A Young Resident Records Her First Single

A Song Of Love

By Kendra Bobowick

Ten-year old Megan Weber stood before a crowd of hundreds as she sang the national anthem at Bluefish Stadium in Bridgeport this summer.

The Hawley School chorus member who already has her heart set on Broadway recently sang for another, more private audience. With her hands pressed against headphones and head swaying to the music, Megan sang a song for a six-year-old girl in Enfield who is ill.

“I knew I would be doing something good,” Megan said of the day when her father Tim and his co-worker Mike Rosenman asked her to record it. Mr Rosenman is a composer for Songs of Love, a nonprofit organization that promotes the “medicine of music.” Although Megan has never met the younger girl, she knows her favorite colors and foods, for example. Lyrics to the song Megan sang match the information on a personal profile sheet completed by the girl’s family, which asks about hobbies, special interests, and favorite things. Mr Rosenman composed a song with this information.

“I hope she’s happy when she hears the song,” Megan said. “I’ll be happy that she is happy.”

Each song is tailored for the child who will receive it, and the Webers have learned that the results are uplifting. Although they have not met the little girl who will soon unwrap the CD, Songs of Love provided them with a brochure which contains testimonials from past projects. One young lady wrote, “Dear Songs of Love … this song makes me feel special every time I hear it … thanks so much for making me and other kids feel special instead of different.” From one parent came another letter that said, “I wish you could have seen her reaction to the lyrics! She laughed and smiled and agreed with everything you wrote … it is as if you know her.”

The Songs of Love brochure also tells the sad but inspiring story of how the nonprofit began.  The organization is dedicated to the memory of Julio Beltzer, “a talented singer and songwriter who, just two months before passing away in 1984, wrote and recorded a song called ‘Songs of Love.’ The mission is to create personalized, original songs for children and teens with chronic or life-threatening illnesses, free of charge.” Included in the brochure is a quote from Mr Beltzer’s song, which says, “Songs of Love is really what we need to take away our fear.”

Speaking about the little girl in Enfield, Mr Weber said, “They do a good job of bringing in things she loves.” The colors pink and purple are worked into the song, and one verse is about a mouth-watering steak that the little girl hopes to have for dinner.

Standing in her kitchen and reliving the moments when she stood in Mr Rosenman’s recording studio, Megan watched a tape of herself that her father had made. With her father and mother Julie and eight-year-old twin brothers Max and Adam with her, Megan smiled as she realized that a little girl would hopefully be receiving a finished CD in early July.

Songs Of Love

Julio’s twin brother John Beltzer founded the organization in part because of Julio’s song.

“My twin brother developed schizophrenia and committed suicide. This was done in his name,” he said. “Shortly before his death Julio wrote his song.” Did he have any idea what the song would turn out to become?

Mr Beltzer said, “It’s mystical the way it came together.” After his brother’s death Mr Beltzer continued to pursue music when his thoughts turned along another route.

“I had an epiphany to create the non-profit,” he said. “I was a struggling musician and I really felt empowered. I had a gut instinct it was going to work.”

Although his brother’s musical career had ended, he left behind his melody and words. Mr Beltzer hopes to give families and children lasting memories.

“We have something that lasts forever,” he said. From his own experience he said, “[the children] love it. They hear their names and they play their song at the hospital during painful treatments, and they even drive their parents crazy playing it over and over.” Mr Beltzer stressed again, “They last forever.”

The organization relies on donations to cover the roughly $250 production costs per song.  His organization tries to keep up with roughly 3,100 requests each year by matching the songwriters with a recipient. Speaking of the writers, he said, “You write a song and it’s a guaranteed number-one hit … it’s all about writing beautiful songs and they go to beautiful people.”

 

A Young Vocalist

Megan Weber’s singing career started after she began singing along to a popular movie soundtrack.

“My mom heard me singing to The Little Mermaid and put me in singing lessons,” she said. Enjoying her growing talent for singing, she said, “It’s fun. You get better and better each year and can see yourself grow.”

Already Megan is involved in recitals, productions and plays, and recently saw her largest audience at Bluefish Stadium. Admitting with a smile that she was nervous before the crowd, she said, “You practice a lot and get used to it.” When the time came to sing, she said, “I was breathing to calm down, there were a lot of people there.”

The stadium staff noticed Megan after her father had sent them a video of his daughter. “They finally called back,” Megan said.

She intends to continue singing and looks forward to contests including American Idol, a TV show narrowing down a mass of contestants to one favorite singer. She also said, “I’ll try Broadway, maybe.”

In the much nearer future, she thinks about the girl in Enfield who will receive her song soon.

“Maybe we could write to each other,” she said. She is currently enrolled in voice lessons with Jackie Gaudet, who runs Newtown Music Studio. The voice coach is impressed with Megan’s hard work.

“She always does such a great job,” Ms Gaudet said.

Learn more about Songs of Love at the organization’s website, SongsOfLove.org, or contact the organization at 1-800-960-SONG (7664).