UMass Lowell Band Camp Books Boston’s Symphony Hall

Media contacts: Emily Gowdey-Backus, director of media relations and Nancy Cicco, assistant director of media relations

Young musicians just learning their craft will grace the same stage as the masters when the teens perform at Boston’s Symphony Hall this month as part of UMass Lowell’s summer band program.

Now celebrating 25 years, the residential Mary Jo Leahey Symphonic Band Camp hosts 130 middle- and high-school-aged musicians from across the country at UMass Lowell for a weeklong immersion in concert band and ensemble performance. Participants also attend classes and workshops in everything from writing and arranging music to sound recording technology. The camp sparks creativity among the musicians, develops their virtuosity as performers and introduces them to a variety of music-related careers. 

For the first time, the camp’s final performance will be held at Boston’s Symphony Hall in a concert open to the public at 2 p.m. Saturday, July 22. Tickets may be purchased on the BSO website. 

Acclaimed film composer and trumpet player Rossano Galante – whose dozens of credits include the orchestrated scores for “Fantastic Four,” “The Wolverine,” and “A Quiet Place” – has accepted an invitation as artist-in-residence and guest conductor for the program. Other camp sessions will be led by UMass Lowell music faculty, while the university’s music students and alumni will serve as camp mentors.

The Symphony Hall performance will include the premiere of Galante’s “Midnight Ride,” commissioned by Debra-Nicole Huber, the camp’s executive director and the university’s director of instrumental music outreach and associate director of university bands. 

“I am incredibly honored to guest conduct UMass Lowell’s Symphonic Band Camp for its 25th anniversary and to have composed ‘Midnight Ride’ for this special event. My hope while working with these students is to inspire them to pursue their dreams – yet, most of the time I am inspired by them. As a composer, working with live musicians is incredibly educational for me. All I want is their best, emotional performance and I know they will deliver,” Galante said. 

Another show highlight promises to be the piece “J.F.K. in Memoriam,” written by James Curnow, which will feature UMass President Marty Meehan narrating inspirational passages by President John F. Kennedy.

“We are honored to have Rossano Galante and UMass President Marty Meehan join us for what I know will be a vibrant experience for young musicians,” said Huber, who created the camp. “We are grateful to our students, past and present, staff, faculty and friends, for creating and sustaining this dynamic program and we look forward to what we can accomplish in the future.” Huber, one of the few professional female band conductors in the country, Galante and UMass Lowell’s Daniel Lutz, director of university bands, will each take up the baton to conduct the ensemble during the final concert.

The summer camp is named in honor of Mary Jo Leahey, a 1937 UMass Lowell graduate who was a beloved music teacher, philanthropist and the program’s founding benefactor. Nationally acclaimed for its music programs, UMass Lowell offers degrees in music education, composition for new media, music performance, sound recording technology and music business.