Music School

A violin performance of Vivaldi's Concerto in A minor: two to three minutes. "Valse Gracieuse," a performance piece for flute: four minutes. Vocal performances of "My Johann" and "Pieta Signore": seven minutes. Total performance time at the Cumberland Valley School of Music Performathon: 13 to 14 minutes. Gabrielle Sanfilippo, 15, has spent several months and dozens of hours practicing these flute, violin and vocal pieces to make her contribution to this weekend's continuous music performance fundraiser.

BOSTON (AP) - Years ago, Steven Tyler and his bandmates would drive by the Berklee College of Music after playing a midnight set at a local bar for beer. On Saturday, the music school awarded the longtime Boston-area resident and Aerosmith frontman with an honorary doctorate degree in music. Tyler recalled telling his mother when he was 4 years old that he wanted to be a musician when he grew up. His mother told him he couldn't do both. "A career in music is a road that's constantly under construction," he told the 695 graduates.

SHARPSBURG -- For the most part, their careers as musicians take Bob Sykes and Scott Silbert to cities such as Washington, D.C., and Baltimore. That suits them just fine as long as home is in Washington County. Both Sykes and Silbert are career musicians with impressive résumés. It wasn't through their work that they met, however, but through Salem United Methodist Church in Keedysville. "That's what has kept us connected," Bob Sykes said. The Silbert family -- Scott, wife Jennifer and two children, Henry, 11, and Sam, 9 -- moved to Sharpsburg 13 years ago. Scott grew up in Orlando, Fla., and Jennifer was raised in Kenosha, Wis. The Sykes moved to Sharpsburg three years ago. Bob, who grew up in northern Virginia, and his wife, Sherry, a native of western New York near Niagara Falls, have two children, Donald, 7, and Emily, 5. Sykes, who plays piano and keyboard, is the chairman of the jazz department at the Levine School of Music in the metropolitan Washington, D.C., area.

The curtain rises on a darkened stage and a spotlight illuminates the silhouette of a slender man wearing a sequined glove. A fedora covers his face, a military-style jacket drapes over his shoulders; and his feet, dressed in white ankle socks and black loafers, begin to move to a steady, pulsating beat. The image is as powerful as the music - an image that is unmistakably Michael Jackson. While the King of Pop is no longer with us, he still is very much on the entertainment radar.

andrear@herald-mail.com Tenors and tamales? Juan Ramos' experience as a waiter and manager in Mexican restaurants helped launch his dream of becoming an opera singer. He now serves patrons at El Ranchero restaurant in Hagerstown - but it's the singing waiter's delivery of a powerful aria that earned the tenor a scholarship to a prestigious music school. Unless he gets a better offer, Ramos plans to start attending the Peabody Conservatory of Music in Baltimore next February, he said.

CHAMBERSBURG, Pa. - Eleven high school students joined together Sunday afternoon to sing that "music is the common language. " Their voices filled a chapel auditorium with the lyrics to Joseph Martin's "Come to the Music" and launched the 17th Cumberland Valley School of Music Showcase Concert. That concert found the common language among the school's students, alumni, faculty and special guests who performed a variety of styles for hundreds of family, friends and community members.

BOONSBORO -- Anyone wanting to know what kind of influence Washington County Public Schools' music program has on students doesn't have to look any farther than David Adams. When the Boonsboro High School sophomore was in sixth grade, he started toying with the trombone. When Adams got to eighth grade at Boonsboro Middle School, a band director there let him play around with whatever instruments he wanted to during lunch. When Adams reached high school, the music bug was really kicking in. "It was just incredible.

CHAMBERSBURG, Pa. -When he was 4 or 5, Monty Alexander started playing a piano in his Kingston, Jamaica, home that hadn't been getting much attention. When he was 19, Frank Sinatra heard him play in Miami and hired him to play at Jilly's, a New York City club owned by Jilly Rizzo that Sinatra supported. That chance encounter led to opportunities to play with and learn about music from some of the best in the business. On Saturday, Monty Alexander will perform with bassist Hassan Shakur and drummer George Fludas in Wilson College's Laird Hall.

By LISA GRAYBEAL Staff Writer, Chambersburg CHAMBERSBURG, Pa. - Their lives have crisscrossed since high school as each as pursued a career in different areas of popular music. Now they've returned home and formed a group their parents and grandparents can relate to. Denny Hoke of Chambersburg, Michael Jackson of Waynesboro, Pa., and Rich Rippeon of Hagerstown make up the group "Triangle," which plays classic dance music from the 1930s to the 1950s, an era that's gone but not forgotten.

The ninth annual Pooch Plunge at Potterfield Pool will be held Wednesday, Aug. 22, from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. at the Claude M. Potterfield Pool, 730 Frederick St. in Hagerstown. The event benefits the Humane Society of Washington County. Last year's event drew a large attendance.  “It was really something to see,” said Paul Miller, executive director of the shelter. “This is becoming an annual end-of-summer event for families interested in having a night out with their pets.

The curtain rises on a darkened stage and a spotlight illuminates the silhouette of a slender man wearing a sequined glove. A fedora covers his face, a military-style jacket drapes over his shoulders; and his feet, dressed in white ankle socks and black loafers, begin to move to a steady, pulsating beat. The image is as powerful as the music - an image that is unmistakably Michael Jackson. While the King of Pop is no longer with us, he still is very much on the entertainment radar.

It's Friday night at Evolution Rock School, off Baltimore Street in Hagerstown, which means only one thing - it's time to rock.  With a foot-stompin' drumline keeping tempo, lead singer Josh Geblein bangs his head and pumps his fist in the air. Evolution Rock House Band is wailing on “Rockin' in the Free World.” Band members are practicing for their upcoming show, the Summer Concert Cookout Bash on Saturday, Aug. 18, at Doub's Woods Park's...

The ninth annual Pooch Plunge at Potterfield Pool will be held Wednesday, Aug. 22, from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. at the Claude M. Potterfield Pool, 730 Frederick St. in Hagerstown. The event benefits the Humane Society of Washington County. Last year's event drew a large attendance.  “It was really something to see,” said Paul Miller, executive director of the shelter. “This is becoming an annual end-of-summer event for families interested in having a night out with their pets.

CHAMBERSBURG, Pa. -Tastes of Southern Italy and the Chesapeake can be found along Chambersburg's Alexander Avenue this Saturday as part of Cumberland Valley School of Music's Neighborhood Chefs' Walk. Six blocks of Alexander Avenue will host the new fundraiser for the school. Why Alexander Avenue? Because it's home to five chefs who are preparing tastings for the event and to some of the musicians who will be performing along the avenue, said Paula Hepfer, co-founder of the school.

BOONSBORO -- Anyone wanting to know what kind of influence Washington County Public Schools' music program has on students doesn't have to look any farther than David Adams. When the Boonsboro High School sophomore was in sixth grade, he started toying with the trombone. When Adams got to eighth grade at Boonsboro Middle School, a band director there let him play around with whatever instruments he wanted to during lunch. When Adams reached high school, the music bug was really kicking in. "It was just incredible.

SHARPSBURG -- For the most part, their careers as musicians take Bob Sykes and Scott Silbert to cities such as Washington, D.C., and Baltimore. That suits them just fine as long as home is in Washington County. Both Sykes and Silbert are career musicians with impressive résumés. It wasn't through their work that they met, however, but through Salem United Methodist Church in Keedysville. "That's what has kept us connected," Bob Sykes said. The Silbert family -- Scott, wife Jennifer and two children, Henry, 11, and Sam, 9 -- moved to Sharpsburg 13 years ago. Scott grew up in Orlando, Fla., and Jennifer was raised in Kenosha, Wis. The Sykes moved to Sharpsburg three years ago. Bob, who grew up in northern Virginia, and his wife, Sherry, a native of western New York near Niagara Falls, have two children, Donald, 7, and Emily, 5. Sykes, who plays piano and keyboard, is the chairman of the jazz department at the Levine School of Music in the metropolitan Washington, D.C., area.

HAGERSTOWN -- Even without lifting his baton, Marvin Hurley had dozens of his former orchestra musicians sounding the same note on Saturday -- a note of appreciation. They returned to North Hagerstown High School to celebrate the 70th birthday of a man some credit with giving music a foothold in the school system about 40 years ago. "Marvin brought, basically, orchestral music to this county in a big way," said Todd Medcalf, a 1969 North High graduate and Hurley's first concertmaster, or first chair in the first violin section.

CHAMBERSBURG, Pa. -When he was 4 or 5, Monty Alexander started playing a piano in his Kingston, Jamaica, home that hadn't been getting much attention. When he was 19, Frank Sinatra heard him play in Miami and hired him to play at Jilly's, a New York City club owned by Jilly Rizzo that Sinatra supported. That chance encounter led to opportunities to play with and learn about music from some of the best in the business. On Saturday, Monty Alexander will perform with bassist Hassan Shakur and drummer George Fludas in Wilson College's Laird Hall.

CHAMBERSBURG, Pa. - Eleven high school students joined together Sunday afternoon to sing that "music is the common language. " Their voices filled a chapel auditorium with the lyrics to Joseph Martin's "Come to the Music" and launched the 17th Cumberland Valley School of Music Showcase Concert. That concert found the common language among the school's students, alumni, faculty and special guests who performed a variety of styles for hundreds of family, friends and community members.

A violin performance of Vivaldi's Concerto in A minor: two to three minutes. "Valse Gracieuse," a performance piece for flute: four minutes. Vocal performances of "My Johann" and "Pieta Signore": seven minutes. Total performance time at the Cumberland Valley School of Music Performathon: 13 to 14 minutes. Gabrielle Sanfilippo, 15, has spent several months and dozens of hours practicing these flute, violin and vocal pieces to make her contribution to this weekend's continuous music performance fundraiser.