Recipient of the 2008 Award for Excellence in Education presented by The Palm Beach County School System
"Downtown at the Cuillo" is a dynamic performing arts series for television developed in a collective effort between The Cuillo Centre For the Arts, The Education Network and The Palm Beach County School District. Created to entertain and educate, the program centers on charismatic performances by world-class performers, who play host to a variety of musical genres. A highlight in every show is the teen talent segment, "Play with the Pros". Teenage performing artists, selected from the Palm Beach County School System, rehearse and perform with the show’s seasoned veterans. The show is shot live to tape using five cameras on the Cuillo Centre's main stage and edited by The Education Network with their state-of-the-art equipment. A recurring broadcast of the show can be seen on Comcast channel 19.
January 29 & 30:
"This Little Light of Mine" with veteran vocalist of stage and screen, Avery Sommers. This inspiring show explores the origins of blues and jazz from humble beginnings in American spirituals and the effect gospel had on great women singers like Pearl Bailey, Dinah Washington and Della Reese. Ms. Sommers (BL Stryker, Menopause the Musical—Power Woman), along with a classic jazz trio and a ten-piece gospel choir will ignite the stage in this memorable show!
TBA
Cooper Getschal returns for another installment of "Inside the Mind of the Songwriter”. Cooper will expand upon his earlier (pilot episode: May 1st 2007) exploration of songwriting and the singular creative connection between a musician and his instrument. This episode moves beyond composition and into band arrangements. Teen songwriters will get the opportunity to perform their original material with Cooper and his all-star band.
TBA
"21st Century Drummer"—Drummer Frank Derrick leads a world-class ensemble in this high-powered show. Frank has led a multifaceted national and international music career. He is a virtuoso performer, composer, and educator. This show culminates Frank's many experiences as a professional musician and captures the "day in the life" scenario of a modern drummer. Versatility is the key to survival for today's drummer and this show delivers a broad view of the many faces of percussion. Incredible solos, Latin drumming, mallet technique and a high school drum ensemble will make some serious noise for this exciting production.
Pilot Episode—"Inside The Mind Of The Songwriter"
Hosted by Cooper Getschal with special guests, Jeff Silbar, Juan Matamoros and Laura Brooke
Cooper Getschal began his lifelong journey as a musician at the age of five when he wrote his first song. Cooper now holds a degree in composition from Berklee College of Music and has worked with dozens of major musical artists, producers and songwriters. His songs have been recorded by acts such as Johnny Mathis, Kenny G, Kenny Rogers, The Spinners and The Trammps. Cooper is also a renowned recording engineer, having worked on many successful albums including Michael Jackson’s multi-platinum album, "Bad".
Jeff Silbar has been a successful pop, country and rock songwriter for the past two decades, with a variety of hit singles and platinum cuts to his credit. However, he is perhaps best known for co-writing (with Larry Henley) the classic, Grammy-winning song, "Wind Beneath My Wings". Silbar & Henley won for Song Of The Year. Midler won for Record Of The Year. Over the years this song has become a bonafide standard, a song so memorable and popular that it ranks among the most performed pop and country songs ever. "Wind Beneath My Wings" has now been recorded by about 200 artists, in practically all genres of music. It reached its greatest notoriety in 1989, when it became a #1 hit for Bette Midler (from the "Beaches" soundtrack), and subsequently won the Grammy Award for Song Of The Year.
16-year-old Juan Matamoros is currently enrolled at Suncoast Community High School. He started playing guitar about two years ago, and began singing earlier this year. A self-taught guitarist and songwriter, Juan’s dedication to his musicianship can be seen in the great improvements he has made in such a short time.
14-year-old Laura Brooke has been singing since the age of three and playing guitar for about two years. She attends Bak Middle School of the Arts for vocal, and was recently accepted into Dreyfoos High School of the Arts for vocal. Laura has been writing music since the summer of 2006 and now has a collection of ten original songs. For the past seven years Laura has studied songwriting, voice, and guitar with Melody Stuart. She has performed around West Palm Beach, Florida in green markets, the Starz of the Future competition at the South Florida Fair and SunFest. "Music is a major part of my life, and I don't know who I could be with out it."–Laura Brooke
Preceding performance photos copyright ©2007 Susan Lerner Photography
About TEN:
The Education Network 
(T.E.N.) is the television production service for the School District of Palm Beach County. The network consists of an open cable channel on Comcast Channel 19, which reaches 465,000 subscribers throughout Palm Beach County. Programming is transmitted on Comcast Channel 19 twenty-four hours a day and is also web cast over the district’s website.
T.E.N. holds FCC licensees for four Instructional Television Fixed Signal (ITFS) channels, which are micro-waved directly into the schools and administrative facilities. The mission of T.E.N. is to provide high-quality education and information programming to students, parents, teachers, administrators, support staff and the community-at-large that supports the objectives and initiatives of the school district and encourages lifelong learning.
Sponsoring the series:
Do you have a company or organization looking for a new, positive advertising channel? The Cuillo Centre has many exciting, high-quality and diverse programs which provide a wide range of opportunities for corporate sponsored events. Whatever the target group, the Cuillo Centre can facilitate a broad spectrum of sponsor objectives designed to raise awareness and visibility of your company or organization’s product or service. Some of these include:
- On-site visibility
- Multi-level promotional opportunities
- Single or seasonal events and lead or subsidiary sponsorships
- Vehicles for exclusive client and corporate entertaining
- An affiliation with a world class performing arts center
Sponsorship of Cuillo Centre programs and events means:
- A prestigious partnership with a world-class performing arts center attracting 100,000 visitors annually
- Excellent targeted visibility in a cultural center
- High-profile corporate recognition
- An association with quality, prestige, innovation and excellence
- Direct access to an influential audience in a beautiful environment
Sponsorship benefits can include:
- Opportunity for product display and sampling
- Credit in print advertising, with use of logo
- Credit in broadcast advertising
- Credit on collateral materials, including season brochures, performance programs, tickets, mailings, flyers, banners, and posters
- Opportunity to use the Cuillo Centre name in corporate advertising
- Opportunities for corporate and client entertaining
The Downtown at the Cuillo series also accepts tax-deductible contributions through The Education Network.
For more information please contact:
Contact Peter Marzilli, Special Events Director at 561-835-9226 or pmarzilli@cuillocentre.com
