(NEWARK, NJ) -- Music For All Seasons (MFAS) will be celebrating its 30th anniversary, and honoring veterans with songs by Voices of Valor (VOV), on Sunday evening, March 27th at the GRAMMY Museum Experience™ Prudential Center as part of the New Jersey Devils Military Appreciation night sponsored by Prudential Financial. Voices of Valor musicians and veterans from the program will perform original songs written by veterans in its Voices of Valor program.
“We’re thrilled to partner with Music For All Seasons and showcase their ‘Voices of Valor’ program in our museum,” said Mark Conklin, Director of Artist Relations and Programming at GRAMMY Museum Experience™ Prudential Center. “It’s an honor to be able to provide a platform for these veterans and songwriters to showcase their art and to support such a transformative organization.”
The special event on March 27 begins with light refreshments at 5:30pm, the musical program at 6:00pm, and is followed by the New Jersey Devils vs. Montreal Canadiens hockey game at 7:00pm in the arena.
According to MFAS Artistic Director Rena Fruchter, “We are very honored to be the guests of the GRAMMY Museum Experience™ Prudential Center, the New Jersey Devils and Prudential Financial for this celebration of our 30th anniversary of bringing the healing power of music to so many people in need. And we are delighted to celebrate our veterans and showcase their work. This is our first event in conjunction with a hockey game, and we look forward to sharing our work with so many people.”
The featured Voices of Valor musicians include Julio Fernandez, Melissa Guttman, Ron Haney, and Kirsten Thien. Joining them will be Steve Teti on keyboard. Veterans singing the VOV songs will be Jeffery Clyburn, Joseph Austin, and Renee Walker.
Music For All Seasons was founded in 1991 by Rena Fruchter and Brian Dallow to bring the healing power of music to those in need. The organization presents live, interactive musical programs for people of all ages and in all types of institutions in five states—New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, and California. Voices of Valor, created by MFAS in 2011, provides a therapeutic songwriting program for veterans in groups of 8-12, working with two professional musician/facilitators. The veterans write and record their original group song, written over the course of nine sessions.
Built and operated by Prudential Center in Newark, NJ, the 8,000-square-foot GRAMMY Museum ExperienceTM is housed within Prudential Center (165 Mulberry Street in Newark, New Jersey). The Experience marks the first GRAMMY Museum outpost to be built on the East Coast and, similar to the original GRAMMY Museum in Los Angeles, the Experience is dedicated to exploring the past, present and future of music, and the cultural context from which it emerges, while casting a focused spotlight on the deep musical roots of New Jersey. The Experience features a dynamic combination of educational programming including “Off the Record” and “Behind the Songs” and interactive permanent and traveling exhibits, including a spotlight on legendary GRAMMY winners from New Jersey.
