From The Justin Veatch Fund:

Participants from New York’s Orange, Putnam and Westchester Counties attended The Justin Veatch Fund two-day music workshop at Briarcliff Manor High School on August 18th and 19th.  Here’s what they accomplished:

Wrote two songs, one facilitated by Vermont singer/songwriter Jon Gailmor, the other by Rhode Island singer/songwriter Brian Joyce.  Both songs were also recorded by the students on a CD they took home with them.  They also performed both songs in our closing stage show.

Were entertained and inspired by members of the Philadelphia trio Good Old War who had  just wrapped up their second national tour and release of their second full length CD.  Our workshop students mingled with members of the band for nearly an hour on stage after their performance asking questions about their craft and how they made their band a success.

Received one-on-one training in vocal performance in a three hour session with internationally renowned artist and vocal coach Sloan Wainwright.  Each student sang a song of their choosing and were coached in a nurturing and supportive way.  The individual coaching was done in a group setting which surprisingly eased inhibitions and benefited all. One participant who says she never sang in front of others did so successfully for the first time.

Attended a workshop on digital recording technology presented by Greg Dunn, founder of Moving Mountains.  Students got practical advice on how to make professional recordings of their music with their own computers on a bare bones budget.

Were entertained and enlightened in an hour long stage performance by Jon Gailmor who had everyone on the edge and even out of their seats as Jon illustrated how a lone entertainer can successfully engage an audience.

Performed in front of the entire workshop twice with their instrument of choice and later performed in our closing stage performance that was open to family, friends and the public.

Thanks to all the volunteers and supporters who helped us stage this workshop.

The response from those who attended might well be summed up by an email we recieved from one parent:  “My two girls…absolutely adored it. My husband and I wanted to thank you for creating such a wonderful program where musical kids can express themselves, find themselves amongst peers and have etheir passions nurtured.”

Donations to The Justin Veatch Fund will support similar events in the future www.thejustinveatchfund.org.

Their latest effort to reach out to talented young performing artists and provide them with opportunities to collaborate with and be challenged by like-minded peers and professionals is a two-day music workshop, which will run August 18 and August 19 at the Briarcliff Manor High School.

Justin’s father Jeffrey said this is the first annual workshop, but they planned to expand it beyond that. The workshop will expose students to a group of professional musicians who would lecture, discuss, demonstrate and collaborate with them.

Veatch said the workshop would not teach music or any specific instruments, but students would rather learn things the traditional school music programs don’t teach such as song writing, vocal technique and harmonies, technical aspect of performing and recording, engaging an audience and making the most of one’s talent.

“Each student will have an opportunity to perform as an individual or in an ensemble, be critiqued i n a nurturing environment and later participate with members of the professional staff to create a performance staged before the public as the final event of the workshop,” he said.

The workshop is open to all ages. Currently, there are 12 registered students, the youngest being 11 and the oldest person being 21 years old.

There will be a variety of programs offered.

At the workshop Good Old War band members Keith Goodwin, Dan Schwartz and Tim Arnold will speak to the kids about vocal harmony and how they create music. The trio will perform some of their songs, and demonstrate and discuss vocal exercises they use to keep their voices in top shape.

Folk-pop artist Sloan Wainwright will hold vocal workshops where she will share her experience as a performer. Jon Gailmor will hold songwriting workshops.

Other professionals will include Moving Mountains founder Greg Dunn, singer/songwriters Jennifer Zulli and Brian Joyce of My Morning Radio and Anthony Mandel.

“That experience with recording entertainers, you can’t put a price on it,” Veatch said.

Registration is ongoing and those interested can sign up the day of. Tuition is $195 per students, with attendance limited to 50. Jeffrey said they offer scholarships to those who can’t afford it.

On the first day, August 18, the workshop would be open to the public for an hour starting at 2 p.m. free of charge and Veatch said he hoped people would want to donate.

The Veatch family and friends are keeping Justin’s memory alive through various ways. Every year since Justin’s death, on his birthday, January 5, his family and friends gather in his music room to play music.

“It’s daily for us,” his father said. “We try to remember his music. His friends are very supportive.”

In 2005, Justin created his musical band, “The Ivoryton Piano Factory.” The name was inspired by road trips north from New York through Ivoryton, Connecticut, where an old piano factory had been abandoned. In his basement studio, with a sophisticated laptop computer program, the talented musician combined analog and virtual sounds into songs he often performed entirely by himself.

Jeffrey Veatch said children experiment with drugs, which ultimately caused hi son’s tragic death.

“Parents have to be very vigilant,” Jeffrey Veatch said. “They have to stay on top of things.”

Yorktown Heights, NY July 26, 2010 – The Justin Veatch Fund has announced that it’s teen music workshop to be held at the Briarcliff Manor High School Auditorium on August 18^th and 19^th will now be opened to musicians of all ages.  Jon Gailmor (above) will be among the teachers/performers at the Music Workshop. “The focus of The Justin Veatch Fund is developing teen talent.  So we wanted to give them first crack”, said Jeffrey Veatch, President of The Fund and director of the workshop.  “But we had inquiries about younger and older performers and since our planned roster of 50 has not been filled it makes sense to expand to all ages”, said Veatch.

The workshop, in fact, has appeal for performers of all ages, with master classes from the likes of Sloan Wainwright of the famous Wainwright music family, Vermont singer/songwriter Jon Gailmor and the popular, young Philadelphia trio Good Old War. “We have an eclectic group of fine teachers and mentors, who are extremely entertaining and engaging and can have a positive impact on performers of all ages”, said Veatch.

The two days offer an intense program that will entertain, enrich and inspire performers with workshops on song writing, vocal technique, vocal harmonies, stage performance, meditation to unleash creativity, digital recording technology and more.  “We’re not teaching music per se”, said Veatch, “We’re teaching things your teacher never taught, such as stage presence, mic technique, dealing with audiences, how to self train your voice, how to prepare your mind for creating that musical message that dwells from within and, when that’s done, how to share those personal musical accomplishments with others through demos and recordings”.

The workshop will offer plenty of opportunities for participants to perform their own music in a warm, nurturing environment and will bring them together to perform as a group.  “Performing, however, is strictly an option” says Veatch, “but we think most will want to be part of our on-stage performance that will end the workshop.”

The Justin Veatch Fund is a non-profit 501c3 organization created by the Veatch family in memory of Justin Veatch, a talented singer, songwriter and performer who died tragically in 2008 at age 17.  The workshop is an outshoot of the popular First Friday’s Open Mic nights The Fund is co-sponsoring with The Yorktown Teen Center with the goal of fostering programs for young, emerging musical artists.

Media contact: Scott Wolfman, 203/816-7165 www.wolfmanproductions.com

Yorktown Heights, NY, June 10th, 2010 — The family of Justin Veatch, who tragically died in his sleep as a result of an accidental drug overdose at age 17 in 2008, awarded its second annual music scholarship in their son’s name at Senior Awards Night at Yorktown High School Wednesday to graduating Yorktown senior Erika Nininger. A runner up award was also presented to Yorktown senior Beatrice Naumann.

The music scholarship is part of The Justin Veatch Fund’s mission to foster programs for young, emerging musical artists. Justin was an exceptionally talented singer, songwriter and musician whose work was released on the compilation album “Permagrin: The Music of Justin Veatch by The Ivoryton Piano Factory and Friends” in 2009 on Polyvinyl Records.

Nininger is a pianist, guitarist, vocalist and songwriter who has donated her talents to community service in programs in her school and raising money for her church, Relay for Life and Hanover Farm. She will be attending Ohio Wesleyan University in the fall.

In receiving the award Nininger said “This award means so much to me. I completely believe in the positive effects of music, and really everything that The Justin Veatch Fund stands for. It’s an honor that I will keep with me where ever I go.”

Naumann has been a violinist in the Area All State Orchestra and the Greater Westchester Youth Orchestra and had the honor in May to perform in Carnegie Hall.

Good Old War performing and teaching at The Justin Veatch Music Workshop. Also on tour. Check out this great Philadelphia band!