Sr. Beth Dowd, OSU, of New Rochelle's Songcatchers Receives 2014 National Guild Milestone Award

Sr. Beth Dowd, OSU, Executive Director will be honored with the 2014 National Guild Milestone Award for her long-standing, exceptional service to the field of arts education.  The goal of the Milestone program, now in its third year, is to recognize leaders who have demonstrated a commitment to supporting and advancing community arts education for more than 20 years. She’ll be presented with the honor at the Guild‘s Annual Meeting at the Conference for Community Arts Education in Los Angeles, CA, on Friday, November 21, 2104.

Sr. Beth founded the New Rochelle Catholic Elementary School Choir in 1979, which then incorporated as Songcatchers in 1994. Today, Songcatchers is a nonprofit organization that develops and provides music programs with a goal of enriching the lives of children residing in low-income households from the diverse New Rochelle community through musical instruction and encouraging the development of a lifelong appreciation of the arts. Since its inception, Songcatchers has provided musical instruction to more than 6000 underprivileged youth. Sr. Beth is an Ursuline Sister. As a music educator and choral conductor,she has been involved with the Academy of Mt. St. Urusla in the Bronx and the College of New Rochelle Campus Ministry.  Her numerous awards include: the Community Service Award from ArtsWestchester, the Woman of Excellence Award from the New Rochelle Chamber of Commerce, the Woman of Spirit Award from St. Augustine/Sts John & Paul: the Yitzhak Rabin Peacemaker Award from the Coaltion for Mutual Respect and the Unsung Heroes Award from the New Rochelle Youth Bureau.