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For Santa Claus' schedule,
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Here is the Entertainment
Schedule for the
10th Annual Festival of Trees:
To Be Announced
ABOUT OUR
PERFORMERS
The East Longmeadow High School Chorus and Select Ensembles
This ensemble, under the direction of Carol Toth, includes students in
grades nine through twelve. The ensemble studies a variety of repertoire
from madrigals to musicals, doo-wop to pop. The chorus sings several
performances throughout the year at the high school, as well as several
outside community performances. (Return
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Carol Toth has been
a choral conductor and public school educator for more than 10 years.
She is currently the high school choral director for East Longmeadow
Public Schools. (Return
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Kung
Fu Academy Students
The Kung Fu Academy schools offer classes for ages three through adult. A
ladies cardio kick class is also available. We have three locations: 551
East St., Chicopee - 594-2560; 869 Memorial Ave., W. Springfield -
746-1375 and 149 North Rd., E. Windsor, CT, 860-627-8764. We are very
enthusiastic supporters of the Springfield Boys & Girls Club and have also
sponsored a tree for the Festival of Trees for three years. (Return
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Meadow Brook Elementary School Chorus
The Meadow Brook Elementary School Chorus, in its' seventh year of
existence, consists of eighty-three second grade students. The chorus
rehearses before school once per week, for forty-five minutes. The
children are working hard on how to use their singing voices
correctly, perform rhythms correctly, sing in 2-parts, as well as
other musical concepts. The children are also having a lot fun singing
a variety of songs. Some of the songs that they are learning to sing
include: "Put Your Hand in my Hand", "Best Friends", "Winter Fantasy",
"Oh, Be Joyful", "O Chanukah", as well as others. This year the chorus
is under the direction of Mrs. Jeanne Marker. We are looking forward
to our fifth performance at the Festival of Trees.
(Return
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The Pioneer Valley Fiddlers
The Pioneer Valley Fiddlers is a fiddler’s club dedicated to the
preservation and performance of traditional fiddle music. The club was
formed in 1992 by Chris Keenan. We perform mainly in the northeast fiddle
style, including Irish, Scottish, Canadian and other traditional music. We
also do an occasional southern, Cajun or Texas style piece. Our members
range in age from 4 - 70 years old. All ability levels are represented
from beginner to advanced player. Our performance size varies depending on
the type of venue. We have played with as few as four players for smaller
settings (cocktail hours, weddings, open houses, and 20 players for large
stage performances (The Summit House, The Big E, concerts in Western Mass
and CT.) We also have musicians that play keyboard, accordion, mandolin,
guitar, wash tub, washboard, and spoons. Most of the music we play is
associated with early dance music, such as jigs, reels, two-steps, polkas,
and waltzes. Someone who heard us described our playing as "happy music."
If you don’t feel like jumping out of your chair to start dancing, we are
not doing our job! (Return to top)
MaryAnn Studio of Dance
The MaryAnn Studio of Dance is very proud to be celebrating its 52nd
season this year under the ownership of Mary Ann Langone, Director. We
have supported the Festival of Trees for the last seven years by providing
entertainment and also by sponsoring a tree. Our students range in age
from toddler through adult. Through the years. the studio has had the
pleasure of offering quality dance education to generations of dancers.
Moms who danced as children are now bringing their own children to enjoy
the thrill of dance. Students from the Mary Ann Studio of Dance are always
eager to share the love and joy of dancing with others. (Return
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The Step Suzuki Strings Directed by Lani
Bortfeld
The STEP Suzuki
Strings is a multi-generational group of Suzuki string students,
ages five to adult, from Greater Springfield and Northern
Connecticut.
The Suzuki Talent
Education Partnership (STEP) was founded in September 2002 by Lani
Bortfeld with the help of students, parents and the community of
Springfield, and is now an outreach program of Faith United Church,
52 Sumner Ave. in Springfield, MA. STEP’s performance ensemble
rehearses Wednesday evenings at Faith United and gives three formal
concerts a year, in addition to more informal play-ins and outreach
performances. STEP is dedicated to using the principles and
teachings of renowned Japanese music educator and humanitarian, Dr.
Shinichi Suzuki, as a basis for its mission of education and
outreach to Greater Springfield. Dr. Suzuki believed that every
child who could learn to speak could learn to play violin. It is
STEP’s vision that students of diverse ages, backgrounds and
cultures will thrive by experiencing the joy of making music
together using Dr. Suzuki’s teachings.
Through the generosity
of the Springfield Suzuki Partnership (the SSP is the STEP family
organization), Faith United Church and St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church
in Longmeadow, STEP is able to give out need based financial aid to
make this vision a reality.
Lani Bortfeld, B.Mus.
New England Conservatory, M.Mus. University of Connecticut and
director of the STEP Suzuki Strings, is a 27 year member of the
Suzuki Association of the Americas (SAA) and has presented at three
of its national conferences. Ms. Bortfeld is also a member o the
Waterbury (CT) Symphony Orchestra and first violinist with the
Arcos/iris Quartet, a Springfield based string quartet, which is on
the Education Roster of the Massachusetts Cultural Council. An
active freelance musician, she is a member of Local 171 of the
American Federation of Musicians and performs in schools, houses of
worship, arts festivals, care facilities, libraries and concert
halls throughout New England. Ms. Bortfeld received an Artist
Fellowship from the Springfield Cultural Council in 1999 and is an
artist-teacher on the Creative Teaching Partners roster of the
Massachusetts Cultural Council. (Return
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Amy Mercier
Amy Mercier is a senior at St. Mary's High School in Westifeld, MA.
She is a local singer, songwriter and pianist and has performed
throughout the area for the last three years. Most recently she has
performed at The Big E and various charitable events, such as The
Rays of Hope and UNICEF. She is an active member of the Folk Group
of St. Mary's Parish and devotes her time and support to many area
elderly facilities, sharing her love and excitement of music. She
released her self-titled album in June, featuring her first original
song, "It Was Him."
Amy takes great pride in her love for the theater. She has taken
part in several productions at her high school and played "Margriet"
in the production of "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" at The Westfield
Theatre Group. She will be performing throughout the Christmas
season at area and craft fairs, the Holyoke Mall, and many volunteer
events for children and adults. For more information on Amy and her
upcoming schedule, please go to
www.myspace.com/amercier.
(Return
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Hampshire Regional High School Chorus
Hampshire Regional High School, located in Westhampton, Ma, consists of
both a middle school and a high school, grades 7-12. We are a regional
school serving five communities; Westhampton, Goshen, Williamsburg,
Southampton and Chesterfield.
Some students have a 45 min. bus ride to school, and we are usually one of
the first in Western Mass to call a snow day in inclement weather! There
are three choruses and four bands in the music department, consisting of
M.S. Chorus, M.S. Band, M.S. Jazz Band, H.S. Chorus, H.S. Concert and Jazz
Bands. There is also an After School Chorus for high schoolers who are not
able to fit chorus into their schedules. Both the Middle School and High
School chorus will be performing, as well as the new After School Chorus.
Holiday favorites, as well as some of our concert repertoire, will be
featured. There will be a special performance by the H.S. boys of "You’re
a Mean One, Mr. Grinch!"
This will be our third time
performing at the Festival of Trees, and we are very proud to help out
the Boys & Girls Club of Springfield. (Return
to top)
String City
String City is a new string orchestra of advanced students from the
Community Music School of Springfield. They have been sponsored
largely through the generosity of Babson Capital Management, LLC, in
order to encourage higher standards of string playing and
involvement in the arts on the part of students who are residents of
the city of Springfield. Although rehearsals for this
group began just this past September, they have already performed
publicly at WNEC as part of the Daniel Pearl Day international day
of peace and music. They have also hosted Matt Haimovitz,
internationally known cellist in a Master Class.
In the Spring of 2009, they plan to collaborate for a concert with
the Springfield Ballroom Dance group and on their own at Community
Music School.
Members of String City are really looking forward to appearing at
the Festival of Trees and hope to win the tree of their dreams!
Marty Knieriem is the Director of String City. (Return
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Tehillah - A Contemporary Gospel Choir
St. John’s Congregational Church
Tehillah, pronounced Ta-He-Lah, was birthed by the vision of Pastor
Wesley in 1999 to compliment the already strong and varied music
ministry of St. John’s. Tehillah, a Hebrew word meaning "Praise", is
a contemporary Gospel choir dedicated to lifting high the praises of
God in song. Under the leadership of Ms. Benita Sharpe, Tehillah
grew in size and strength to become the premier choir within St.
John’s. With nearly 50 voices and under the direction of Marcus
Pitts, Tehillah sings many of the contemporary gospel songs by
popular artists, classic favorites, and new original songs composed
and arranged by the gifts within St. John’s. Proverbs 18:16 declares
that your gift will make room for you and this is truly the
experience of Tehillah, whose gifts have opened the door for them to
minister all across New England. Tehillah continues to sing the
praises of God with power and excellence.
(Return
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Festival runs from November 26th – December 12th, 2010
| Thursdays
& Fridays |
4:00
- 7:00 p.m. |
| Saturdays |
12:00 -
7:00 p.m. |
| Sundays |
12:00 -
4:00 p.m. |
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