More than 250 family, friends and community supporters turned out for a one-night-only musical and performance show event titled “Unity through Diversity: Celebrating all Abilities in the Arts” highlighting individuals living with a variety of developmental challenges recently at Molloy University’s Madison Theatre on its Rockville Centre campus.
The inclusive event brought together people of all abilities in a night of music and visual art, with a featured art gallery and performances of well-known songs by The Beatles, Pearl Jam, Three Dog Night and Long Island’s own Billy Joel.
The annual event was hosted and organized by The Rebecca Center for Music Therapy at Molloy University (TRC), which spearheads the event to celebrate the unique strengths and creativity of the neurodiverse community.
“The Rebecca Center was created to provide music experiences and opportunities for people of all abilities with the goal of fostering musical relatedness, communication, expressivity and creativity, as well as educate the music therapists of the future,” said John Carpente, professor, Music Therapy Founder/Director, The Rebecca Center for Music Therapy at Molloy University.
The Art Gallery included submissions from members of The Rebecca Center’s performance group, Lots O’ Stuff, as well as Cerebral Palsy Association of Nassau County, Inc., The Nicholas Center, Hewlett-Woodmere School District, Garden City School District and Oceanside School District.
“Unity through diversity is a night filled with music, art, creativity, and community! The vision of the event is to elevate the neurodivergent community through the expression of the human spirit,” said Diana Abourafeh, music therapist at the Rebecca Center, event organizer.
“It (“Beautiful”) has an important message to it…it’s about being secure about yourself and not letting other people’s words get to you. It’s really helped me in becoming who I am,” said Kyra Ganci-Barnes, vocalist for Christina Aguilera’s “Beautiful.”
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