IN Peters Township October/November 2017 | Page 35
Pictured L to R: Kaylee Petro, Abby Stech,
Uma Thachapuzha and Andrew Zhang.
work with the elementary school ensembles
as they rehearse.
“Music has completely impacted
my life,” says Kaylee. “I’ve met so many
amazing, caring people who have become
lifelong friends and can’t imagine a world
without my cello. It has opened up a lot
of opportunities for me, like a chance to
participate in the PMEA Junior District
Orchestra and a level of the Pittsburgh
Youth Symphony. Playing cello means the
world to me and sharing my music with
others is an incredible thing.”
Two years ago, three freshman girls from
the Peters Township High School orchestra
decided that the district needed something
to connect orchestra students of all grades.
Abby Stech, Juliette Langley and Tabitha
Beck started a summer orchestra camp
for kids in McMurray that took place at
the Peters Township Public Library. They
planned and ran the camp for kids in the
5th, 6th and 7th grades. It was a wonderful
opportunity not only for the kids, but also
for the counselors!
Because the camp was such a success,
several high school students decided to
continue it and try a second year of summer
strings camp. This summer’s camp proved to
be an even bigger success than the previous
year. More kids participated and a larger
variety of instruments were used during
the camp.
“We hope to keep this camp going as
a yearly event,” says Kaylee Petro, one of
this year’s camp leaders. “This has been
such an amazing experience, and we hope
to continue inspiring young musicians.”
For more information about
the summer camp, visit
mcmstrings.wixsite.com/summer.
In addition to the summer camps,
students at Peters Township High School
have also formed a club called Music
Mentorship. It was started by graduate
Sneha Hoysala to help and mentor kids in
the elementary music program. As part of
the club, a few high school musicians from
band and orchestra travel to the elementary
school on a bus at the end of the day and
PT MUSIC STUDENTS
MENTOR YOUNGER
PEERS
THE ABBEY PLAYERS
PRESENT FUN-FILLED
FALL PERFORMANCES
On Sept. 17, The Abbey Players took t
he big, bad wolf to court in their production
of “The Big Bad Musical.” The show was
held at the Peterswood
Park Amphitheater
and was part of
the Parks and Rec
summer concert
series.
On Oct. 15, the
theater troupe will
present a dramatic
interpretation of Shel Silverstein’s “The
Giving Tree” at the Peters Township Public
Library. The show will begin at 2:30 p.m.
and is free and open to the public.
In the next few months, The Abbey
Players will be working hard toward their
next project, “Godspell,” the troupe’s spring
musical. The Abbey Players is a community
theater troupe for kids in 7th through 12th
grade that promotes performance, prayer
and charity. For more information about
upcoming auditions or to join The
Abbey Players, contact Lorra Brannen at
[email protected]. n
Peters Township | October/November 2017 | icmags.com 33