MONROE - "Harmonize," a family friendly music concert benefitting Sandy Hook Promise's "Start with Hello" campaign celebrating kindness, respect, and community, was met with great enthusiasm on May 19.

Last week's macroburst/tornado, which left many residents without power, could not stop the more than 350 attendees from celebrating the joy of music throughout the two-hour Broadway performance.

While originally scheduled to be held at Newtown Congregational Church, due to the lack of power, Masuk High School in Monroe quickly offered its auditorium to host the concert.

The act of kindness would be the central theme of the concert as well as the good will of many talented volunteers and performers who donated their time and professional expertise to the fundraising effort for Sandy Hook Promise. Among the volunteers were actress Stacie Morgain Lewis; Joy Hoffman, event coordinator from "The Joy of Art" in Newtown; Reverend Matt Crebbin, senior pastor of Newtown Congregational Church; Ben Cohn, conductor of Dear Evan Hansen; Broadway Inspirational Voices, Broadway musicians; Newtown photographers Don Brooks, Frank Gardner, and Patrick Mengler; videographers Colin Cooper and Phil Keane; volunteers Anne Ross and Joan Cominski; Newtown author Karlin Gray, and Monroe and Westport school systems.

The songs from Ms Lewis's album, raise several themes about character, value, and diversity.Harmonize,

"Stacie's music has the power to educate and enrich the social and emotional learning of all students and families throughout the country," stated Joy Hoffman, event coordinator.

Funds raised during the event were awarded to Jackie and Mark Barden, cofounders of Sandy Hook Promise's "Know the Signs: Start with Hello," which works to prevent gun violence and addresses mental illness, promoting awareness for educational classroom programs.

Audience members were encouraged to purchase Harmonize CDs on Saturday afternoon or purchase copies on iTunes, as well as taking photographs with the Broadway stars in attendance at the high school. The audience members were uplifted as the joy of music spread throughout the concert, according to Ms Hoffman.

[naviga:img class="aligncenter wp-image-321265" src="https://newtownbee.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/Morgain-Lewis-Harmonize-recap-Morgain-Lewis-Westport-grade-4-5-students-WATERMARKED.jpg" alt="Morgain Lewis Harmonize recap -- Morgain Lewis andamp; Westport grade 4-5 students WATERMARKED" width="801" height="360" /]

Actress Stacie Morgain Lewis performs "Upstanders in Action," with fourth- and fifth-grade students from Westport, during the "Harmonize" family event on Saturday, May 19. Originally planned to take place at Newtown Congregational Church, the special event was relocated to Masuk High School in Monroe after the church lost power for a few days following the May 15 macroburst that hit the region.

-Don Brooks photos

[naviga:img class="aligncenter wp-image-321264" src="https://newtownbee.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/Morgain-Lewis-Harmonize-recap-Henry-Morgain-Lewis-WATERMARKED.jpg" alt="Morgain Lewis Harmonize recap -- Henry andamp; Morgain Lewis WATERMARKED" width="600" height="640" /]

Henry, age 2½, from New York City, sings "Don't Yuck My Yummy" with Broadway actress Stacie Morgain Lewis during the May 19 "Harmonize" concert benefitting Sandy Hook Promise.

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[naviga:img class="aligncenter wp-image-321266" src="https://newtownbee.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/Morgain-Lewis-Harmonize-recap-Morgain-Lewis-J-Barden-Hoffman-M-Barden-WATERMARKED.jpg" alt="Morgain Lewis Harmonize recap -- Morgain Lewis, J Barden, Hoffman andamp; M Barden WATERMARKED" width="800" height="385" /]

From left is Broadway actress Stacie Morgain Lewis, Sandy Hook Promise co-founder Jackie Barden, "Harmonize" event coordinator Joy Hoffman, and Sandy Hook Promise co-founder Mark Barden. Ms Lewis headlined a May 19 event that raised funds for SHP's "Start With Hello" classroom campaign.