Buck Hill Skytop Music Festival Seeks Talented Student Singers

The Buck Hill Skytop Music Festival is accepting applications from local students for its Young Scholars and Student Chorus programs. 

Participants in both programs will perform in the festival’s two major productions alongside Broadway entertainers.  They will rehearse for the shows with a professional creative team, including the festival’s artistic director Joey Chancey, a Broadway music director, conductor and pianist. Both programs are offered free to students.

Students accepted into the Young Scholars program will have the opportunity to train one-on-one with professional vocal coaches who have worked with some of the biggest stars on Broadway. After a three-week intensive vocal workshop beginning on July 20, the Young Scholars will showcase their talents in the Young Scholars Broadway Revue on August 8. They will also perform in the festival’s two major productions on July 31 and August 9. Applications for the Young Scholars program are due on April 11, and live auditions will take place on April 18 and April 25. 

Student Chorus members will receive group instruction with a professional choral director to prepare for the festival’s two major productions. Rehearsals will take place from July 6 to August 8, with performances on July 31 and August 9. Applications for the Student Chorus program are due May 15, and a live audition is not required.

The Young Scholars program is open to students in grades 9 to 12, and the Student Chorus program is open to students in grades 6 to 12.  

The Buck Hill Skytop Music Festival, now in its sixth season, will take place from July 31 to August 9. The festival will present world-class artists in the fields of jazz, musical theater, cabaret, chamber music, and pop. Events will take place at Skytop Lodge, Buck Hill Falls, Pocono Mountain East High School, Notre Dame High School, and East Stroudsburg University. Tickets will go on sale in April.  

For more information about the Young Scholars and Student Chorus programs and to submit an application, visit http://www.buckhillskytopfest.org/Education.html.

Buck Hill Skytop Music Festival Names Jacob Shoesmith-Fox General Manager

The Buck Hill Skytop Music Festival is pleased to announce the promotion of Jacob Shoesmith-Fox to the role of general manager. Jacob has been the festival’s company manager since 2012.

Jacob, a native of Canadensis, is the founding artistic director of Theatrical Gems, an award-winning, non-profit theatre company. Now in its third season, Theatrical Gems performs at the Evergreen Community Charter School in Cresco, PA. The company has also produced works in New York City, including off-Broadway benefits for the Actors Fund, and multiple world premieres in the New York International Fringe Festival.

An award-winning sound designer and accomplished Dramaturg, Jacob has directed productions of Bye Bye Birdie and Man of La Mancha in Pennsylvania.  In New York City, he has directed high-profile benefits for the Actors Fund featuring Broadway talent, including the first New York revivals of Irving Berlin’s Mr. President and Cy Coleman's Wildcat and a production of Meredith Willson's Miracle on 34th Street: the Musical. He has also directed various readings and workshops and was the assistant director of Are We Writing Loud Enough, a special event to benefit the Education Department of the Tony Award-winning Vineyard Theatre off-Broadway.  

Jacob serves on the Board of Directors for the Northeastern Pennsylvania Theatrical Alliance (NEPTA), a coalition of theaters and arts advocates representing eight counties. In addition to his work in the arts, Jacob is a teacher at Evergreen Community Charter School in Cresco, PA. He has a B.S. in Arts Administration with a concentration in Non-Profit Theatre Management, and an M.S.ED in Secondary Education, both from Wagner College on Staten Island. 

The Buck Hill Skytop Music Festival will present world-class artists in the fields of jazz, musical theater, cabaret, chamber music, and pop. Events will take place at Skytop Lodge, Buck Hill Falls, Pocono Mountain East High School, Notre Dame High School, and East Stroudsburg University. Tickets will go on sale in April.  

For more information, visit buckhillskytopfest.org.