benefit Archives - Voice Lifted

To all who visit my website and blog: Merry Christmas!

Putting on the 5th Voice Lifted at Christmas concert two weeks ago was a highlight of my Christmas season. As always, it was a delightful experience for me to be with so many family members, relatives, friends, community members, visitors, returning audience members, and those coming to one of my concerts for the first time. I am uplifted by being together with you all and having the opportunity to share my music with you.

I came to this year’s concert in a more peace-filled and joyful place, and I’m hearing that this came across in the show. In addition to my red dress and red music stand, I chose to sing some more familiar carols and joyful, upbeat pieces. It felt good. I felt the best after this year’s concert than any of them so far. I had fun on stage: performing my solo pieces and collaborating musically with Tom Flamini, Emily Barrett, and Mark Denchy.

A great article was published in the Pottsville Republican on the day after my concert. I am grateful for that coverage, and I’m happy that the news article will spread the word to others who may be interested in attending a future Voice Lifted at Christmas concert. Next year’s event will be on Sunday, December 10, 2017.

I’ve been more quiet this year on my blog, not having written and posted as often as in previous years, but I plan to do more of that in 2017. I enjoy this connection to all of you. Please feel free to leave comments on my posts – that will encourage me to show up more and share more.

In offering to everyone a Christmas message this year, I invite you to connect with your inner child and to allow yourself to be present in the celebrations in which you take part and in the difficult moments, too. The holiday season is really, for most of us, NOT picture-perfect…but there is amidst all of that, so much to really celebrate and to be joyful about. Jesus and Mary clearly struggled at many points throughout their lives, and they did not hide it or put on a face that masked their pain…but what they did was know that the holy God within was far greater than the human challenges they faced. God is not external and distant. We can allow ourselves to touch and hold God and to be touched and held…by simply going within and breathing in the love that is both the holy infant and the divine power inside. May we allow Christ to be born within us today, and may we experience joy in that birth.

All photos by Andy Leibenguth – www.tamaquaarea.com

Thank you, Andy!!

Voice Lifted at Christmas – Fifth Annual Benefit Concert

By Susan Featro | October 27, 2016 - 9:36 pm |October 27, 2016 CD, creativity, faith, friends, growth, inspiration, life, music, performances, voice, vulnerability

Christmas Benefit Concert

By Susan Featro | November 15, 2015 - 7:21 pm |November 15, 2015 CD, creativity, daily musings, faith, inspiration, music, performances, vulnerability

3 Comments

This year, I will offer for the fourth consecutive year the Voice Lifted Christmas Benefit Concert on Sunday, December 6, 2015 at 2:30 pm. This event will again benefit the Tamaqua Blue Raider Foundation and the Tamaqua Community Arts Center. 100% of the ticket money will go to these two organizations, with each receiving 50%. Tickets are $8 in advance and $10 at the door. You may call 570-818-4135 for advance tickets.

I am excited to announce that guest performers this year will include Mr. Steven Toth (Tamaqua Senior High School principal), Emily Barrett, Tom Flamini, and Barbara Greim.

If you have not attended a Voice Lifted Christmas Benefit Concert in the past, I invite you to experience the event as a way to lift your spirit and to do something for yourself this holiday season that will help you to connect with the deeper meaning of Christmas. My intention each year is to make this concert a retreat from the busyness of the season, a time to breathe & go within & reflect on who we are and how God is present in each of us and in our world. The concert will include familiar Christmas songs as well as many unfamiliar pieces that explore our relationship with the Sacred, our human experiences and emotions, and our connection to the past and to the future. A favorite part of the concert in past years in addition to the music was the improvised sharing of personal stories and messages. I look forward to opening my heart to the inspiration of the Spirit and seeing how God speaks through music and word in this annual event.

Please be in touch if you have any questions about the event or would like to purchase tickets in advance.

Christmas Concert, Christmas CD

By Susan Featro | November 18, 2014 - 8:45 pm |November 18, 2014 CD, inspiration, music, performances, voice

6 Comments

VLAC cover

I am excited about my upcoming Christmas Benefit Concert that will be held on Sunday, December 7th, 2014 at 2:30 pm at the Tamaqua Community Arts Center. This is the third year that I will offer a concert of Christmas music with 50% of the ticket money going to the Tamaqua Community Arts Center and 50% of the ticket money going to the Tamaqua Blue Raider Foundation. Since my concert last year, the Tamaqua Community Arts Center has been renovated. I will be performing on their new stage, and the seating upstairs has also been redone along with multiple other additions and improvements around the center. I look forward to making music in this beautiful space that is a cultural home in our community. I will be joined in the performance by several guest musicians, including high school principal Mr. Toth who will sing as part of the concert as a first-time guest at this event. I hope that many in the Tamaqua Area School District will come out to support him, to support me, to support the other performers, and to support these wonderful organizations. Advance tickets are available for $8, and tickets will cost $10 at the door. Call 570-818-4135 for advance tickets.

I am also excited to announce that I have completed work on my second CD “Voice Lifted at Christmas.” This CD will be available for purchase at the benefit concert, and it will soon be available for purchase on my website. At the top of this post is the cover photo from the CD. As on my first CD cover, I am lifting my voice to God. Highlights of the new CD are favorite carols “O Holy Night,” “The First Noel,” and “Silent Night,” as well as favorite inspirational Christmas pieces “Mary, Did You Know?” and “Breath of Heaven.” I am joined on 3 songs on the CD by vocalist Tom Flamini.

This is a preview of the new concert hall.

This is a preview of the new Tamaqua Community Arts Center concert hall.

Announcing my Holiday Benefit Concert

By Susan Featro | November 12, 2013 - 9:09 pm |November 12, 2013 music, performances

2 Comments

Announcing my second Holiday Benefit Concert:

On Sunday, December 15th at 2:30 pm, I will be giving a solo concert, with a few special musical guests, at the Tamaqua Community Arts Center, 125 Pine St., Tamaqua, PA. Tickets will be $5 in advance and $6 at the door, with 50% of the money going to the Tamaqua Community Arts Center and 50% of the money going to the Tamaqua Blue Raider Foundation, supporting special projects in the Tamaqua Area School District.

As I shared last year, I love singing holiday and Christmas music, and I am again excited to be performing my music to benefit the arts in my community and to benefit the school district that I graduated from and where I now teach.

I invite you to my concert. It meant so much to me last year to have family, friends, supporters, and fans in the audience. I again hope to have a good turnout in order to benefit the Tamaqua Community Arts Center and the Tamaqua Blue Raider Foundation so that they may continue to do the wonderful things they do!

Tag Archives: benefit

Christmas Concert

Summer Concert Announcement

Merry Christmas 2016!