For Dreyfoos students, chance to rock on stage with Gwen Stefani 'different kind of pressure'

Before Gwen Stefani takes the stage Saturday, April 29, at The Ballpark of The Palm Beaches for a full-blown intimate concert, complete with her band and dancers, fans will get the warm-up acts from a group of teenage musicians who will get a taste of the big-time stage.

The concert is a fundraiser for the A.W. Dreyfoos School of the Arts. It's part of the Save Our Musicians Foundation dinner gala, which will also showcase other students' artwork displayed and then sold at a private auction.

Stefani, 53, is the co-founder and lead vocalist of the band No Doubt, which performed at SunFest in 2002. Stefani also has performed as a solo artist in West Palm Beach.

The students, however, probably know the three-time Grammy Award winning artist more for her work on NBC's popular show "The Voice," where she is a judge. The chance to perform with a megastar has students giddy with excitement, but also a little nervous.

Amelia Williams, an 18-year-old vocal major who plans to study neuroscience at Harvard University in the fall, will be singing in an ensemble at the event.

“There’s always a bit of jitters before I perform,” Williams said. “Performing has sort of been in my blood since I was 5 years old, but I think this is a different kind of pressure, considering she’s not only a star, but also a role model and somebody that I look up to and fangirl over.”

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Senior tuba player Mackens Joseph, 18, who also plays jazz piano, has never even attended a major concert, let alone play as an opening act for a superstar. He believes his musical education will translate to college when he enrolls at Tufts University in the fall as a neuroscience major on a pre-med track.

With aspirations to become a physician, Joseph says, “When students are given the opportunity to pursue an art, you’re not only developing creativity.  You’re developing discipline (and) time management. These are skills that are very important to have as an adult.

"As an artist, I need to make sure that I’m practicing on time, that I’m ahead, (and) have things prepared before rehearsal. These are things you can apply to jobs. You need to have things prepared before you go into a meeting or (meet) deadlines.”

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Dennis Cunningham, chairman and founder of the Save Our Musicians Foundation, is also CEO and Chairman of Perfect Vodka and has inroads in the music business because his liquor company used to have the naming rights to what is now the iTHINKFinancial Amphitheatre at the South Florida Fairgrounds.

Cunningham said Stefani has “a place in her heart” for children’s causes, and the mother of three also supports the Cure 4 The Kids Foundation, a nonprofit that provides medical treatment to children facing life-threatening conditions.

“The children just love her because the way she communicates in such a gentle fashion,” Cunningham said. “Her character is fantastic.”

Dreyfoos has a variety of different artistic tracks — instrumental music, vocal, dance, theatre, communication, digital arts and visual arts — that students can audition for when applying to the public magnet school. At the five-hour event with Stefani, various bands, orchestras, and choral groups from the school and community will perform throughout the stadium.

Gwen Stefani at The Ballpark of The Palm Beaches: Dreyfoos students get free tickets

The event was originally going to take place at the Palm Beach County Convention Center, but it would have been a more exclusive guest list. By switching the venue to the ballpark, the capacity has increased to 5,000 concertgoers in general seating. The Jupiter-based nonprofit is giving all 1,400 Dreyfoos students complimentary tickets. Parents are encouraged to make a donation, but if they cannot afford to, they can also attend free of charge.

For an elevated experience, VIPs will be seated at linen-covered tables on the field and dining al fresco on food catered by the ballpark’s chefs, Cunningham said.

The main stage where Stefani will perform will be located near second base.

“It’s going to be a Hollywood production,” Cunningham added. He promises that the “acoustics are going to be great and the visual is going to be phenomenal on the Jumbotron.” There will also be 25-foot monitors throughout the stadium.

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The purpose of the event is not only to entertain, but also to raise money for the Dreyfoos School of the Arts Foundation, which recently awarded $650,000 in scholarships to graduating seniors and also helps send underclassmen to summer institutes.

“The budgets are being slashed and money is being reallocated, and the pawns are the children that can’t learn music, which is going to take away some of the creativity, which is some of the benchmarks that help children develop,” Cunningham said.

John Richards, the major gifts officer for the Dreyfoos School of the Arts Foundation, added that their Ray of Light Fund provides financial assistance for private lessons. They also have Dreams of Dreyfoos, a wish list that teachers and deans add to each schoolyear.

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“We have a number of instruments and cameras and even laptops that we can loan to students, but I can’t always give them to students because I need to give them to the next class that comes behind them,” he said. He hopes the money raised can enable the foundation to gift graduating seniors with equipment and have a surplus supply for the next class.

“I think the importance of arts education is paramount, because the creativity side of the student comes out, so rather than focusing solely on the academics of math and science and languages, the artistic expression really helps the student develop, and that’s what we see here at Dreyfoos,” Richards said.

Behind the scenes, other Dreyfoos students will also participate

Senior Julia Smerling, 17, who is concentrating on communications at Dreyfoos and going on to major in photojournalism at NYU, is one of the students who can be found behind the camera lens. Alongside a writer and videographer, she’ll be taking pictures at the concert for the school’s magazine The Muse.

“This is my dream. I never ever would have seen myself being able to cover big things like Gwen Stefani. I love her,” said Smerling.

For Williams, an education from Dreyfoos and performing on a big stage like this will only help students in their careers.

“Music is a communicator," she said. "It uses every part of your brain when you’re playing it, you’re singing it, you’re listening to it, neurologically.

"When you develop those parts of the brain, you’re also raising people who are compassionate and kind and intelligent in every way. You’re setting them up for success. You’re raising leaders and future presidents and politicians and scientists and engineers and all of those amazing things.”

Gwen Stefani at Save Our Musicians Foundation Gala

If you go

When: 5:30-10:30 p.m., Saturday, April 29

Where: Ballpark of the Palm Beaches, 5444 Haverhill Road, West Palm Beach

Tickets: Start at $50 and are available at saveourmusicians.com/upcomingevents. Guests purchasing tickets for the seated infield area ($600 to $3,700) will enjoy a three-course meal and an open bar. Guests buying $50 or $100 bleacher seats will have full access to the concession area.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Gwen Stefani in West Palm Beach: Students to perform with superstar