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Arts & Entertainment

Love YOUnique: A musical celebration of loving yourself and those around you

Catherine Rogala, a Connecticut native and alum of The Hartford Conservatory, and Jamison Daniels, an alum of The Hartt School at The University of Hartford, have joined forces to put together a program that will entertain the community while supporting The Trevor Project with “Love YOUnique: A musical celebration of loving yourself and those around you.” This powerful evening of music will take place on Sunday, Dec. 18, from 7 to 10 p.m., at the McCray Theater in the Handel Performing Arts Center, located at the corner of Albany Ave. and Westbourne Parkway in Hartford.

“Love YOUnique” will be an uplifting evening of musical theater, pop, rock and country songs starring Rogala and Daniels, along with Angessa Hughmanick, Heather Gault, Katherine Dickson, Rebecca Barko, Julia Kiley, and Hartt School alums Olithea Anglin, Meagan MacLeod, and Patricia McCarthy. The concert will also feature the musical stylings of current Hartt School students Bobby Tomasulo on piano and Andrew Renfroe on guitar. Thomas Sommerfield will be lending his talents on the drums. Hartt School faculty member John Holder will serve as technical director for this event. Proceeds will go directly to The Trevor Project to aid in its mission of preventing teen suicide and fostering LGBTQ acceptance.

“Like the Trevor Project is for so many teens, music has always been there for me. Music helps to lift my spirits and always makes me feel good. Sharing that with others is a powerful way to spread the message of The Trevor Project and lift up those around us,” says Daniels.

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“Our goal is to have everyone walk out of the Kent McCray Theater knowing more about a great cause and to have a case of the warm fuzzies,” says Rogala.

For more information on “Love YOUnique,” please visit www.facebook.com/events/291445767567157

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Both 2009 graduates of their respective musical theater programs, Jamison Daniels and Catherine Rogala felt the need to reach out this holiday season and spread the live saving message of The Trevor Project. “I’ve always felt the need to be philanthropic, but never felt I had the funds to do so,” says Daniels. “I always thought ‘Someday when I’m rich and famous I’ll be able to help organizations I care about.’ But what I’ve come to realize is that there is so much you can do at the ground level. Now with the help of my talented friends and Alma Mater, I am able to really make a difference.”

“What moved me about The Trevor Project was its message that ‘It Gets Better,’” says Rogala. “This spoke to me because I could really empathize with these teens that were in such a dark place that they actually thought there was no way out. However, the message and purpose of this organization gives these teens the tools to ask for help along with the hope and assurance that there is light at the end of the tunnel. You just have to stick around for the good parts.”

The Trevor Project is the leading national organization providing crisis intervention and suicide prevention services to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning youth. Every day, The Trevor Project saves young lives through its free and confidential lifeline, in-school workshops, educational materials and online resources and advocacy. Learn more at www.TheTrevorProject.org.

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