Pauline Panacciulli believes you get by with a little help from your friends-and family. The 83-year-old Franklin Square resident, who volunteers her time at the United Cerebral Palsy Center (UCP), decided to enlist the help of her son to benefit the center. Her son just happens to be Maestro Louis Panacciulli, the conductor of the Nassau Pops Symphony Orchestra and a true philanthropist at heart. He, in turn, engaged the talents of "Strawberry Fields - The Ultimate Beatles Tribute Band." The result is the first ever concert fundraiser of its kind for UCP, to be performed at the Tilles Center on Saturday, May 1, at 3 p.m."It was my mother's idea for the orchestra to do a concert for UCP," said Panacciulli. "It was my idea to feature "Strawberry Fields." Benefit concerts are not a new venture for the orchestra, which has, in fact, supported the Special Olympics musically for the last 15 years. "Part of our mission has always been to provide benefit concerts," said the maestro. "This concert for UCP will be an additional event for us."Nassau Pops Symphony Orchestra was formed by Panacciulli in 1984 with friend Dawn Simmons Manuel. The group, comprised of local professional musicians, started out doing commercial musicals and then decided to take a different approach to presenting concerts. "We wanted to leave more of an impression," explained Panacciulli, who is also the director of the Nassau Community College concert band and a teacher of instrumental music for Valley Stream School District 13. "We decided to affiliate ourselves with local charities, whereby we could use our popularity and talent and join forces to help them raise money."The decision to feature "Strawberry Fields" in their upcoming concert had Panacciulli calling on friend and fellow musician Tony Garofalo, who is the tribute band's 'John Lennon' and a past member of the touring company of the Broadway hit, "Beatlemania." "This concert gives us a chance to do the music with an orchestra," said Garofalo. "It's as if the Beatles were playing it live, which is something they never got to do."Other band members include Billy J. Ray as 'Paul McCartney,' Gerard Barberine, Jr. as 'Ringo Starr' and Mark Vaccio as the "quiet Beatle," 'George Harrison.' The unique fundraising concert just happens to coincide with the Beatles' 40th American Anniversary and is aptly named, "Bring the Sixties Back." The talented tribute band will take the audience back in time through a multi-dimensional live performance of Beatle hits recorded from 1964-1969. The show includes costume changes as the band members transform from "Mop Tops" to "Sgt. Pepper's" to "Abbey Road." "We do many benefits and find that children especially respond to our music," said Garofalo. "Whether they know it or not, everyone gets into it."All proceeds from the concert will benefit United Cerebral Palsy Association of Nassau, which has been assisting people with disabilities since 1948. At a special moment during the concert, "Creation," a group of singers who participate in UCP's Adult Day Treatment Program, will make a guest appearance. The concert will be hosted by DJ Frank Brinka of radio station B103 fame.
