Good-bye Summer…Hello Youth Orchestra!

Summer is just about over. Millions of families throughout the world are preparing for the start of a new school year. Malls will be bustling with shopping teenagers. Colleges will be overrun with undergrads moving furniture, clothing, iPads, and books into crowded dorm rooms. And moms everywhere will be both proud and melancholy as their firstborns head off to kindergarten – even if kindergarten is in the downstairs living room. There is a lot to do in September! The seasonal clock is beginning to turn (autumn officially begins September 22 in the Northern Hemisphere) – signaling an anticipation of new beginnings. I find it both exciting and remorseful to watch those hot summer days come to an end. But, if you love music as much as I do (and, obviously, you all do!) there is a truly dazzling bright spot on the autumn horizon: Youth Orchestra! Every year as my oldest daughter was growing up, I looked forward with great anticipation to the start of youth orchestra rehearsals in Philadelphia. There were three outstanding youth orchestra programs in the city at that time. We couldn’t decide which would be best for Madison – so we signed her up for all three! And Saturday night, after orchestra rehearsals were finished, we headed to a friend’s house with three other young musicians for a weekly chamber music coaching. Autumn, of course,  is the busiest and most wonderful time of the year! School is starting, doctors appointments are beckoning, the outlets need visiting, young musicians are practicing frantically to get that one last audition piece perfectly memorized, and – best of all – the youth orchestra schedule is about to make its way from the inbox to my Google calendar. I could elaborate on why I am passionate about youth orchestras, but, I’ve got too much to do. My youngest daughter goes back to school next week and we need to go shopping. She wears a uniform – but the dress code is flexible on shoes! (I do have time, however, to post this moving article on the benefits of youth orchestra membership. I’’m sure the internet is filled with similar postings. When you run across them please post them here. Families will only benefit from the encouragement!)
Sandy Marcucci
Co-Founder/President
Philadelphia International Music Festival

What we have been up to…

Our students are hard at work. Last week they competed in 2 competitions, followed 5 conductors, attended 7 concerts and practiced nearly 2,000 hours!

Today, we welcome over 20 second week students and embark on Private Practice Marathon.

Here’s to another week of fun and masterful music!

~The PIMF Staff

 

Look at you!

This year at PIMF, we would like to honor our returning campers who are making big strides in music.

Post on our Facebook page (or tag us in a post) about your musical adventures since attending PIMF last year. We would like to hear from students about how they have learned and grown in a year. We will be selecting 5 returning students to honor at the Parent Orientation Meeting on June 22 at 5 pm.

Posts will be accepted till Friday at midnight.

#PIMF2013

Why, thank you Facebook.

Facebook is making it easy to talk about the Philadelphia International Music Festival this year! Just in time for camp, clickable hashtags will be a reality:http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/facebook-adds-clickable-hashtags-newsfeed-posts/story?id=19383505#.UbpIFYzD_4g.

Get practicing: #PIMF2013!

Thinking packing? THINK Camp Store!

Is packing is on your mind? Are you dreading that heavy suitcase?  Did you know our camp store is stocked to meet your every need? We will be selling towels, bedding, toothpaste and brushes, shampoo, conditioner, deodorant, lip balm and combs at great prices. Pick up your supplies during registration!

Are you planning to purchase festival t-shirts, sweatshirts, or water bottles prior to your arrival at Bryn Mawr College? If “yes” – celebrate PIMF 2013 in style with our brand new gear!  We have clothing and memorabilia for everyone in the family.

Finally, keep a lookout online for festival notices about upcoming promotions, activities, concerts and events! From now through July 5th we will be posting daily information on our social media platforms.

Visit our website: http://www.philadelphiamusicfestival.org/

Friend us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PhiladelphiaInternationalMusicFestival?v=wall

Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/PhilaMusicFest

Discover us on Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/pimf/

The fun has just begun!

Benefit Concert Success

PIMF, Ocean City New JerseySaturday night’s Hurricane Sandy benefit concert, sponsored by the Philadelphia International Music Festival, in Ocean City brought over 200 visitors to down to shore. Donations totaling over $1,000, have gone directly to the American Red Cross, who have sent over 15,000 skilled workers to the Jersey Shore to help with clean up and take care of the Sandy survivors since October.  Now, months after the storm, the Red Cross has turned their focus on long-term goals for shore restoration.

Noelle Casella, an American born cellist who recently completed her Master’s degree at the Royal Academy of Music in London, and Ellen Hannigan-Youssefian, a wonderful a pianist and graduate from Ocean City High School, accompanied the Marcucci sister’s Madison and Michal- daughters of PIMF co-founder Sandy Marcucci, while they delighted classical music lovers with pieces like Vivaldi’s Winter and Handel-Halveoson’s Passcaglia.  These talented young women have performed, worked, or studied with the members of the Philadelphia Orchestra and PIMF for a number of years prior to this concert.

This one night only event, could not have been made possible without the dedicated staff of Ocean City Tabernacle, the talented musicians, and classical music lovers like yourselves. PIMF would also like to thank the media coverage we received from the Press of Atlantic City and 6 ABC.

Please check back later this week for photos and video from the performance. 

A Classical Evening in Celebration of Ocean City’s Restoration

Press Release 

Philadelphia International Music Festival announces a concert celebrating the rebuilding of the Jersey Shore

Madison MarcucciOcean City, NJ– The Philadelphia International Music Festival (PIMF) will be hosting a free concert at the Ocean City Tabernacle in Ocean City on Saturday, April 20th to benefit Hurricane Sandy relief efforts at the Jersey Shore. Two young violinists, Madison Marcucci, a recent graduate of The Juilliard School, and her sister, Michal, a Junior at Baptist Regional School in Haddon Heights, will be accompanied by pianist Ellen Youssefian – an Ocean City High School graduate who studied at Germany’s Wurzburg School of Music on an International Rotary Foundation Scholarship from the Ocean City Rotary – in an evening of classical music celebrating the rebuilding of the Jersey Shore.

Hammonton native Sandy Marcucci, Co-Founder and President of PIMF and mother of the Marcucci sisters, said, “Ocean City is dear to the hearts of everyone who grew up in Southern New Jersey. This is just one small thing that PIMF and my family can do to help!”

Michal MarcucciThe girls, like their mother, also spent their childhoods close to the Jersey Shore and have fond memories of summers spent with friends and family on the Ocean City boardwalk. They will be performing pieces by Mozart and Bach, along with others. “We wanted to give back to the community that helped us grow up,” Madison said. “Music is a wonderful way to bring beauty to those who have been through disaster. We are delighted to have this opportunity.”

Marcucci daughtersThis free one-night concert event will start at 7:00 p.m. The Ocean City Tabernacle is located at: 500 Wesley Avenue, Ocean City, New Jersey. For further details or to reserve tickets, contact Sean McGrellis from PIMF at (856) 875-6816. Guests will also be welcome at the door.

About the Philadelphia International Music Festival:

The Philadelphia International Music Festival began as a 40-student program founded in the home CEO Sandra Marcucci. It has grown in 15 years to include three camp programs in two states and two countries, with more than 300 young musicians attending programs over annually. This year, we hope to mark the festival program’s largest attendance count. PIMF is a series of music programs offering students of all ages and skill levels in the U.S. and abroad the unique opportunity of spending 14-days immersed in classical music education and performance with members of The Philadelphia Orchestra. The summer music program includes full symphonic repertoire and is conducted on the exquisite, estate-like grounds of Bryn Mawr College in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania.

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Ocean City Restoration Concert