Local Musician, Tim Herron, recently reached out to Broadway Utica asking if a member of our Bernadette Eichler Youth Ambassador Program could speak to his students at Spotlight Studio. Spotlight Studio is part of the Mozaic Agency of Seneca and Cayuga counties. The Mozaic Agency provides services to adults with developmental disabilities in all aspects of their lives. Spotlight Studio focuses on the arts and provides creative activities for these individuals. Spotlight Studio has classes in Music Performance, Art and Dance as well as performing groups that hold cabaret style shows on a monthly basis. Since COVID they have had to make adjustments to meet with state regulations and have had to stop in person shows but kept the spirit alive with video performances and classes online. “We miss the in-person interaction with all of our students but I am so pleased that we were able to continue to meet on a regular basis through online classes. It’s allowed us to get even more creative and to come up with an even wider range of activities. We will continue to provide online classes for participants that can’t go out in to the community yet, although as things begin to open back up we plan on getting right back into the swing of things. “ said Tim Herron, Music Producer for Spotlight Studio. Tim decided to reach out to Broadway Utica after viewing a fundraising event that Broadway Utica was doing for The Stanley Theatre, SING FOR THE STANLEY. Broadway Utica hosted a week long fundraising event posting several videos each day over the course of a week. These videos contained members from the community singing and or speaking about what the theatre means to them in hopes that some dollars could be raised to support The Stanley during this financially difficult time. Tim asked if one of our youth ambassadors that sang in a video could speak with his students regarding their experience with being a part of the fundraising event, have them sing a few songs for the group and answer any questions the group may have for them.
“The opportunity of getting to perform for this group really intrigued me as it was something different that I had never done before, especially considering it was a virtual performance. The group was so receptive of my singing and I was overwhelmed with satisfaction when it was finished. Watching their faces as I sang, many of them seemed so captivated by the music that it made me feel so happy that I chose to do it. When it was all said and done, I knew that I had brought a little positivity to their day, which in turn brought positivity to mine. I found it to be a very worthwhile experience and one that I would definitely do again.” ~ Marina Cascini, Bernadette Eichler Youth Ambassador Student
In 2019 Spotlight Studio was presented the Community Spirit Award at the SAMMYS in recognition of the studio’s Christmas album “A Holiday Spotlight”.
