Rhapsody Players to sing sweet songs for Saint Patrick Catholic Academy

October 14, 2014 By Paula Katinas Brooklyn Daily Eagle

The Rhapsody Players, pictured backstage at a benefit concert earlier this year, can’t wait to sing at the fundraiser for Saint Patrick Catholic Academy in Bay Ridge.

Share this:

Music lovers will get the chance to hear the biggest hits from the ’60s, ’70s and ’80s and help raise money for a Bay Ridge school at same time on Saturday night. The Rhapsody Players, a smooth-sounding singing group that does charity concerts all over southwest Brooklyn, is performing a benefit show for Saint Patrick Catholic Academy.

The show will take place on Oct. 18, in St. Patrick’s Church Auditorium on Fourth Avenue and 97th Street, starting at 7:30 p.m. The $25.00 admission fee comes with a pizza dinner, plus coffee and dessert from Leske’s Bakery, a favorite Bay Ridge spot for those with a sweet tooth.

All of the proceeds from the concert will be donated to St. Patrick Catholic Academy, according to Rhapsody Players founder John Heffernan, who is the treasurer of the academy’s board of directors.

“This is the fourth fundraiser overall we have done for the school. Last year, we decided to do it every year. We’re trying to help the school in our own small way,” Heffernan told the Brooklyn Eagle.

Last year’s concert raised enough money to allow the school to purchase new computers, Heffernan said.

In addition to John Heffernan, the members of the Rhapsody Players are Eileen Monahan, Colleen Martin-O’Donnell, Anthony Marino, Donna Heffernan, Bernard Smith, and Kieran Hamilton.

“We perform everything from Motown to the Mamas and Papas, from Bacharach to the Bee Gees. We do Eagles songs, songs by Fleetwood Mac, all of the great popular songs,” Heffernan said.

The Rhapsody Players is a unique singing group in that it exists for the sole purpose of raising funds for charity.

“We are a nonprofit, 501-C3 group. We perform benefit concerts to help people,” Heffernan said, adding that the group does not accept a fee for performing. “We’re just trying to help out anyway we can. We’re a group of people who all have day jobs and who are doing something we love to help people.”

Two years ago, the Rhapsody Players performed several concerts to raise money for victims of Hurricane Sandy. Earlier this month, group members used their talents to raise money for the Prospect Park Alliance.

Reservations are required for the Oct. 18 benefit concert. For more information, call Heffernan at 646-335-2710 or email [email protected].