‘Saving the day’: Lycoming College, Williamsport Community Concert Association celebrate union

With 94 years of bringing world-renowned musical artists to the Williamsport stage, the legacy of the Williamsport Community Concert Association (WCCA) will live on through a partnership with Lycoming College's Music Department.

The partnership was celebrated Thursday night during a reception at the Capitol Lounge of the Community Arts Center.

William Ciabattari, associate professor of music at Lycoming, described the partnership as "part of your legacy and ours joined together."

He strives "to do everything one can to make a difference in your community" and to make life better for the next generation.

Carrying forward the rich legacy of the WCCA, initially, seemed a burden in that Ciabattari did not want to "disappoint" the community.

Across the nation, some community concert associations could not sustain themselves and disappeared from the landscape, he said, talking about why this is so important to him.

"They entrusted something great to us," he said.

Once he got past a bit of anxiety, Ciabattari said he started to get excited about the possibilities ahead, starting with an event this fall.

Through the WCCA Endowed Program, the Paragon Ragtime Orchestra has been lined up to perform on Nov. 3 at the Community Arts Center, he said.

This orchestra bills itself as the world's only year-round professional ensemble that re-creates "America's original music," such as the syncopated sounds of early musical theater, silent films and vintage dance, according to Paragon's website.

During the reception, Cynthia Staiman Vosk, WCCA board president for the past eight years, was honored for her dedicated efforts.

She called her involvement with the group "one of the best parts of my entire life."

"I didn't know that I'd discover a passion that, had I known about it earlier in life, I might have chosen a different career," she said, adding that she experienced "huge satisfaction" in putting on shows that made so many people happy.

Finding a way to sustain the WCCA was vitally important. She credited Chip Edmonds, Lycoming executive vice president, and the college for "saving the day" through the establishment of an endowed fund "to bring a world of music home" for many people to enjoy.

Besides sustaining the legacy of the WCCA, the partnership is expected to augment and enrich the college's concert and musical performances each year.