| Prepared By: Dana's Angels Research Trust
www.danasangels.org
Contact: Jenifer Howard
203-273-4246
jhoward1@optonline.net
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| ROB MATHES TO PERFORM DANA'S ANGELS
BENEFIT CONCERT
April 17 Concert in Greenwich to Raise Funds and Awareness for
Niemann-Pick Type C Disease (NPC)
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(GREENWICH, Conn., March 22, 2009) -Greenwich's own multi-talented performer and music director ROB MATHES, fresh from the recent excitement of musically directing President Obama's inaugural We Are One concert at the Lincoln Memorial, will perform a one-night only concert in Greenwich as a benefit for DANA'S ANGELS RESEARCH TRUST (DART), a charity dedicated to funding medical research, education, and care for the treatment or cure of Niemann-Pick Type C disease (NPC) and other similar genetic diseases. The Rob Mathes Benefit Concert for Dana's Angels Research Trust will be held Friday, April 17, 2009, at the auditorium at Greenwich High School, 10 Hillside Drive in Greenwich, Conn. Tickets are $75 per person and are available online at http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1102517495603&e=001oa4EqP93xJqb4zL5NpdXglAml6S538LMx6kyXOUqF4hjlHJkxGno1uc0jmQbIi2LpEdwhG3TRIFBF-WZgntZiIlyLX7rjEtDd7nriFvhSWyFcNq80yIYDQ== or for group sales, by calling 203-861-2063. The concert begins at 8:00 p.m. and it is general seating.
NPC is often called children's Alzheimer's. DART's efforts may also help millions of people (adults and children) suffering from NPC, Alzheimer's, heart disease, strokes, and other disorders that appear to be related to the metabolism of cholesterol. Although children and some adults worldwide are afflicted, research has been extremely limited primarily because of insufficient funding, the smaller population of those affected, and a lack of public awareness. Currently, children with NPC rarely live past their early teens, and there is no cure for NPC. Today, there are limited treatment options, with experimental therapies and medications being tried with hope that there will be progress.
For the Marella family, they knew their daughter Dana, from the age of five, who was a happy, caring and energetic child, had balance and learning difficulties. Over time, Dana's visual and cognitive abilities, and her balance became progressively worse. After years of searching for answers to her challenges, Dana was diagnosed in 2002 at the age of eight with NPC, a genetic disorder that prohibits the metabolism of cholesterol and other lipids. In 2004, at the age of 5, Dana's brother Andrew, the Marella's 4th child, was also diagnosed with NPC. Today, Dana is in a wheelchair, no longer walks or talks and requires total care. She currently has issues with breathing and swallowing and is undergoing aggressive treatment for the disease. Her brother Andrew, now age 9 and seemingly normal, is also being treated.
The benefit concert on April 17 will feature Grammy and Emmy nominated Rob Mathes, who is best known for musically directing the Obama inauguration concert, the Kennedy Center Honors, and performing his annual Christmas concert. Mathes will put on a benefit concert for Dana's Angels Research Trust, a charity close to Rob's heart.
"Phil and Andrea Marella are tireless in their pursuit of a cure for Niemann-Pick Type C disease," noted Rob Mathes. "It is my hope that this concert will bring some much needed awareness to this disease and support for Dana's Angels Research Trust. I told the Marellas that they didn't need stars, what they needed was 'COMMUNITY.' I want to get a group of people together, play great music for them, talk about Dana and Andrew, have a little get together before and after the concert and get the Marellas and their struggle on people's radar locally. Greenwich is the kind of community that could and would help build up and comfort a family like the Marellas and make a difference in funding DART's research. That is my hope."
Performing with Rob Mathes will be a 14-piece band, including some of the finest musicians in the New York area, with Will Lee on bass guitar, from the Late Show with David Letterman; Shawn Pelton on Drums from Saturday Night Live; Billy Masters on Guitar who has played with Suzanne Vega and Cry, Cry, Cry; a terrific horn section; and vocals by Vaneese Thomas, the daughter of R&B legend Rufus Thomas, and local Greenwich resident Ian Cron.
Rob Mathes' bio is extremely diverse and his work spans musically directing the Obama inaugural concert, the Kennedy Center Honors, which he has been nominated twice for an Emmy (2008 was his sixth year as music director for the awards show); producing the top five Panic At The Disco album "Pretty. Odd," and other projects with artists such as Carly Simon and Rod Stewart; writing classical commissions for The Nashville Symphony and The Los Angeles Philharmonic conducted by Leonard Slatkin who recently won the Grammy for Best Classical Recording; working on string arrangements for a bunch of young artists, including Secondhand Serenadel, Fall Out Boy, Avril Lavigne, and Dashboard Confessional; working on a track for RnB singer Bettye Lavette who stole the show at the Kennedy Center this year; writing orchestral music for Eliane Elias, based on the music of Jobim; producing a CD by Michael Cavanaugh, who was discovered by Billy Joel and asked to star in the Twyla Tharp musical Movin' Out, based around Billy's songs; producing and arranging the critically acclaimed Lullabies & Wildflowers CD for Broadway Star Melissa Errico; and securing a new publishing deal with EMI Music Publishing, the largest music publisher in the world. Rob is currently working on new music for the upcoming Billy Bob Thornton film "Manure," which will be in theaters in 2009; and he is producing several tracks of Latin music for the next Vanessa Williams record to be released this spring on Concord Records. Rob has also worked with other top music icons like Elton John, Eric Clapton, Lou Reed, Tony Bennett, Aretha Franklin, Stevie Wonder, Luciano Pavarotti, Jay Z, Phil Ramone, Sheryl Crow, Shelby Lynne, Butch Walker, Hall and Oates, Yo Yo Ma, Renee Fleming and many more. To learn more about Rob Mathes, visit http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1102517495603&e=001oa4EqP93xJpYkfUAA6wXOaNS6WxafDsKNOINuYfdGvsEem4DA59ak8XKmkEhmAXJ-MDp1jZWxmxECvfkxJqXC7_RFDgCtAvCogbRv0jWD4lIk0Ll-s3DYA== or http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1102517495603&e=001oa4EqP93xJqYwsR4ln2xFv2kpmZnjAoidcfG6ZwS9p8PXxujI0L26hg-fIN3MY_DjWNhYY5SVgBsLsAIB6io1tdgvdFLBeotsQE2ahk6eFkK2WXKnaJegA==. To learn more about NPC and DART, go to http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1102517495603&e=001oa4EqP93xJqb4zL5NpdXglAml6S538LMx6kyXOUqF4hjlHJkxGno1uc0jmQbIi2LpEdwhG3TRIFBF-WZgntZiIlyLX7rjEtDd7nriFvhSWyFcNq80yIYDQ==.
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