Lisa Occhino's album, Discovery (available on iTunes and Rhapsody), raised funds for SYAP Outreach

Online, August 25, 2010 (Newswire.com) - Joyce DiCamillo, Executive Director of the Stamford Young Artists Philharmonic (SYAP), accepts a donation from 17-year-old songwriter Lisa Occhino designated for SYAP's Outreach program, which provides music scholarships for children in need. "As we celebrate our 50th anniversary year, we are so thankful to Lisa for all she's done to help raise awareness of our long-standing commitment to music education and outreach into the community," says DiCamillo.

Over the last six months, Occhino has been distributing literature, posting signs, using Internet social marketing, and raising awareness for the Program at performance venues in New York and Connecticut. "I make announcements and hand out the Program's web address at every gig because I'm really passionate about providing children with the opportunity to be exposed to music as I was," says Occhino. Her check for $150 was raised by contributing 20% of every purchase of a hard copy of her album, Discovery (available on iTunes and Rhapsody), to benefit the SYAP Outreach program. She credits DiCamillo and all the teachers at the SYAP Summer Jazz Workshops as being very instrumental in helping her grow as a musician. She has received a songwriting scholarship to attend Berklee College of Music where she will be majoring in Music Business starting this September. She has already networked with hundreds of musicians and hopes to continue to spread the word to raise funds for the other SYAP Outreach programs such as scholarships for the Summer Jazz Workshop and the Jazz Ensemble school year program.

With all the budget cuts to music and the arts, programs like the Stamford Young Artists Philharmonic (syap.org) are crucial to helping to encourage children to explore and expand their musical talents. Offering both classical and jazz training, SYAP enriches the cultural landscape of Stamford and its surrounding communities through frequent public concerts. Over the years, the organization has expanded to a total of eight groups within the SYAP family, motivating students not only to aspire to be great musical leaders, but also community leaders, as they mature.

Occhino is a winner of the statewide 2010 Connecticut Association of Schools Music Award and the Stamford Board of Education Award for Outstanding Musical Achievement. She has been featured in Stamford Town Center's Jazz on the Plaza series and has performed originals with the SYAP Jazz Ensemble. Occhino earned money throughout the year tutoring piano students and playing gigs at local venues and private events. This past May, she performed her originals live at New York City's legendary rock club, The Bitter End. She also recently performed at the Stamford Downtown Special Services "Reigning Cats & Dogs" sculpture reception, Stamford High School's Carnival for a Cure, Stamford's 2010 Citizen of the Year reception, and the Italian Center's 2010 Opening Day pool celebration, among others. As the keyboardist in the band Frogg, she received first place wins at Stamford High's New Bands Night and the statewide CAS BandJam competition, which led to their performance on the main stage at the New Haven 15th Annual International Festival of Arts and Ideas in June. Lisa has volunteered for several organizations, including the Healing Hearts camp for children with disabilities this past summer. She has also contributed to the Stamford Symphony, Stamford public schools music programs, Interact Community Service Club, Make-A-Wish Foundation, Breast Cancer Awareness, Knights of Columbus, World AIDS Day, Senator's Cabaret for Child Abuse, the North Stamford Exchange Club, The Ferguson Library, and the Volunteer Center of Southwestern Fairfield County. Donations to SYAP Outreach can be made by purchasing a hard copy of Discovery (contact [email protected]) or by directly donating to Outreach via syap.org.