COMPOSER SABRINA PENA YOUNG | MUSIC TECHNOLOGY | FILM | CLASSICAL | OPERA

Composer Adrienne Joy Elisha Passes After Courageous Battle with Cancer SEE ORIGINAL ARTICLE:  http://www.catskillmountainnews.com/news/2017-07-05/Obituaries/Adrienne_Elisha.html " It is with great sadness that the family of Adrienne Joy Elisha (“Adie”) announces her passing on Monday, June 12, 2017, at the age of 58 years, after a courageous battle with cancer. Adie was born in Glen Cove, and lived in Bayville, L.I. during her first 10 years. The daughter of distinguished professional musicians, the late Dorothy Kesner and Paul Elisha, she was an extraordinary artist whose creative genius included the Performing Arts, Composition, Poetry and Painting. She was a champion of new music – equally talented as both a skilled violist as well as a composer. Her voice was distinctly contemporary but her inspiration was drawn directly from her heart. Mario Davidovsky had described her sextet (Anthelion) as “A new kind of polyphony.” Leonard Bernstein described her work as “Exciti...

This summer the Hand family, my husband's second family, received news that 3-year-old Grayson Hand had leukemia. Needless to say, this summer the Hand family's world turned upside down. A large community of friends and family gathered around them, prayers from all over the world came in, and each day hundreds of people pray and help the family through sweet Grayson's ordeal, a cancer journey that will take at least three years of intense treatment and an incredible amount of resources. On October 5th friends and family will be hosting  a Leukemia Benefit for Grayson Hand. It is an auction held at the La Salle Reception Center in Southbridge MA. CLICK to Sign up for the Leukemia Benefit Today MORE INFORMATION: Be a helping hand in Grayson’s fight against Leukemia Raffles, 50/50, Silent and Live Auctions, Dinner and Music $35.00 ticket price. Tickets available for purchase at any Savers Bank location or the Tri‐Community YMCA. To purchase tickets through mail,...

Hello Everyone! Those of you that regularly stop by my page might remember a post earlier this summer about Pray for Gray. This summer 3 year old Grayson Hand came down with flu-like symptoms.   What should have just been a case of the sniffles ended up  being an aggressive form of leukemia.    The Hand Family was my husband's family away from home. He and Gray's dad are practically blood brothers. My husband was Nate and Lauren Hand's best man, and Nate Hand was our best man. Gray's grandpa Pastor Pat Hand said a prayer at our wedding. So when we found out about little Gray suffering from Leukemia, it was about family.  Gray and His Mom Share a Tender Moment Friends and family are maintaining a Pray for Gray Facebook page. They hope to raise $25,000 towards Gray's chemo (which will top out at $1 million each year for at least three years). Needless to say, the health insurance will not cover all of the treatment. An auction in October will a...

As you may or may not know, I started to attend a writer's group here in Buffalo, New York. Part of my reason for going was to acquaint myself with fellow artists in the area, part of my reason was to learn better writing skills as I take Libertaria and transform the screenplay into a fully fleshed out novel.  I enjoy sitting with other creative individuals, all of us diverse in our talents, writing, and beliefs. We discuss so many intriguing topics. Last night was no different. We enjoyed a touching story about the love between an old woman an her maimed dog. It may sound like a trite story, but the words written by the young writer enveloped us in its beautiful imagery, the loneliness of the woman hung in the air and we each held on to each word, mentally cheering for the three-legged beast and its equally crippled master. Our discussions always teeter on the brink between the mundane and the sublime, the philosophical and the carnal, the emotional and the syntax. ...

Pray for Gray You always get those e-mails about kids getting cancer, but usually it happens to some random friend of a friend's cousin's sister's boyfriend's brother, and it's not someone that's close to the family. The Hand family has been my husband's second family all of his life. Nate Hand was the best man at our wedding, practically a blood brother to my husband (coincidentally ALSO named Nathan), and Pat Hand was a father figure to my hubby growing up.  SUPPORT PRAY FOR GRAY AT FACEBOOK After what they thought was just a flu, Nate and Lauren Hand found out that their precious 3-yr-old Grayson has leukemia. It's only been weeks, but Gray has gone through intense chemo and already started losing his hair. In solidarity, family and friends started going Bald for Gray  and started a Facebook page called Pray for Gray that already has over 1000 followers and is growing. Going Bald for Gray (Seated in front w/white t-shirt) The costs e...