Showcasing the Chesapeake Concert Band and the Chapel Hill Sensations choral group, the Katie and Wil Brady Memorial Foundation sponsored a free holiday concert at Perry Hall High School on Sunday, Dec. 5.

The Foundation honors the lives of Katie and Wil Brady, a mother and son who were killed in a car accident in 2008. The organization was established to give back to the community that supported surviving members of the Brady family after the accident, said Kelly Lane, Katie's sister and Wil's aunt. The foundation provides financial support to causes, organizations and activities that were important to the Brady family.

More than 100 area residents attended the concert, which featured a wide selection of well-known Christmas songs. The Chesapeake Concert Band, a group of volunteer musicians of all ages, began the program with "The Christmas Festival," a medley of popular holiday favorites including "Jingle Bells," "Silent Night," and "O Come All Ye Faithful." The event marked the second time that the band has performed for an event associated with the Katie and Wil Brady Memorial Foundation.

The Chapel Hill Sensations, a select choral group of fifth grade students from Chapel Hill Elementary School, provided vocal support to the band. One audience favorite was "Here We Come a Caroling." 

Steve Brady, father to Wil and husband to Katie, said that the Foundation has had two primary projects. The first was to provide $20,000 to create a technology center for St. John the Evangelist Catholic Elementary School, located in Hydes, Maryland, which Wil formerly attended.

The foundation's most recent project is to provide financial support for a hiker/biker trail to be constructed at Marshy Point Nature Center. Steve Brady said that the family "is dedicated to seeing this project through to its conclusion," even while its cost is estimated to upwards of $1 million. The foundation is currently working in collaboration with the Baltimore County Department of Recreation and Parks to develop the trail. 

Brady concluded his formal remarks by recognizing the businesses and community organizations who helped to make the event possible, including Perry Hall High School administrators, the Perry Hall Recreation Council and the McDonald's Restaurant of Perry Hall, which paid for reusable grocery bags with the foundation's logo, for distribution to all attendees.

More information on the foundation can be found at www.katieandwil.org.