Press Release: Uptown Music Collective presents Urban Legends: The Music of 10 Cities
Who: The Uptown Music Collective (a 501 c3 Non-Profit School of Music)
What: Urban Legends: The Music of 10 Cities (UMC Fundraising Concert)
Where: Community Arts Center, 220 West Fourth St. Williamsport, Pa 17701
When: Friday and Saturday, November 12 & 13th at 7:30pm
Cost: $10.00 Advanced and $15.00 Door
Tickets: Community Arts Center Box Office, and the Uptown Music Collective
Contact: Jared Mondell (jared@uptownmusic.org, 570-329-0888, uptownmusic.org)

Many factors go into defining a city, including population, location, physical size, and culture, to name a few. A major part of the culture that defines a city is the music that was born from its streets. On Friday and Saturday, November 12th and 13th 2010 at 7:30pm at the Community Arts Center in Williamsport, the students of the Uptown Music Collective will pay tribute to the music that defined ten major U.S. cities with their presentation of Urban Legends: The Music of 10 Cities.
 

This fundraising concert will take the audience on a whirlwind musical road trip through ten major U.S. cities, covering everything from rock to Jazz to Heavy Metal and everything in between! Cities that will be featured include Chicago, San Francisco, Philadelphia, New Orleans, Nashville, Boston, Memphis, New York, Seattle and Los Angeles. Bands to be fea

tured in this stellar performance include The Roots, Garth Brooks, Metallica, Miles Davis, Al Green, The Grateful Dead, Blondie, Boston and many, many more!

Established in April of 2000, the Uptown Music Collective has developed a reputation as the premier source of music education in the area. Offering private lessons at all levels on guitar, bass, drums, keyboards and vocals, as well as classes and workshops in music theory, songwriting, and styles such as the Blues, Jazz, Classical and Rock. The primary age range of the Collective is 10 – 18

yrs old, but is open to all ages and levels. Along with private lessons, the UMC offers a myriad of programs including its flagship Performance Program. This program educates students about the ins and outs of major and minor performances, including direction, production, preparation and technical aspects of the performances. The program brings outstanding student run performances to the area, including the most recent, Heard It through the Grapevine: a Tribute to the Music of Motown and Reaching Beyond Limits: a Benefit Concert for the Children’s Development Center.

“Urban Legends,” will feature over 40 music students from the Uptown Music Collective performing influential and important songs, encompassing multiple genres, from ten major cities in the United States, learned note for note from the original recordings. All of the performers are between 12 and 19 years of age and have been preparing for this performance for well over two months. Along with the live music, there will be accompanying video and dance presentations as well as a powerful light and sound show organized by the students themselves. As with all Uptown Music Collective performances, the students are not only the performers, but also direct the show. There is also a group of younger students who will serve as stage technicians, spot light operators and video operators.

The student leadership committee for this show includes Kelsey Silvagni (Senior, St John Neumann Regional Academy), Alex Hines (Senior, Jersey Shore High School), Brent Kisby (Senior, Danville Area High School), Collin Dennen (Senior, Sullivan County High School), Brianna Pete and David Clark (Seniors, Montoursville Area High School), Garrett Gaetano (Junior, Loyalsock Township High School) and Gabe Stillman (Sophomore, Williamsport Area High School). The leadership committee is under the supervision of Uptown Music Collective Executive Director, Dave Brumbaugh.
 

“This show will show the wondrous variety of musical styles born on the streets of our major cities that grew eventually to define them”, said Dave Brumbaugh. “Whether it’s Philadelphia Soul, Seattle Grunge or Chicago Blues it’s all still very relevant to today’s music. I’m excited to see our students demonstrate their flexibility as they move from style to style, all the while putting on a highly energetic and powerful performance.”

“The idea for this fall show is a great concept. In the process of learning the songs from the various cities, I have also learned new things about the cities themselves. It is a great way for me to open my mind to new music and to learn more about cultural differences around the United States,” says Dylan Rockoff, 16, from Loyalsock Township High School. “The styles of music featured in this show are very different from anything else we’ve done in a Collective show. I think this show is a great way for us as students to expand our musical horizons and a great way for the Collective to appeal to a wider audience,” adds Silvagni.

 Urban Legends is sponsored by Superior Plus Energy Services (Formerly Montour Home Comfort Services), Turn Key Electric and The Rockoff Family. Tickets for the performance are $10.00 in advance and $15.00 at the door with the proceeds benefiting the Uptown Music Collective. Tickets are available at The Uptown Music Collective (848 West Fourth St., Williamsport) and The Community Arts Center Box Office (220 West Fourth St., Williamsport). For more information about, Urban Legends: The Music of 10 Cities, or the Uptown Music Collective in general, check out www.uptownmusic.org or call 570-329-0888.