June 25, 2010
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
A Busy Summer for Valley Center Middle School Performing Arts Students!
When most students are contemplating what to do over their summer vacation, there are a few from Valley Center Middle School that already have plans for how they are spending their time. They are the Catherine's Dream Foundation scholarship winners for 2010 and all were cast members in the Middle School production of Music Man, Jr. this last spring. Congratulations to all the winners!
Jeffrey Yarush will be attending Camp Bravo, an award winning theater arts summer camp at the de Benneville Pines Camp Facility in Angelus Oaks, California. Camp Bravo is designed to provide young people, ages 10-18, interested in the performing arts with a beautiful outdoor setting and a safe non-competitive environment in which to immerse themselves in the thrill of performing. This weeklong intensive course of study combines the excitement of creative arts education with the fun of outdoor recreational activities. Taught by professionals from the entertainment industry, their goal is to bring together young people from diverse backgrounds and provide them with an environment where they can explore the creative arts and discover new talents. http://www.campbravo.org/
Kira Archipov, Peyton Smith, & Caitlyn Porter will be attending Premier for Kids, also an award winning theater production program in Vista, CA. Established 19 years ago with their children’s theater program, it has now grown into a full-scale multi-theater performing arts program, and in 2007 they created a space especially for children to perform, The Off Broadway Theater. The Premier for Kids campers go from start to finish and put on a full play in just two weeks time! http://www.premiereforkids.com/
Taylor West and Elizabeth Gordon will be attending voice lessons from Tersila Romero, a level 3 certified Speech Level Singing instructor with nearly twenty years of singing and teaching experience. Coming from a jazz background, Tersila has rounded out her professional musical endeavors with singing/dancing, dinner and musical theater, member of various musical bands in the Southern California area, event production, and lent her voice to station IDs for NBC and its affiliates, and countless jingles, albums and soundtracks. Teaching in her private studio since 1989, Tersila has boosted the vocal efforts of countless students and even taught in the classroom of grades K-8. Her students have consistently stood out among their peers landing lead roles in community and professional theatre as well as being awarded vocal scholarships to prestigious musical institutions and recording contracts! Tersila@aol.com
These top-notch scholarships were granted by the Catherine's Dream Foundation which was created to celebrate the life of Catherine Peltzer, who was a Drama student at the middle school the year she passed due to a tragic farm vehicle accident. The originator of the foundation Lisa Tierney, Catherine’s mother, spoke of the opportunity to grant such scholarships to these students, “I feel so blessed to be able to honor my beautiful daughter Catherine in something that she loved to be a part of.” The scholarships are awarded to students who submit an essay about their theater interests and are reviewed by the foundation including Elizabeth Mazza, Catherine’s best friend from participating in the play Cinderella at the middle school.
Each year, held the weekend of Catherine's birthday, the Catherine's Dream Foundation hosts a fundraiser entitled "Rock the Arts-Viva La CAT" to raise funds to continue such scholarships and support for the local youth. This year’s event will be September 18, 2010 from 12-5pm at Bates Nut Farm. For More information, please contact catherinesdreamfoundation@yahoo.com or refer to the Bates Nut Farm website http://www.batesnutfarm.biz/content.php?content_id=1003 .
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Valley Center Middle School Drama Boosters Contact:
Mona Smith, Valley Center Middle School Drama Boosters President (909) 496-4107 or email vcdramaboosters@gmail.com.
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Jeffrey Yarush, Director Andrea Vasquez, Taylor West, Elizabeth Gordon, Peyton Smith, Kira Archipov, Caitlyn Porter, Lisa Tierney, Elizabeth Mazza, and Producer Rich Horne