his mother came by,” said Jenna. “We started talking and I showed him several musical instruments. Throughout the two hour event, Nicholas kept coming back around again and again to the violins. He would patiently wait until I was done with another child and then eagerly smile at me and ask to try the violin again.”

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By the end of the event, it was clear to both Jenna and Nicholas’ mother that he was very interested in the violin. When Jenna epxressed that he should start lessons, his mother explained that because Nicholas’ younger brother had just been in the hospital and hefty medical bills were looming, buying an instrument was not an option at this time. Jenna immediately thought about the Instruments in the Attic program, with its mission to provide recycled used musical instruments to deserving young musicians. When Jenna mentioned the program to them, Nicholas said, “You mean, I could have a violin to play all summer?”

In fact, Potomac Arts Academy Director Libby Curtis arranged to loan a violin to Nicholas for the entire year!

“Nicholas is thrilled! He spent the rest of the afternoon looking up music for the violin on YouTube and actually found some easy songs to follow allow with,” his mother said. “He was very intent on learning ‘Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star’ and is actually pretty close! He is one excited kid!! Thank you so much for all you are doing to get him an instrument, it is truly appreciated!”

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“Instruments in the Attic is such an amazing program,” said Jenna Day. “It provides instruments to children from all walks of life, who otherwise would be unable to experience the joy of music! Thank you, Instruments in the Attic and the Potomac Arts Academy for making another child smile!”

The Academy would like to thank Jenna Day for assisting us with helping to make Nicholas’ musical dreams come true, despite life’s challenges. We also give a heartfelt thanks to our generous community members who have donated their used musical instruments and funds for instrument repair. We hope you enjoy seeing your donations in action!

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