In the last several months, I have become involved with helping the homeless network in Waterbury, CT. Brian Gibbons, longtime friend and director of the state-run Homeless Outreach Network, leads a group of helpers and volunteers to provide items to help the often-forgotten homeless of Waterbury – living in the woods in tents or in abandoned buildings. I took a tour of these places, and met a number of the people living in them. It is rough. There are anywhere between 20 and 50 people actively living outside in the Waterbury area at any given time, and their needs are many. This website has some imagery of these living conditions and some of the volunteers that help, through another great organization, Brass City Harvest.

The network helps provide the people with their basic needs: food, water, clothing, footwear, and basic toiletry items. In the winter, the network moves into high gear, placing each of these people in apartments and motel rooms on the coldest, most dangerous nights.

Obviously, it takes many generous hands to make this happen. The volunteers are many, but supplies are often short. My homepage has options for purchasing music or donating outright to support this mission. I hope you’ll take advantage.  50% of the online music purchases, and every penny of the donations will go straight to these people’s needs, in the way of small-denomination gift cards to Walmart and grocery stores, as well as purchasing shoes and other basic necessities.

Click here to see the options: www.scottlamlein.com.

It’s a gift to me to be able to share my music in a way that makes a difference.  Thanks in advance for your support.

Dear Friends,

Music for Mission: Organ and Piano Music for a Cause is off and running. As I shared with you several weeks ago, my goal with Music for Mission is to share great music for organ and piano, while at the same time, using proceeds from my concerts to make a difference in people’s lives and in the world through various local, national and international charities. So often, we are overwhelmed by the problems of the world, and think, “I’m just one person. What can I do to make a difference?” Bringing healing and peace into our world starts with each and every one of us – one by one, person to person. And it can be as easy as buying a ticket or making a donation when you attend a concert. That’s the concept behind Music for Mission.

My next Music for Mission concert will be:

9/30/12   2:00 PM at The Congregational Church of Naugatuck, 9 Division Street, Naugatuck, CT

Proceeds from donations will benefit the church’s May 2013 mission trip to the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe Reservation, in South Dakota. My program will include works by Widor, Vaughan Williams, Wright, Bach, Lamlein, Halley, Southbridge, Powell, Callahan,and Locklair. It is also a great opportunity to play a pipe organ I love dearly in a church I served for several years in the 1990s. My CD In Quiet Joy was recorded on this instrument.

Click here for details – and I hope to see you there to hear great music and to support an inspiring mission.

Other upcoming concerts include:

11/2/12     First Unitarian Church, Worcester, MA
12/16/12   First Congregational Church, Bristol, CT (Organ & Trumpet, with Ken Roe)
5/5/13       First Congregational Church, Bristol, CT (in conjunction with World Organ Day celebrations around the world)
5/17/13     Sherwood-Bershad Residence, Sterling, MA

Music for Mission projects being supported through concerts and CD sales include: Women for Women, St. Vincent de Paul Shelter of Bristol, CT, and the Young Artist Initiative at First Unitarian Church, Worcester, MA.

For more details about Music for Mission and my concerts, please visit the website, www.scottlamlein.com. If your church or organization is interested in sponsoring a Music for Mission concert to raise funds for your project, please respond to this email, or click here to contact Tom Ingrassia, my concert manager, directly.

Recording News:

In July, I spent 2 days in the studio recording my new CD, Peace, a collection of my own, original piano compositions. The concept behind Peace is to provide meditative, prayerful pieces for any type of relaxation. The CD currently is in post-production, and will be available at my website, concerts, and via iTunes soon.

In the meantime, you may pre-order copies of Peace using the order form on my website. Click here for details. Take advantage of free shipping until October 15th!

Half of the proceeds from online sales of Peace, as well as my other two CDs, The Organ at Worship and In Quiet Joy, benefit a mission dear to Mary Beth and me, Women for Women, an organization that helps women support their families and create a better life in war-torn countries.

I could not be more thrilled with these new ventures – and I remain grateful for your continuing support and encouragement through the years!

Peace,