Thanks to our Angels

 

Our heartfelt thanks to the donors listed below who have provided us with vital support for 2021 during our Angel campaign. 

We could not do this without you!

Silver Angels 

   Todd Whitley and Gary Holder

Bronze Angels

   Tim Watkins and Carol May

   R. Wayne Walters

   Joen Ferrari 

   Lavinia Mears

Winged Angels 

   Laura Edmondson Amerman

   Alice Glock and Hebby Economy

   Gwyneth Mooney

   Nancy Whitley

   Hadiza Dockeray

For more about how you can be a Masterwork Music and Art Angel, contact us at masterworkarts@gmail.com.

About Masterwork

The Masterwork Foundation has been supporting excellence in the arts for over 50 years. 100 percent of your donation funds art and artists through community grants, competitive awards and a premier award for an emerging artist. Find out more at www.masterworkarts.org  

The Songbird Sings

 A Stellar Evening of Song from Our Inaugural Premier Awardee, Stephanie Leotsakos

One of the bright spots in our 2020 was awarding our first Premier Award to an emerging vocal artist, the talented Stephanie Leotsakos. 

The brainchild of Masterwork Music and Art Foundation Board member, Wayne Walters, the Premier Award was offered to help an young artist advance their career. 

Our great appreciate to our volunteer adjudicators for meeting the challenge of the times by reviewing submissions virtually.  The esteemed group included Stephen Bryant, Hadiza Dockeray, Robert Hoven, Mathew Lee, Roberta Maher, Mary Elena Mammon, Rosemary Messineo, Denise Mihalik, Elizabeth Perryman, Patricia Ruggles, and Jay Tramm.

We had planned a concert to celebrate our awardee in the Spring, but modified our plans to present a socially distanced recital in the Fall, inviting a select few. We had the good sense to have the event professionally recorded by Christian Schuller of Happy Camper Creative and have included the links below. 

Special thanks to Joen Ferrari for providing catering for the event.

We hope you enjoy Stephanie's talent as much as we do. 

Please join us in extending our best wishes to Stephanie for what's sure to be a bright career. 

Stephanie Leotsakos, performing at the Madison Community Arts Center

Recital Program:

• Introduction by Wayne Walters

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zoMB-k5rwRE 

• Il vento (The Wind), by Raphael Fusco (2010)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gMJdQ84BLWs&t=75s

• E sera (Its Evening), by Raphael Fusco (2010)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uMhfhH8ndxQ

• I’m on a cloud, by Stephanie Leotsakos (2016)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rgSmUI_gE5s

• Chi il bel sogno di Doretta (from La Rondine), by Giacomo Puccini

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IToHH30uvEk

• Vissi d’arte (from Tosca), by Giacomo Puccini

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ae_qdq89O-w 

About the Masterwork Music and Art Foundation

The Masterwork Foundation has been supporting excellence in the arts for over 50 years. 100 percent of your donation funds art and artists through community grants, competitive awards and a premier award for an emerging artist. Find out more at www.masterworkarts.org  

#MasterworkArts #LovetheArtist #LovetheArts

Introducing A Life in the Arts --- our virtual series celebrating the lives of artists

"Life beats down and crushes the soul and art reminds you that you have one" Stella Adler

With this post we're officially unveiling a project we began last Fall. 'A Life in the Arts' was conceived as a series of Zoom interviews with people who have dedicated their lives to the arts. Our hope is that by sharing these interviews we'll not only help emerging artists, but also reinforce the importance of the entrepreneurial skills an arts discipline inspires. Of course, we are also very happy to celebrate the accomplishments of our interview participants, as well. 

Given the challenges of the pandemic, the pressure to adapt has landed heavily on the shoulders of many artists - and performing artists in particular - who've found themselves struggling to adjust to dramatic changes in both their employment and practice. Recognizing that, we wanted to kick off this series by interviewing Dr. Mitchell Saskin. Dr. Saskin is a Clinical Psychologist with a private practice and an adjunct professor at the Teacher's College of Columbia University.  We invited him to share tips on how artists may better cope with the challenges of our times. Of course, as you might imagine, much of what he had to say is helpful to all of us. 

Click here to view our 40 minute interview with Dr. Saskin.

We'll be offering a new series of interviews in February. To participate in them, please follow us on Facebook or send an email to masterworkarts@gmail.com. 

Move More, Feel Better

Get up and dance through 2021

Apart from helping to relieve external stressers, dance makes your feel better and helps fight dementia (see: this WSJ article) — with a combo like that, give this New Year’s Resolution a try! Join our free classes for older adults. 

About the Class

The format of the hour and a half long class offers a forty five minute warm up that pulls from a number of dance disciplines and includes some floor exercises meant to strengthen back muscles.  There’s a section on across the floor technique and a small choreography at the end. Participants are encouraged to modify exercises and may opt-out of any section they choose. 

 

Classes are offered on Saturdays at 10:30am and Tuesdays at 6:00pm. Zoom invites are sent out early the day of each class. 

 

About the Instructor

Todd Whitley began his dance career as an adult, accumulating live, broadcast and film performances while maintaining a career as a digital strategist for nonprofits. He has received grants for a number of community based choreography projects and has been teaching classes for the past eight years. He feels strongly about the benefits of dance, both physical and as a tool to unlock creative thinking and problem solving.

 

About Fees

These classes are FREE! 

 

There are no fees for class. However, participants are encouraged to support three community-based organizations that support the arts:

• The Masterwork Music and Arts Foundation ( www.masterworkarts.org )

The Masterwork Music and Art Foundation

PO Box 1116

Madison, NJ  07940

• The Friends of Beattie-Powers ( www.beattiepowers.org ) 

Friends of Beattie-Powers

P.O. Box 453

Catskill, NY 12414

•  The Athens Cultural Center  ( www.athensculturalcenter.org ) 

The Athens Cultural Center

24 Second Street

Athens, New York 12015

 

Each of these organizations is promoting this offer in-kind. 

 

As with any dance class or school, neither The Masterwork Music and Art Foundation, nor the instructor are liable for individual injuries sustained in or out of class. 

 

For more information and to be receive class invites, email masterworkarts@gmail.com . 

 

#MasterworkArts

#LovetheArtist

#LovetheArts

#Dance