Penny Drive

In 1947 Mrs. George R. Wallace, Jr., involved the children of Fitchburg in the fundraising for the planned Youth Library. The children from all the schools in the city organized and decided to raise one million pennies. Children did chores for a few cents, they made and sold earrings and other crafts, they spoke before civic groups and gave up chewing gum and other treats. In less than six months they raised $10,381.75. Three years later, on September 28, 1950, the Youth Library was dedicated. It was the first of its kind in the country and was written about in international magazines and journals for its concept and its architecture.

On Sept. 29, 2010, Mayor Lisa Wong kicked off a new "Penny Drive" to raise funds for materials and programming for the Youth Library. Along with other city officials, trustees and friends of the library the Mayor unveiled a red meter outside the Youth Library entrance on Newton Place. This meter will accept your change--one coin at a time. You can bring larger quantities into the library. Worker's Credit Union will kindly allow us to bring the loose coins you donate to them for counting.

Remember, "Pennies add up to dollars."

It's a Hardbop Life

Broadway Musician to Conduct Program on Lack of Instrumental Musicians in Youth Music Culture

Gregory Charles Royal to Present Version of Jazz Play It’s a Hardbop Life Before Discussion

Wednesday, September 29 at 4:00 P.M.

Broadway trombonist and America’s Hot Musician judge Gregory Charles Royal is touring a nationwide program to hold an open discussion on the lack of instrumental musicians in the fore of youth music culture. The program, offered free to the public, will be held at the Fitchburg Public Library on Wednesday, September 29, 2010.

Royal, who is also Artistic Director of American Youth Symphony (AYS) and co-producer of the tour along with the American Federation of Musicians’ Music Performance Fund (MPF), believes the advent of electronic sound, pop vocals and rap jeopardize the future and careers of young instrumental musicians.

“The overuse of computer samples coupled with a spoken word art form- rap- now defined by the MTV-Hip Hop culture as music performance, posses a real problem on several levels. The obvious is the future survival of traditional music forms which actually require live musicianship such as the symphony, jazz or rock and roll. But even more nuanced is the limitation popular music places on creative youth who are considering popular music as a career. Everyone cannot be a rapper or singer and the possibility of playing an instrument in hip hop for example, is not even on the youth’s radar screen. This is despite the efforts of some conscientious hip hop artists whose music is shut out by popular radio stations and video outlets.”

AYS encourages students and parents alike to attend the program and engage in what it hopes will be a lively discussion.

The program will begin with a scale down version of the jazz play, It’s a Hardbop Life, which is the story of a rapper who in a fantasy is brought back to 1964 in the life of his father, a jazz musician.

It’s a Hardbop Life is the first play to feature an entire cast of jazz musicians and debuted at the New York JVC Jazz Festival in 2004. It was recently featured in Jazz Times Magazine at http://jazztimes.com/articles/26143-gregory-charles-royal-s-hardbop-life and reviewed at http://fsunews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100322/FSVIEW01/100321012

NOTE: For this tour, this play has been condensed to a one-actor presentation with pre-recorded sound.

About Gregory Charles Royal

In addition to serving as AYS artistic director, Royal enjoyed a long career as a trombonist both on Broadway as an onstage musician in the musical Five Guys Named Moe and as a soloist with the Duke Ellington Orchestra. Read his complete bio at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gregory_Charles_Royal

About American Youth Symphony and its Plight of American Music Initiative

American Youth Symphony (AYS) was founded in Washington, DC in 1982. Its mission is to promote instrumental music within the MTV-Hip Hop Generation. The Plight of American Music Program is a nationwide discussion in schools and other educational settings to advance awareness among youth about instrumental performance and musicians within the popular culture. For more information please visit www.americanyouthsymphony.org