For Immediate Release Contact: Sandra Rizkallah, Ph. (781) 956-4281 NEEDHAM TEEN ROCK BAND PROGRAM PRESENTS A BENEFIT CONCERT FOR THE TOBACCO FREE MASS COALITION Featuring New York Singer/Songwriter/Anti-Tobacco Activist, Leslie Nuchow November 11, 2003 - Needham, MA - On December 6th, the Plugged In Teen Band Program in Needham will be sponsoring a concert to benefit the Tobacco Free Mass Coalition. The Plugged In Teen Band Program in Needham, run by Tom Pugh and Sandra Rizkallah, provides music education and instruction to teenagers on how to start a rock band and perform in a concert. Through both individual and group instruction, students learn how to start a band, are coached in performance and songwriting, are taught technical information about instruments and equipment, and learn how to improve their technique. At the end of each session, the Plugged In teen bands perform in a live benefit concert. As the music industry is dominated by business, money, success and fame, Pugh and Rizkallah hope to infuse their students' experience of music with some social consciousness. At the beginning of each session, students are asked if there are organizations or causes that are important to them - which they would like to support with their music. Based on their ideas, the final concert becomes a benefit event to raise money for one of these causes/organizations. A student in the current session of the Plugged In program lost his father this summer from Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, or COPD - which was a result of lung cancer and smoking. This student passionately wants to help raise awareness about COPD and the dangers of smoking. As a result, the December final concert will be a benefit for the Tobacco Free Mass Coalition. The Tobacco Free Mass Coalition brings together over thirty leading organizations devoted to the prevention of tobacco use. It' s mission is to advocate for funding and policies that support and advance tobacco control and prevention with the intention of reducing tobacco use, the leading cause of preventable death and disease in the Commonwealth, and reducing the public' s exposure to secondhand smoke. The concert will include performances by the Plugged In teen bands (ages 12-15), some local high school bands, and will feature NYC singer/songwriter Leslie Nuchow. Leslie Nuchow is a Brooklyn, NY based singer/songwriter who has been featured on MTV, VH1, Dateline NBC, Good Morning America, and CNN. Leslie Nuchow founded her own record label, Virginia SLAM!, as a counter movement against the Virginia Slims' record label, Woman Thing Music. Leslie refused a lucrative offer from the label after learning that in order to buy a Woman Thing Music CD, you were required to purchase two packs of Virginia Slims cigarettes. It was clear that this was not a music project; it was a tobacco project to try to lure young people, especially young women, into smoking. Leslie's own label has produced concerts, featuring such artists as the Indigo Girls and Shawn Mullins, which focused on keeping the tobacco industry out of music. Leslie was invited to perform at the Lilith Fair and has shared the stage with Sheryl Crow, Sarah McLachlan, the Dixie Chicks, Patti Smith and Blessed Union of Souls, as well as other musicians. She has also performed for Nelson Mandela. Along with these concerts, Leslie travels around the country giving presentations to middle school, high school and college students in which she shares her music and her story of empowerment, ethics, making a difference, and activism. It is a great way to educate youth through the power of music. She will be giving one of these presentations at the Plugged In December concert. Tom Pugh, Berklee alumni and musician for 30 years, is music director for the Plugged In program. He is a member of two Boston-based bands and has played at the Montreal Jazz Festival. He has also been an engineer at WGBH in Boston for over 20 years. Sandra Rizkallah has a degree in film and television from Emerson College, has produced her own documentaries and has worked in the post-production department of NOVA at WGBH. The concert will be held from 7:00-11:00 PM on December 6, 2003 at the Carter Memorial Methodist Church at 800 Highland Ave. in Needham. Tickets are $10 for students and $15 for adults and can be purchased in advance or at the door. As there is a limited capacity, it is best to purchase tickets in advance. For more information on Plugged In, please contact Sandra Rizkallah @ 781-956-4281 or srizkallah@comcast.net. Photos CONCERT menu