Proceeds from ‘Together Now, Together We Are’ benefit Sandy Hook nonprofit
By Kathleen Brady Shea, Managing Editor, The Times
Novian LeVan, a 12-year-old student at Collegium Charter School in Exton, produced a song to benefit the victims of the Sandy Hook school massacre.
The eureka moment came inauspiciously while a Thorndale father was watching a cable news show.
For a couple weeks, John LeVan had struggled to find the best venue for a song his 12-year-old son Novian had produced in support of the victims of the Sandy Hook school massacre. Suddenly, LeVan said he learned of the Sandy Hook Promise, a nonprofit created by members of the community of Newtown, Ct. in response to the shooting on Dec. 14 that killed 20 children, four teachers and two administrators.
LeVan contacted the group’s co-founder, David Stout, to see if he had interest in the song. Within weeks, “Together Now, Together We Are” was destined for a CD Sandy Hook Promise was compiling, and the song was also listed for sale on iTunes and Amazon, LeVan said. All proceeds go directly to the nonprofit, an outcome that fulfilled his son’s goal, LeVan said.
Caleb Perez (from left), Novian LeVan, and Sydney ‘Jewel’ Boone recorded a song to benefit a nonprofit created by the Sandy Hook school massacre victims.
Novian LeVan, who attends Collegium Charter School in Exton, said when he first heard about the Newtown shootings, he initially felt shock and depression. Then he turned to music, a passion that began when he first picked up a violin at the age of 4.
“I didn’t really want to talk about the tragedy to anyone,” said Novian LeVan, who now plays the guitar. “I decided to write a song based on the tragedy, but in an uplifting way. The idea of the song ‘Together Now, Together We Are,’ is that if everyone comes together, we can work out our problems.”
John LeVan said he gave his son some assistance with the lyrics and helped him locate two vocalists. Sydney “Jewel” Boone, 16, is the daughter of LeVan’s boss, Ava King, who was the conduit for the second singer, Caleb Perez, 21, of Phoenixville. King recommended Perez after hearing him sing at her church in Thorndale.
“The two of them are just fantastic,” John LeVan said, adding that they were also thrilled with the notion of helping Sandy Hook Promise.
He said that so far the reception to the song has been positive. His son, who also has a band called The Division, has been eager to get the word out about the project.
John LeVan said he feels the song complements the admirable mission of Sandy Hook Promise. “It’s not anti-gun; it’s anti-violence,” John LeVan said.
To learn more about the nonprofit, visit http://www.sandyhookpromise.org. The song is available for purchase at https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/together-now-together-we-are/id620074642?ign-mpt=uo%3D4 or http://www.amazon.com/Together-feat-Sydney-Jewel-Celeb/dp/B00BU2QMRW/ref=sr_1_12?ie=UTF8&qid=1363309096&sr=8-12&keywords=together+now%2C+together+we+are.
