PHOTO PROVIDED Members of the Uptown Music Collective perform at a Little League World Series opening ceremony.

For over ten years now, the Uptown Music Collective (UMC) students have shared their gifts with the Little League Baseball World Series by performing. In return, the music students have received gifts of their own from the international event.

“We get excited about it every year, especially the students. We try to provide our students with new experiences and we are extremely grateful to little league to keep inviting us back every year. It means a lot to our students,” said Jared Mondell, assistant executive director and marketing director at UMC in Williamsport.

This year, UMC students will have three performances, starting with opening ceremonies on

Wednesday, August 13th at 10 a.m. at Volunteer Stadium in South Williamsport. Next on Friday, August 22 from 5-9 p.m., they will perform at Williamsport Welcomes the World at Mid-Town Landing in downtown Williamsport. Then, UMC will close out the series on championship day Sunday, August 24 at 2 p.m., at the little league complex, at a location to yet be determined.

Around 25 students, aged 11 to 18 years old, have been chosen to perform based on their level of artistry. Just like the little league players who make it to LLBWS, they are performing at the top of their game. Of the 120 students at UMC, only about 20% make the cut. Mondell said that practice takes place months before the musicians hit the stage.

“We are preparing for this event by doing weekly rehearsals, where we work hard to perfect our songs,” said 17-year-old Mackenzie Hakes of South Williamsport.

“Performing at little league is an amazing opportunity to showcase the talent and work that we as a band have worked hard to achieve,” said 16-year-old Lila Butters of Loyalsock.

Mondell added, “The students realize the level of the gig and they are ready to go. They are at the level that they can perform this type of gig.”

Playing outdoor venues presents a new challenge for the musicians, since it is not a controlled environment like a concert hall.

“It adds to the educational experience and helps them perform at their highest level,” said Mondell.

At opening ceremonies, the group Grapevine will play classic Motown hits, along with R&B standards.

Hakes, who is a Grapevine member, said, “I consider performing at the LLWS an honor because I get to help start off the events that people all over around the world come to see. Having lived in the Williamsport area my whole life, there is no event as exciting and major as the Little League World Series and I am proud to say that I was able to be a part of it.”

During Williamsport Welcomes the World, several groups and artists will perform at Mid-Town Landing, which is directly behind UMC’s school at 144 W. Third Street in downtown Williamsport.

“There will be a nineties group, a blues group, also Grapevine and a few students will do solo or duo performances. It’s great to be in the middle of the hustle and bustle of downtown,” said Mondell.

UMC’s final performance on championship day will be another day filled with crowds. According to Mondell, students will perform in between games.

For one of those students, the LLBWS will be the first time where his love of baseball and music come together.

Seventeen-year-old Caiden Scarfo is also a Grapevine performer, who lives in Williamsport. He said, “Performing at LLBWS is an amazing opportunity for a group like us to have and I would very much consider it an honor. Having grown up in the Williamsport area, my mom would take me to see little league games over the summer and it would always make me happy to watch the games. It is a very good thing that we are able to do things like this with our band.”

As for 14-year-old Elle Donlin of Williamsport, her participation at LLWBS allows her the chance to share the pride she has in her area and her music.

She said, “Performing at LLWS is an honor. It’s an opportunity most people our age don’t get and that makes me proud to say that I was part of it. Whenever I am conversing with someone who doesn’t live in Central PA or doesn’t know where I’m talking about, I always state that it is where LLWS is. For me to be part of something that many people throughout the world know about is an honor that should not be taken for granted.”