Entertainment
Local news anchor teams with violin virtuoso to host Music For Life
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Mar 2, 2010 - 4:29 AM

Chris Velardi

Good Morning Connecticut news anchor Chris Velardi, WTNH News Channel 8, has been named master of ceremonies for the first ever Music For Life, featuring violin virtuoso Jourdan Urbach. Velardi, a native of Branford, joined WTNH News Channel 8 in 2000. Before returning to Connecticut, Velardi worked as a reporter and anchor at television stations in Allentown, Pa., and Ithaca, N.Y. A graduate of Syracuse University, Velardi got his start in journalism while he was still in high school, landing a job as a sports reporter for the Branford Review.

“I’m delighted to support Jourdan and his efforts to raise funds for the National MS Society, Connecticut Chapter and other worthy causes,” said Velardi. “Jourdan is accomplishing amazing things, uniting his talents with his passion to give back to others.”

Jourdan Urbach, described by New York critics as a “young Paganini,” and “an athletic dynamo with laser sharp technique,” will perform April 18 to benefit the National MS Society, Connecticut Chapter, the International Help of Missionaries and One Laptop Per Child.

Urbach’s musical talents have allowed him to perform as soloist and headliner at hallowed venues such as Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center and Madison Square Garden. He was also featured on Steve Martin’s 2009 Grammy Award-winning bluegrass album, The Crow: New Songs for the 5-String Banjo. Television shows including The Today Show and Good Morning America have profiled Urbach, as have publications like the New York Times and People Magazine.

Urbach, whose cousin lives with a progressive form of MS, has worked closely with the National MS Society to raise awareness about the disease. In 2009, Urbach was the keynote speaker and performer at the National MS Society, Connecticut Chapter’s Annual Meeting and Awards Ceremony.

Jourdan Urbach

“I have been working to eradicate MS since the first benefit concert I performed at Carnegie Hall in 2005 raising $165,000 for the Long Island Chapter,” said Urbach. “Perhaps with enough hours, enough creativity and enough heart, I will be able to tell my cousin, ‘We found the cure. There will never be another generation that will go through what you have.’ I am betting my future on it.”

At 18 years old, Urbach has received worldwide acclaim for not only his violin skill but his contributions to MS-focused neuroscience research. He is the founder and director of Children Helping Children, a musical charity organization that raises funds for neurological research through charity concerts called Concerts for a Cure.

To date, Urbach, who plans to pursue both medical and research doctorate degrees, has raised more than $4.6 million to fight neurological disease. He has delivered keynote addresses at universities and medical conferences across the country. Urbach has conducted MS research since 2005 at Stony Brook Medical Center in New York, during summers at Harvard University Medical School’s MS-focused immuno-genetics lab under the direction of David Hafler, M.D., and currently at Yale University Medical School’s MS-focused laboratory in the Center for Neuroscience and Regeneration under the direction of Stephen Waxman, M.D., Ph.D.

The concert is presented by the International Coalition of College Philanthropists (ICCP), an international charitable and social action organization launched in November with Urbach as its executive director. The ICCP’s goal is to become a major grant-giving organization, raising money for its medical and social causes through innovative projects nationwide. The ICCP is the first international, philanthropic honor society connecting college campuses around the world in which non-profit fundraising is encouraged and will be facilitated by chapters at every major university.

Joining Urbach at the Music For Life benefit concert will be SIC InC, a contempo-classical music ensemble of Yale undergraduates that matches rock concert lighting and video projections with chamber music. The concert also features two renowned Yale a cappella groups – The Duke’s Men and The Baker’s Dozen.

Music for Life will be held Sunday, April 18, at 7:30 p.m. at the Shubert Theater. Tickets for the concert are $10 for students and $18 for adults. Tickets are available at the Shubert Box Office at 247 College St. in New Haven, online at www.shubert.com or by calling the ticket office at 203-562-5666. The show is sponsored by The Frank and Helen Herman Foundation.

To learn more about multiple sclerosis, its effects and the many ways to help make a difference, please visit the National MS Society, Connecticut Chapter’s Web site at www.ctfightsMS.org or call 800 FIGHT MS.

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