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Aspiring
pianist finds time to help
BY SIMONA BOST Thursday, May 25, 2006 2:36 PM
CDT
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THE QUEENS COURIER/PHOTO BY
BRYAN PACE An aspiring pianist, Chris
Scherna spends much of his time during the summer
working with Jazz for Peace, a non-profit
organization that performs benefit concerts for
other groups in need of funding. Scherna’s role it
to find the local organizations that the concerts
raise money for. |
| Unlike most kids his age, Chris Scherna’s
ears don’t perk up at the sounds of rock bands like
Maroon 5 or hip-hop artists such as 50 Cent. For him, it
is Oscar Peterson, a renowned Canadian jazz pianist that
sets his toes a tapping.
A junior with a 91.5
average at Townsend Harris High School in Flushing,
Scherna spends his spare time uniting the world through
jazz. A pianist, Scherna hails from a long line of
musicians; his grandfather, Frank Hays, was a jazz
pianist and his uncle, Kevin Hays, is a well-known
pianist in Europe.
Given this family background,
Scherna was destined to discover Jazz for Peace, a
non-profit organization that performs benefit concerts
to help raise funds for fellow non-profit organizations,
while he was searching for volunteer extracurricular
activities to impress admissions counselors for college.
Scherna doesn’t take part in the actual concerts. His
role is to find the local organizations in need of
funding that the concerts raise money for.
“I’m
proud to be able to say that I’m doing meaningful
volunteer work and that I’m giving back to the community
directly,” he said. “I enjoy doing it. It’s cool being
able to go to concerts that you helped
organize.”
Founded by Rick DellaRatta in 2001,
Jazz for Peace had an impressive debut; DellaRatta led
an ensemble comprised of Israelis, Palestinians, Asians,
and European jazz musicians at the United Nations.
DellaRatta has been especially impressed
with Scherna. “Chris stands apart as a lot of young
people don’t understand the importance of our country’s
greatest art form - jazz,” he said.
Driven to
experience all the world has to offer, Scherna’s
exceptional academic record has garnered him invitations
to several International Conferences and
Summits.
When he was 14 years of age, Scherna
went to the United Peace Summit- International Day of
Peace. Thirty kids from all over the globe - including
students from France, Israel, and Japan - met to learn
and discuss various international issues and
dilemmas.
It was there that Scherna discovered
that despite differences in religion and cultures people
“have one goal and that is to come
together.”
Recently Scherna, a Holliswood
resident, returned from two-and-a-half weeks in Ankara,
Turkey. He was one of six kids chosen at Townsend Harris
for the Linking Individuals, Knowledge, & Culture
(LINC) Program sponsored by the U.S. State Department's
Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs Department to
encourage understanding between different cultures and
countries.
“Amazing,” Scherna said of the trip
overseas. “I knew nothing about Turkey. I only knew that
it was 99% Muslim and it borders Iraq, Iran, and
Syria.”
He was struck by how modern Istanbul is.
He did not expect to see commercial strips like those in
the New York City metropolitan area, “though they were
much quieter, and not as busy,” he noted.
Scherna
was surprised to discover that Turkey was a democracy -
separated by church and state. Relying on images in the
American media, he expected it to be a very religious
country ruled by Muslim theology.
Considering his
myriad experiences thus far, it is no wonder that
Scherna’s future aspirations are just as broad. He is
uncertain but is considering a career in physics,
chemistry, or politics. As it stands, Scherna is already
a musician, world traveler, and peacemaker and he has
not even graduated yet.
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VOLUNTEER QUESTIONNAIRE :
Volunteer
Opportunities
A wide possibility of
volunteer work is available to choose from such as:
1-
Coordinating your own Jazz for Peace benefit concert to raise funds,
publicity and awareness for your favorite
charity.
4-Publicity and Promotion of existing Jazz For Peace™ concerts and
events.
6-Soliciting Donations for our musical instrument donation
program
7-Soliciting Donations for our benefit concert series
8- Educations Series - Event Coordinating for our Music in the
Schools Education Series
If you are
interested in this timely and deserving service I think it would be
a good idea to talk by phone to discuss the type of volunteer work
that would best fit your interests. Please let me know when
would be best for us to speak. Hope to hear from you
soon. Call us at 212-947-1104 or Email
us
Below please find
some opportunities currently available on Volunteer
Match.......
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