Cape Cod National Seashore Hosts “Music with Heart”

Date: July 3, 2017
Contact: Dani Cessna, South District Interpreter, 508-255-3421, ext. 0305

Join artists Ellen Sullivan and Claudia Wellington, members of the duo “Music with Heart,” for an inspiring performance of cello, guitar, and voice. The richness of Claudia’s voice, combined with the soulful cello sounds, combine to create a unique blend. Their performance will be held at 7 pm on Tuesday, July 11, at the outdoor amphitheater at Salt Pond Visitor Center in Eastham. The amphitheater was recently renovated as a signature project of the 2016 National Park Service Centennial.

Ellen Sullivan has been playing the cello since she was 7 years old. As a child, she studied with Rudolph Kratina, an Austrian cellist who had studied with Strauss. Later, she studied at the N.E. Conservatory, University of Massachusetts-Boston, Longy School of Music and the Boston Conservatory.  She studied and coached with members of the Atlanta Symphony, the Boston Symphony, and Boston Chamber Music Society.  Ellen is a versatile musician with a classical background, and has played throughout the U.S. and internationally. She is also a composer of original ambient music.  

Claudia Wellington has been singing songs since she got her first guitar for Christmas when she was thirteen. The style of her voice is infused with folk, blues, gospel, and jazz. After moving to Boston in the mid ‘70s she played in and around clubs in Somerville, Cambridge, and Boston. She gravitated more toward jazz in the 80s, and spent the early part of the decade singing with guitarist Christopher Calloway Brooks (now the Cab Calloway band leader) in Boston area clubs, and she performed weekly in 1985 at the Club Café with pianist David Sparr. She moved to France in 1986 and sang with the “Kangaroo Swing Orchestra” in clubs in Paris and the French Alps, and performed as a headliner at the Beauvais Jazz Festival.

This program is part of the annual “Tuesday Nights at Salt Pond” series. Held weekly at 7 pm, programs focus on the diverse natural and cultural resources on the Outer Cape and are suitable for all ages. Programs are free of charge and accessible. The series is sponsored by Friends of the Cape Cod National Seashore. Bug spray is suggested for all outdoor evening programs.

If You Go: Salt Pond Visitor Center is located at the intersection of Route 6 and Nauset Road in Eastham, at 50 Nauset Road, and can be contacted by calling 508-255-3421. The center is open daily from 9 AM to 5 PM, with staff to assist with activity planning. Visit the museum, view a park film, enjoy panoramic views of Salt Pond and Nauset Marsh, and shop in the gift and bookstore featuring national seashore-related items.