Auditions will be held at the Community Bible Fellowship Church, in Red Hill on Tuesday June 1 and Thursday, June 3.  Also, at the Community Music School in Trappe on Wednesday, June 2.  Auditions at each location will begin at 6:30 PM.

Parents are requested to call 215-541-4242 or send an email to belcantochildren@juno.com for further information and to reserve a time in the audition schedule.  Additional audition times will be arranged as necessary.

Children do not need to prepare anything in advance.  At the auditions, children will be asked to sing a song that is familiar to them such as My Country Tis of Thee or Happy Birthday.  The main purpose of the audition is to determine the child’s musicality and their ability to blend and match pitch.  The auditions are child-friendly, stress-free and fun.

Noted for its innovative and artistic programming, the Bel Canto Children’s Chorus is comprised of Prep, Intermediate and Concert Choirs.   In addition to performances throughout the greater Philadelphia and Lehigh Valley areas, tours have taken the choir to England, Canada, Hawaii and Disney World.  During its recent tour to Italy in July 2009, Bel Canto was honored to sing for Mass at St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican.

At weekly rehearsals, Bel Canto choristers are provided with an educational and artistic experience that encompasses far more than just singing.  Choristers learn about different cultures, religions and lands through music and develop friendships with other children who share their passion for music-making.

A non-profit organization founded in 1993, The Bel Canto Children’s Chorus is under the artistic direction of its founder, Joy Ondra Hirokawa. She is assisted by Kirsten Olsen and Sue Ellen Echard who direct the Preparatory and Intermediate Choirs.

###

In addition to moving the 28-person company from Mohnton, Pa., to its new East Point Drive location in Cumru Township, the loan was used to construct an on-site 60×160’ multi-purpose, state-of-the-art building and beautiful outdoor display area. New Castle Lawn & Landscape received the SBA loan through National Penn Bank in 2008 and constructed its facility shortly thereafter.

Company co-owners Bryan Weise and Brian Cuccaro credit much of their success to the SBA’s Philadelphia District Office and National Penn Bank. “We are very grateful for the support of both the SBA and National Penn Bank,” said Weise. “We also have a great group of dedicated employees and we couldn’t have done any of this without them.” Cuccaro said the company is growing quickly as its business has surged in recent months.

New Castle Lawn & Landscape was recently included in the SBA “Celebrating Success” tour, an ongoing SBA initiative that publicly recognizes successful business owners that have received assistance through one of the SBA’s business development or finance programs. The company recently won two prestigious awards for its landscape excellence.

Among those in attendance at the ceremony were Cumru Township Commissioners Barry E. Rohrbach, president, and Edward Gottschall, vice president. Also on hand were Marcia McGavisk and Steven Smith of National Penn Bank and Mike Wilk and John Fleming of the SBA in Philadelphia.

About National Penn Bancshares, Inc.:

National Penn Bancshares, Inc., with $9.2 billion in assets, is the fourth largest bank holding company based in Pennsylvania. Headquartered in Boyertown, National Penn operates 127 offices. It has 124 community banking offices in Pennsylvania and one office in Maryland through National Penn Bank and its HomeTowne Heritage Bank, KNBT and Nittany Bank divisions. National Penn also has two offices in Delaware through its wholly-owned subsidiary Christiana Bank & Trust Company.

National Penn’s financial services affiliates consist of National Penn Wealth Management, N.A., including its National Penn Investors Trust Company division; National Penn Capital Advisors, Inc.;  Institutional Advisors LLC; National Penn Insurance Services Group, Inc., including its Higgins Insurance division; and Caruso Benefits Group, Inc.

National Penn Bancshares, Inc. common stock is traded on the Nasdaq Stock Market under the symbol “NPBC”. Please visit our Web site at www.nationalpennbancshares.com to see our regularly posted material information.

About the SBA

The SBA is an independent federal agency, created in 1953, to assist small businesses start, grow, and prosper.  The SBA provides financial assistance by: (1) making loans to help families and businesses recover from national disasters and (2) providing loan guarantees to commercial financial institutions for working capital (7a loans), buildings/land/equipment (504 loans  through the Certified Development Corporations), and for exports.  Through our resource partners, the SBA also offers a variety of business development programs and services such as training, government contracting and export assistance.   SBA resource partners include Small Business Development Centers, Women’s Business Centers, and SCORE (Counselors to America’s Small Businesses).  For information on the SBA’s programs and services contact us at 610-382-3062 or www.sba.gov/pa/phil.

The SBA’s Philadelphia District consists of Pennsylvania’s 40 eastern counties.

This article does not constitute or imply an endorsement by SBA of any opinions, products or services of any private individual or entity.

###

Tunkhannock Area High School Principal Gregory Ellsworth illegally searched the 17-year-old’s phone in January 2009, even though she intended the racy photos to be “seen only herself and, perhaps, her long-time boyfriend,” according to the federal lawsuit.

It says the principal gave the phone to George Skumanick Jr., at the time the Wyoming County district attorney, who threatened to file felony child pornography charges against the girl unless she took a class on sexual violence.

The suit, filed in Scranton, seeks unspecified damages against Ellsworth, the district, the county, prosecutors and a detective. It also seeks the destruction of any images still in the possession of law enforcement.

The district in rural northeastern Pennsylvania was at the center of the nation’s first criminal case involving sexting – the practice of sending explicit photos via text message – to reach a federal appeals court.

District Superintendent Michael J. Healey, the school district’s lawyer and current District Attorney Jeff Mitchell all declined to comment Thursday, saying they had not seen the suit. Ellsworth and Skumanick did not immediately return phone messages.

“I was absolutely horrified and humiliated to learn that school officials, men in (the) DA’s office, and police had seen naked pictures of me,” said the plaintiff, now 19 and identified in court documents only by the initials N.N. She graduated in 2009.

“Those pictures were extremely private and not meant for anyone else’s eyes. What they did is the equivalent of spying on me through my bedroom window,” she said in a statement released by the American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania, which is representing her.

The court ruled in March that prosecutors could not criminally charge a teenage girl who appeared in a photo similar to the one involved in the latest lawsuit.

###