Usdan Center for the Creative and Performing Arts Announces Festival Concerts Lineup

Usdan Center for the Creative and Performing Arts (www.usdan.com), the Long Island summer arts day camp whose alumni include Mariah Carey, Natalie Portman and Olivia Thirlby, and once again chosen as a "Best Camp" for 2012 by TimeOutNY/Kids, presents its Festival Concerts lineup for its 45th season. These are a special feature of the Center: private, on-site daily educational performances by distinguished artists for students in Usdan's 1,000-seat McKinley Amphitheater. Many of the artists will also teach workshops and master classes during the season.

Featured artists include: jazz greats Randy Brecker, Bobby Watson and Jane Monheit; the Tokyo String Quartet; cast members from Broadway's Anything Goes, Porgy and Bess and Rebecca, in a special musical presentation; and many more artists. Master Classes for the 2012 season will be taught by: Randy Brecker (July 2) ;and jazz vocalist/composer/arranger Pamela Baskin-Watson (July 5 and 6) whose work has been performed by Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers, Betty Carter and the Boys' Choir of Harlem.

Usdan's daily concerts are presented every weekday at the Center's 1,000-seat McKinley Amphitheater. Concerts are presented at 12:00 Noon, and again at 12:30 PM. Artist concerts expose Usdan students to the best of music, dance and theater while they are pursuing their studies in these fields. After several weeks of attending these artist performances, students take over and perform onstage themselves. Artists who have performed at Usdan include Yo-Yo Ma, the New York City Ballet, Arturo O'Farrill and the Limon Dance Company.

Usdan Center for the Creative and Performing Arts, is the nation's premier not-for-profit summer arts day camp. Usdan is open to all young people from age 6 to 18, and no audition is needed for most programs. The Center is situated on a 200-acre woodland campus in Huntington, Long Island, to which 1,600 students travel each day on buses that depart from neighborhoods throughout the New York metropolitan area. Although Usdan's mission is for every child to establish a skill-based relationship with the arts, the unique inspiration of the Center has caused many to go on to professional careers. About one-third of students attend on scholarship.