MAY 2004 NEWSLETTER

 
DATE: May 11, 2004
PLACE: Raoul’s Restaurant, 5120 FM 1960 W. (on south side, just west of Greenwood Forest Dr.)
TIME: 10:00 AM (Again, we’re starting earlier, as we have many stellar performances to enjoy.)

PROGRAM:  MAY LUNCHEON

In addition to the student performers, we will have installation of officers and the presentation of special awards, after which we’ll all enjoy a delicious lunch.

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CALENDAR OF EVENTS
   •   Sunday, May 2nd—3:00 PM—Don H. Harris Activity Awards Ceremony—H&H Music
   •   June 11-13—TMTA State Convention—San Antonio

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From the President: It’s been a great year, with lots of new activities and many new members. Here’s hoping next year will be just as great, if not better!

We’re going to have another Teachers Perform for Students Recital in September, so get out that favorite piece and start practicing for the summer.

See you at the luncheon!

Installation of Officers: The following, having been elected at the April meeting, will be installed May 11th:
 

Grants-in-Aid Recipient: Maryanna Cannon has been awarded the grant for an upcoming internship. She is finishing her Junior year at Sam Houston State and was on the Dean’s list last semester with over a 3.9 GPA. In her practicum class for Music Therapy, she has been assigned to work as a music therapist for an older woman who is Quadriplegic. Her biggest financial need is preparing for her internship, which she must complete after her Senior year concludes. During that time, she will work full-time as a music therapist. As an intern, she may be paid little or nothing and, no longer being a full-time student, she will not qualify for financial aid. She has been advised to “save up” for living expenses and a car. Since she is already helping to work her way through school, the Grant comes at a time when she can put at least that money away toward her internship. Maryanna won’t be able to receive the award in person at the May Luncheon, because she has a final exam. Congratulations!

H&H Conover Cable High School Piano Competition: Chairman Linda Herring reports that 19 students from 7 teachers participated in the competition on March 27th at H&H. Dr. Norman Auchter and Vida Scott were the judges, and the teachers were Barbara Cowen, Holly Foster, Don Harris, Linda Herring, Rebecca May, Sharon Peng and Janice VanDerbur. Critique sheets are at The Music Rack. Results are as follows:

Junior Division
1st place-Vicky Ren   2nd place-Robert Conrad   3rd place-Patrick Frith   4th place-Julia Zhang

Senior Division
1st place-Alex Caire   2nd place-Jesse Pendergrass   3rd place-Shanel Parlar   4th place-Eun-Jeong Lee

Congratulations to all. These winners will be playing a piece at the luncheon.

TMTA Original Composition Contest Winners: Chairman Linda Anthony announces the following winners and their teachers. Winners Recital will be held on June 12th at the Gunter Hotel in San Antonio.

Division S-1: 1st place-Benjamin Lin (Colleen Bell)
Division S6-7: 2nd place-Jonathan Crews, 3rd place-Orson Clay (both Linda Anthony)
Division 8-9: 1st place-Katherine Barnett, 2nd place-Allison Lawdanski, 3rd place-Kristin Francis, Honorable
Mention-Kyle Strohbeck and Nhu-Mai Nguyen (all Linda Anthony)
Division S10-12: Honorable Mention-Whitney Hill (Linda Anthony)
Division E1-8: Honorable Mention-Jessica Weidner and Timothy Weidner (both JoAnne Griffith)

Job Opportunity: Becky May reports that there is an opening for a piano teacher at the H&H Piano Store in Willowbrook Mall for Thursday, Friday and Saturday, or any combination. They have a “nice, large studio” there. Also, you would have access to their office facilities, i.e. copy machine, etc. They are open on Thursday until 8, and on Friday and Saturday until 6. You could start at any time during the day (homeschoolers, adults, etc.) This is a ready-made class, as the former teacher is moving. It would start, if possible, on May 1st.

These are 30-minute lessons, and they pay $75 per student per month. You would pay H&H $5 per hour. You would also get a referral fee on any piano sales. If you, or anyone you know, would be interested, please call Alice Adams at the H&H Willowbrook store at 281-890-0272. This looks like a rare “ready-made” job opportunity. Please let Becky know if you take it.

Letter From Andrea Cannon: Dear Friends at CCMTA: Thank you so much for the support you gave to me after my house flooded—in the form of bringing food over to us and the words of encouragement.

A very big “Thank You!” also for the support of the Guitar Workshop which was donated in my name to TMTA. I certainly appreciate this tangible evidence of your being “behind” the guitar and its growth within our State Organization. I am lucky to have you!!

Sometimes we don’t acknowledge the people closest to us—we take one another for granted. I wanted you all to know that I did appreciate these things and look forward to a long association with you!

Sincerely,
Andrea Cannon

Harris Activity Awards Competition Winners Announced

Participants in our 2nd Annual Harris Activity Awards Competition more than doubled from the 18 entries of last year to the 48 entries of this year. On this Sunday, May 2, at 3:00 PM, 12 of the participants will be receiving cash awards from $25 to $75—based on the award breakdown sheet in our yearbook—and the remaining participants will each receive beautifully engraved musical statues for their outstanding participation in numerous musical activities over the past year. The cash awards go to the individuals who earned the highest number of participation points in each grade level, and the musical statues go to the remaining individuals who earned the challenging minimal 12 points or more required for entry in the competition.

In addition to the Award Presentations on Sunday, all in attendance will be royally treated to a wonderful program of original compositions—composed and performed by our very talented CCMTA student composers. The public is invited to attend.

Winners of Cash Awards for highest number of accumulated points in each grade level were:
Sabra Fassetta (grade 2)      Wade Strohbeck (grade 8)
Benjamin Lin (grade 3)         Nhu-Mai Nguyen (grade 9)
Caroline Yeh (grade 4)         Rishabh Sinha (grade 10)`
Huy Tran (grade 5)              Shanel Parlar (grade 11)
Orson Clay (grade 6)           Alex Caire (grade 12)
Jacqueline Perrin (grade 7)

Winners of Musical Award Statues for meeting the minimal number of points for entry were:
Kaave Bahadori (grade 2)    Jessica Weidner (grade 4)    Timothy Weidner (grade 7)
Cindy Turner (grade 2)        Janine Arostique (grade 5)     Kristin Francis (grade 8)
Kelly Wu (grade 2)             Jena Foreman (grade 5)         A. J. Huang (grade 8)
Edmond Xue (grade 2)        Angelica General (grade 5)    Henry Nguyen (grade 8)
Alexander Cao (3)              Andrew Huang (grade 5)       Nathaniel Weidner (grade 8)
Tisha General (grade 3)       Amanda Radke (grade 5)      Victoria Yeh (grade 8)
Dylan Lee (grade 3)             Michelle Ren (grade 5)         Kaherine Barnett (grade 9)
Natalie Pattton (grade 3)      Raymond Xue (grade 5)       Allison Lawdanski (grade 9)
Natalie Statton (grade 3)      Jonathan Crews (grade 6)    Patrick Frith (grade 10)
Christina Tomakin (grade 3) Angie Reyna (grade 6)        Alisha Bloodworth (grade 12
Joshua Arostique (grade 4)  Maggie Zhang (grade 6)      Whitney Hill (grade 12)
Jason Grimaldo (grade 4)    Becky Radke (grade 7)       James Hyatt (grade 12)

(Teachers of winners were Linda Anthony, Colleen Bell, Holly Foster, JoAnne Griffith and Don Harris)

Revenue for the cash awards of this event come from an Endowment Fund set up by Pat Wickey (our first President) and her family. We are very grateful for their generosity, which will provide adequate funds to continue the motivating awards for years to come.

Important Notice to Teachers: The Endowment Committee will be meeting before May 1 to determine any needed changes to present competition rules and guidelines. Any changes passed by the committee at that time will be reflected in the new Activity Award description sheets of our 2004-2005 yearbook, and also in the next published newsletter. Since the new competition year begins on May 1, 2003—any changes will be in effect at that time.