Venango County-Based Opera Singer Performs at State Capitol
| Highlights need for continued support of the arts |
HARRISBURG –Rep. Lee James (R-Venango/Crawford), the House Republican co-chair of the Arts and Culture Caucus, invited opera singer Jamie Bastello to perform at the state Capitol on Tuesday.
Bastello is an opera singer, live performer, recording artist and socially engaged artist from Santa Fe, New Mexico. Recently, she moved to Oil City to participate in the Arts Oil City Artist Relocation Program, where she is involved in projects that showcase the talent and creativity of the region such as “Artist Sunday.” Bastello has also recently performed as a soloist with the Venango Regional Choir and a soloist in Handel’s Messiah with The Franklin Civic Operetta Association.
Last year, the arts and culture sector of the Commonwealth – which employs roughly 159,000 people – brought in approximately $25 billion in revenues. The bipartisan, bicameral Arts and Culture Caucus is asking for $15 million in budgetary support for arts programs in Pennsylvania.
“Jamie’s outstanding performance displayed one of many reasons why continued investments in this field will yield positive results,” said James. “Her marvelous voice echoed soothing tones throughout the Capitol, and I cannot thank her enough for coming. I am grateful to work alongside my fellow co-chairs – Rep. Joe Ciresi, Sen. Jay Costa and Sen. Pat Stefano – on how we can maximize opportunities to promote the arts.”
On Tuesday, June 25, Dr. Sam DePalma will be the second and final opera singer to take center stage in Harrisburg. It will be streamed live on
repjames.com and
Facebook.com/RepLeeJames.
Representative R. Lee James
64th Legislative District
Pennsylvania House of Representatives
Media Contact: Nate Temple
717-260-6396
Ntemple@pahousegop.com
www.repjames.com