On Saturday, May 15, Manhasset High School sophomore Samantha Baard produced and performed in an "afternoon of chamber music" at Clark Botanic Garden in Albertson, a 12-acre living museum and educational facility in Albertson.

Baard, a violinist, has attended the C.W. Post Chamber Music Festival each summer for the past several years. Last year the teen made headlines when Festival organizers made special accommodations enabling her to adjust her participation schedule for a Chamber Music Festival in order to accommodate her simultaneous commitment to a national church youth leadership conference in Washington, DC.

John D'Arcy, deputy commissioner of Clark Botanic Garden, was so impressed with the young girl's story that he contacted her to ask if she would be interested in producing a concert for the organization. Working with her school's music director, Eileen Murphy, Baard assembled about a dozen members of the school's Chamber Ensemble and created a program featuring selections by Bach, Beethoven and Mozart.

"My experiences at the C.W. Post Chamber Music Festival these past few summers took my ability to a whole new level," Samantha recently said. "Working with people such as the renowned violist Veronica Salas was both challenging and fun."

Contributions collected at the Clark Botanic Garden concert benefited the VH1 Save the Music Program, an initiative that helps low-income school districts provide music opportunities to their students.

Baard is also a member of the Manhasset High School Shared Decision-Making Team, an appointment that followed her meeting with President George W. Bush two years ago. At that time, in the Rose Garden, she expressed concerns directly to the president about his new education policy and the effects it would likely have on the amount of homework and testing to which students would be subjected. Interviews with the media followed and changes in the homework and testing policy in Manhasset were recently announced.

In addition, Baard recently performed at Carnegie Hall with a select group of orchestra members from Manhasset High School.

For additional information, please call John D'Arcy at Clark Botanic Garden at 484-8600 or Wendy Goldstein in the C.W. Post Office of Public Relations at 299-2332.