WEEDSPORT - Two brothers who graduated from Weedsport High School in the 1980s and a woman who graduated from the school 100 years ago were inducted into the Weedsport Performing Arts Hall of Fame Monday, Oct. 26.
Photo provided
Patrick and James Yurco received plaques as part of their induction into the Weedsport Performing Arts Hall of Fame.
Patrick and James Yurco received plaques as part of their induction into the Weedsport Performing Arts Hall of Fame.
James Yurco, class of 1986, and Patrick Yurco, class of 1987, were involved in the Weedsport High School jazz and wind ensembles during their years there. Both Yurco brothers live in Auburn.
Florence White Kempton, class of 1909, was the music director of the town's Methodist church for 35 years, according to the school district's monthly newsletter, “News Notes.”
“We have tried to induct people who are not only professional musicians, but who also enjoy music as an avocation,” said Weedsport band director and fine arts department chairman Richard English. “We want to show kids who are still in school how they can enjoy music after they leave school.”
There are currently 41 people in the hall of fame, in its 13th year. The hall is not a physical place, but rather a pair of plaques in the lobby of the Weedsport High School auditorium. Anyone can be nominated for a place in the hall, but there are three qualifications for nominees to be inducted, according to the Performing Arts Hall of Fame Web page at the Weedsport school Web site. They must be alumni of Weedsport Central School who graduated at least five years prior to being nominated; they must have contributed musically to school programs while they were students there; and they must continue to enjoy and participate in music in their adult lives.
Kempton earned a B.S. in music education from Syracuse University's School of Fine Arts. After teaching music in Wolcott, Kempton moved to Weedsport with her husband and took up her position at the Weedsport Methodist Church, according to the newsletter. Kempton's daughter, Margaret Kempton Lazarou, is another hall of fame member and accepted the 2009 inductee plaque for her mother, said English.
James Yurco played both the guitar and the trumpet in two Weedsport High School ensembles - jazz and wind - while he was a student there, English said. He was also in the local band Blizzard during his high school days. The band performed shows in Weedsport and other local communities.
James went to Cayuga Community College to study telecommunications and broadcasting. Although he worked in warehouse management, he continued to be heavily involved in music. He teaches guitar, bass and voice lessons in Auburn and is in the band Mr. Slate, which has opened for some very well-known bands, including Van Halen. He is also in a band with his brother called Sloppy Joes, English said.
“Music means more to me than just about anything,” James said. “I have to play music. I keep myself involved in it.”
Patrick Yurco played drums for the Weedsport jazz and wind ensembles. His career path after high school took a turn in a different direction, but he continued to love and practice music. He earned an associate of applied science degree in communications, a B.S. in biology from SUNY Oswego and a doctorate in neuroscience from SUNY Upstate Medical University.
Patrick currently teaches biology at Le Moyne College and is a researcher at SUNY Upstate Medical University. However, he continues his love of music - he drums and sings in Sloppy Joes and takes every opportunity he can get to play music, he said.
“It's a case of making time for it,” Patrick said. “It's like a little vacation. I get a feeling from music I don't get from anything else.”
Staff writer Kelly Voll can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 239 or kelly.voll@lee.net
Florence White Kempton, class of 1909, was the music director of the town's Methodist church for 35 years, according to the school district's monthly newsletter, “News Notes.”
“We have tried to induct people who are not only professional musicians, but who also enjoy music as an avocation,” said Weedsport band director and fine arts department chairman Richard English. “We want to show kids who are still in school how they can enjoy music after they leave school.”
There are currently 41 people in the hall of fame, in its 13th year. The hall is not a physical place, but rather a pair of plaques in the lobby of the Weedsport High School auditorium. Anyone can be nominated for a place in the hall, but there are three qualifications for nominees to be inducted, according to the Performing Arts Hall of Fame Web page at the Weedsport school Web site. They must be alumni of Weedsport Central School who graduated at least five years prior to being nominated; they must have contributed musically to school programs while they were students there; and they must continue to enjoy and participate in music in their adult lives.
Kempton earned a B.S. in music education from Syracuse University's School of Fine Arts. After teaching music in Wolcott, Kempton moved to Weedsport with her husband and took up her position at the Weedsport Methodist Church, according to the newsletter. Kempton's daughter, Margaret Kempton Lazarou, is another hall of fame member and accepted the 2009 inductee plaque for her mother, said English.
James Yurco played both the guitar and the trumpet in two Weedsport High School ensembles - jazz and wind - while he was a student there, English said. He was also in the local band Blizzard during his high school days. The band performed shows in Weedsport and other local communities.
James went to Cayuga Community College to study telecommunications and broadcasting. Although he worked in warehouse management, he continued to be heavily involved in music. He teaches guitar, bass and voice lessons in Auburn and is in the band Mr. Slate, which has opened for some very well-known bands, including Van Halen. He is also in a band with his brother called Sloppy Joes, English said.
“Music means more to me than just about anything,” James said. “I have to play music. I keep myself involved in it.”
Patrick Yurco played drums for the Weedsport jazz and wind ensembles. His career path after high school took a turn in a different direction, but he continued to love and practice music. He earned an associate of applied science degree in communications, a B.S. in biology from SUNY Oswego and a doctorate in neuroscience from SUNY Upstate Medical University.
Patrick currently teaches biology at Le Moyne College and is a researcher at SUNY Upstate Medical University. However, he continues his love of music - he drums and sings in Sloppy Joes and takes every opportunity he can get to play music, he said.
“It's a case of making time for it,” Patrick said. “It's like a little vacation. I get a feeling from music I don't get from anything else.”
Staff writer Kelly Voll can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 239 or kelly.voll@lee.net
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