Voices of summer

BERKSHIRE VALLEY-"America's Singing Poet" Steve DePass will appear Sunday, July 31, at 3 p.m. in Cameo Productions' Voices of Summer Festival at the First Presbyterian Church of Berkshire Valley. With a career that spans five decades, DePass is a legendary show business performer. He has performed at the White House, for the Queen of England, at the United Nations, on radio, television, and nightclubs. As a very young man, he was chosen to be John F. Kennedy's first entertainer to perform in the White House. Then he was sent by Kennedy as a singing ambassador of goodwill nationwide and internationally, and went on to do similar things for Johnson. He also performed for Nixon, and worked with Nancy Reagan on the "Just Say No" campaign. As a concert performer, DePass has made appearances in such places as Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Radio City Music Hall, Broadway theatres, Town Hall, with the Boston Pops at Boston's Symphony Hall, and other notable concert halls throughout the world. His television credits run the gamut from the Tonight Show to Sesame St. A highlight of his performance is the extraordinary ability to create songs on the spot in perfect meter and rhyme. He does so spontaneously, involving his audiences, who are invariably amazed and delighted. In the course of a typical program, Steve may, in turn, make you laugh, cry, laugh again, and above all, make you think. Cameo Productions is honored to present Steve to the New Jersey public. He has been a great supporter of Cameo's vision for Northwest New Jersey. He will do his show, "Stories, Songs and Ballads," on July 31. The following week, he will join Carmen Artis and John Hammel, of Morristown, and Jacqueline Kroschell and Carol Middleton, of Denville, in "Stephen Foster and the Songs of the Civil War," a program done last year to prolonged standing ovations and cheers. The concerts begin at 3 p.m. at the First Presbyterian Church of Berkshire Valley, just west of the junction of Rte. 15 and Berkshire Valley Road, two miles off of Rte. 80. General admission is $15. There is a family ticket for only $33, which includes mom, pop, and all minor children. For further information on subscription savings, great group packages, directions, and dining in the area, call 973-729-5524. Funding for the activities of Cameo Productions has been made available in part by New Jersey State Council on the Arts, Department of State, through the State and County Block Grant Program as administered by the Sussex County Arts and Heritage Council. For further information, visit the website www.cameoproductions.org. Click on sound slices to hear the quality of Cameo's artists, including a slice of DePass.