Westminster Choir College is set to host the ninth annual New Jersey Music Teachers Association Children Helping Children Performathon.
The Performathon is an opportunity for students of all ages and levels of ability to share their involvement in music for artistic enrichment and community service. This year, funds raised will benefit Ronald McDonald Houses in New Brunswick, Long Branch and Camden.
Betty Stoloff, adjunct associate professor in piano, is leading this effort for NJMTA. Her knowledge and admiration of the Ronald McDonald Houses comes out of personal experience. Twelve years ago, she and her husband spent two months living at a RMDH while their daughter, Becca, was undergoing intensive treatment at the Dupont Hospital for Children in Wilmington, Del.
The Ronald McDonald Houses are usually connected to a local children’s hospital. They provide a “home away from home” for families whose children are undergoing intensive treatment at the hospital.
While Stoloff stayed at the House in Delaware, she played the piano for herself and the other residents.
Many Stoloff’s colleagues remember that on Jan. 14, 2000 she was told that Becca would not make it through the night. Now, 14 years later, Becca has completed her studies in human motor control at the University of California, Berkeley in a Bio-Engineering, Neuro-Science Ph.D. program.
Last year, the eighth annual Performathon raised more than $23,000. More than 350 performers and 50 teachers were involved in that effort.
Performathon is scheduled March 1 and 2. Eight recitals are set for 3 to 9 p.m. March 1 in Bristol Chapel and Williamson Hall. Sixteen recitals are set for March 2.
Performers will be students from Westminster Conservatory and other music programs from the area who are studying violin, cello, flute, piano and voice.
Westminster Choir College is located at 101 Walnut St. in Princeton.
Admission is free, but contributions at the door are encouraged.
